To the black bloc "Anarchists", I would like you to listen closely to the gentleman in this video at the 3:17 mark . . . he has something important to say . .
You can see people in this video trying to prevent the destruction of property, and my hat goes off to them.
And I use quotation marks on the word Anarchist for a reason, because real Anarchists believe in breaking up corrupt power structures, not smashing windows. Any mindless clown with a brick can smash a window, that doesn't make you an anarchist, just a vandal. Though I am NOT an anarchist myself, the anarchists I have met do NOT endorse this idiotic smashing of property, and nor does Occupy Wall Street. I denounce this type of bullshit. It has NO PLACE in our peaceful movement.
More below the fold
To the cowards in masks who just want to break shit, you aren't helping at all, in fact, you are making things worse for EVERYONE. I have no idea what you have to offer anyone, you basically have nothing positive to add to the conversation we'd like to have. In short, F U, because your idiotic acts of violence and senseless damage of property is certainly going to be used to smear every peaceful person in the Occupy Wall Street movement, so not only are you not adding anything positive, the only thing you are adding is negative.
UPDATED:
hat tip to Kossack Mindtrain, from the comments . . .
An excerpt from An Open Letter to the Black Bloc and Others Concerning Wednesday's Tactics in Oakland
"The setting on fire of the barricades was totally unnecessary, and may make it necessary for the city to call for the camp to be cleared; the breaking of windows and vandalizing of businesses which supported the strike was utterly stupid and counterproductive; and watching black bloc-ers run from the cops and not protect the camp their actions had endangered, an action which ultimately left behind many mentally ill people, sick people, street kids, and homeless folks to defend themselves against the police onslaught was disturbing and disgusting in ways I can't even articulate because I am still so angry at the empty bravado and cowardice that I saw."
In fact, by engaging in violence and the destruction of property you are giving the police and corrupt Mayors exactly the excuse they need to shut down Occupy protests.
So, speaking on behalf of all of the peaceful people who would stand with us that you are putting at risk, we'd appreciate it if you'd knock this bullshit off, or if you are incapable of that, just get the fuck out.
Please help support my friends, TheOther99. OllieGarkey and HankNYNY have been making sure that the chant "The Whole World is Watching" is true. They've been Ustreaming from New York this entire time, and they're keeping an eye on smaller occupations like Houston, Fresno, and Mobile. They need your contributions to stay operational.
You can follow me on twitter at @JesseLaGreca