Are terrorists marching through downtown Vancouver?
I’ve been doing some reading on the history of the Black Bloc the past few days- fascinating stuff. And, each day, it becomes more apparent that the Black Bloc is a serious menace for more cities than Vancouver. This menace is going Global, fast- will write more about this in the future…
For today, I want to only propose a question for everyone: Are Black Bloc tactics quantifiable as Terrorism?
Bill Blair, Chief of the Toronto Police Department said this last year- check out this article from CTV. According to this article in the McGill Daily, Trotsky & the Marxists called these tactics Individual Terrorism. And, according to this survey by Ipsos-Reed, 80% of Canada’s 99% believe it should be illegal to protest while covering one’s face with a mask!
Then there’s Patrick Ross- here’s a quote from his article on Black Bloc terrorism:
“As Harsha Walia of No One is Illegal points out, the Black Bloc tactic is not as marginal among the far-left as many would prefer we believe. Organizers of actions such as the “2010 Heart Attack” anti-Olympic rally communicate with the Black Bloc about their participation in these activities, and even seem to know who the Black Bloc are.
Most damningly, Walia explains that the far-left uses the terrorist activities of the Black Bloc — and that’s very much what the Black Bloc’s activities are — as cover in order to divert scrutiny from non-violent protest tactics.”
I’d really like to solicit your opinions- from people who have been involved with Occupy Vancouver, and equally from those who haven’t. If 80% of Canadians disagree with a tactic- does this not quantify that the people directing Occupy Vancouver who are ignoring the presence of Black Bloc are working against the 99%?
And, doesn’t this mean that it is time for Gregor Robertson and Chief Chu to speak out about this situation? Or, does this need to be escalated to the RCMP?
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Well now, that sort of depends on what definition of terrorism you are using. If you provide us with which benchmark/definition you are using, then it easier to answer your question.
Those who employ Black Bloc “tactics” are a serious stain on the entire political left, and do more damage than they can possibly know. I personally know a bunch of them, and can vouch for the fact that 95 percent of them are younger than 30, white, male and college-educated, usually in the arts.
The problem with Vancouver’s grade-school black-hoodie “anarchists” is that they always use the wrong tactic at the wrong time. When it is time to get hot and heavy, such as the closure of housing shelters, they run away, and the same goes for the South Fraser Perimeter Road,
But when it is time to court wider public support, such as Occupy, they sit in the traffic for no apparent reason and reap a harvest of media black eyes. They are , in short, hemorroids on the BC body politic.
David Beattie.
Author
I agree with you David,but you already knew that. ;)
Considering the level of education of most people I’ve met who are involved in the Black Bloc, one has to wonder if they are cognizant of what they are doing to the movement…
Perhaps my reply was misunderstood.
I am not saying whether the BB are terrorists or not. What I was asking is what are you using to define terrorists. In this day and age, when everyone and their semi-trained chimp has a blog or a web page, and feels the need to create a new definition for anything and everything under the son, (not referring to present company,) before I weigh in on a debate I like to know what the guidelines and definitions are.
Having said that, I think the BB are proof of Darwinian style natural selection. Seriously, let’s all dress all in black, so that the police and more peaceful protesters know who to watch and take from the crowd before problems start, and Lord knows that after you smash a window,did you really think you were going to be able to just blend into the crowd being the only people dressed like low IQ ninjas. We, those of the peaceful protest, thank you for that act of stupidity and shortsightedness.
has anyone on this site ever been visited by the VPD and RCMP for there participation and organizing of a rally? and if so how were you treated? I was treated very poorly and threatened at gun point because they have me in a picture with no mask at the front of a rally. If i was covering my face, my apartment and house probably wouldn’t have been raided and I wouldn’t have been held at gun point for organizing a rally. I do understand the fear that some people feel when there face is covered, but at the same time how do we protect our fellow citizens. unfortunately we live in a world in which if you show up to a rally un masked, you get put on the vpd, csis and rcmp watch lists. So I guess my question is, do we deserve to be black listed ( which can be life threatening) for representing a certain political view?
I do agree with David however, There is a certain time in which DoT can be very effective, but the BB in Vancouver have picked the wrong times to come out, especially in the stuck up west like Vancouver. People in Vancouver aren’t European enough to understand passion and change. We must change as they change in Vancouver slow, lazy and with the least disruption possible :D
_______ now a days especially with this new law taking away are right to wear a mask in public, we don’t stand a chance.
We have written away our freedom in law, as to be more free
Author
Do you have any documentation on this incident? Perhaps a complaint you filed, or a story published somewhere? I’ve heard rumours of this sort of thing- but, never saw the real deal before. If you do, I’d be very interested writing up a story about your experience.
Thanks.
You are branded by the company you keep. To the outside world, cops included, that’s the Alex Hunderts of the world. You are part of a movement that involves him and his black bloc terrorists so now you are forever stained. Want to get rid of gun point raids then get rid of the reason the police think you might be a physical threat. I don’t share the same world view as you folks but don’t particularly care if you have a differing opinion than me and want to peacefully protest. But I would fight against your cause and your protests if for no other reason than I think that any cause that has people involved , like the BB, needs to be defeated on principal alone. Just sayin
Author
The problem of the Black Bloc and ‘anti-police’ demonstrators existed before Occupy arrived on the scene- the G20 & Olympic movements helped make them more prominent.
This was the first battle that had to be won before we could succeed. And, believe me, we are succeeding- people are becoming more clear each day.
So, can I ask that better than hoping we fail that you help us succeed? Once this issue is cleared-up we can all find ways to work together- left & right. Because, this duality (and the resulting combat) is what is hurting us.
Together, we can build a world we are all proud of…
But of course this false pseudo-moral reasoning doesn’t apply to the people who commit the worst acts of violence, because those are ‘legitimate authorities’ and there’s a ‘due process’ involved where the worst of the worst criminals declare their violent crimes ‘legal’. No, you’re not opposed to violence, you simply want to use pseudo-morale rhetoric to straight jacket social movements to the benefit of the elite, because you’re in favor of violence, you’re on the side with the guns and the bombs who kill little kids for sport, so quit pretending you want peace.
To be perfectly honest, at this point and from my perspective, for your movement to deny its ties to the bloc is like the Sinn Fein denying its involvement in the IRA. Or PETA denying its fondness for ALF. The Bloc exists and your own site shows how closely associated the movement is to it. While you might not be a fan you certainly haven’t got to a point where someone like Hundert feels it isn’t wise to show up. By your own admission you called him for help. Even knowing he belonged to the block you sought his help and in so doing continued to remain entangled. You posited the question about Black Bloc being a terrorist organisation. Someone took an abstract approach of trying to make the decision based on definition. The Bloc, I’m sure, wouldn’t see themselves as terrorists. Terrorists rarely do. They are freedom fighters in their own minds. However, the bulk of Canadian society deems them a terrorist organisation and it is their verdict and definition that counts.
So do I hope you fail? When you are in bed with terrorists how can I hope you will succeed. It is not my place to clean the sh$t from your own sheets. :)
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