Way to miss the point, Anon. In one of the incidents they talked about the suspect did have a gun and reportedly did shoot at police. I mean seriously, do they really think the police are in the habit of shooting people over fare evasion?
I'm no fan of police, and I support protest groups - but there's a difference between protesters with a grievance, and hooligans looking for an excuse. From what I've seen, previous BART protests have been more the latter than the former.
I am sick and tired of "anarchists" subjugating every legitimate cause under the sun so they can have an excuse to deface and destroy. Not only is what they do juvenile and unproductive, but their presence taints what are otherwise very legitimate and important grievances and seriously compromises public opinion and support of these causes.
There is not a single group I despise more than your average black bloc "anarchist protester". I'm disappointed (but unsurprised) that Anon has confused real protesters with these guys, too.
> I am sick and tired of "anarchists" subjugating every legitimate cause under the sun so they can have an excuse to deface and destroy. Not only is what they do juvenile and unproductive, but their presence taints what are otherwise very legitimate and important grievances and seriously compromises public opinion and support of these causes.
If they're actually anarchists---as in those who despise governance in any form--its absolutely appropriate that they attack all the arms of the government, even the innocuous ones that do nothing but bring joy and happiness into the lives of people.
I am no fan of black bloc. I feel they rob anarchism of legitimacy. However, I don't believe they've conducted as many public executions as BART police officers have.
Your post is incomplete - you feel black bloc tactics rob anarchism or legitimacy. You also note that black bloc protesters have not executed anyone.
So... what's your point? Those two observations are entirely unrelated, unless you're trying to use one to justify the other and set up a straw man.
Yeah, ok, BART cops suck and kill people without justification (that's arguable, but let's run with that for now). What part of that justifies the rampaging, destructive "protests" we've seen out of BART/MUNI as of late? Hooliganism is okay because cops are assholes?
I miss the days when the word "protester" didn't conjure up images of hoodied and masked people smashing windows and burning cars. If protesting is to remain a legitimate method of civil discourse and disobedience, black bloc people and tactics must be opposed at every level, no matter how heinous the crime they supposedly "protest" against. From a pragmatist's perspective - giving black bloc types any quarter is public opinion suicide.
I'm sorry. I'll try to be more clear. You said There is not a single group I despise more than your average black bloc "anarchist protester". I feel that murderers are more deserving of contempt than children who destroy property.
That reeks of straw man to me - murderers aren't a group, they do not represent themselves as such, or anything even remotely close to it. They don't issue statements, they don't have meetings, and they certainly do not descend upon anything as a group.
Until there's a "SF Murder Collective" that descends in terror across the city, I will stand by my opinion that, as a group, black bloc "anarchists" are by far my most despised.
They purport to stand against oppressors, but in reality they get nothing of the sort done, and instead they play directly into the agenda of heavy-handed policing by justifying police reactions in the court of public opinion.
I'm no fan of police, and I support protest groups - but there's a difference between protesters with a grievance, and hooligans looking for an excuse. From what I've seen, previous BART protests have been more the latter than the former.
I am sick and tired of "anarchists" subjugating every legitimate cause under the sun so they can have an excuse to deface and destroy. Not only is what they do juvenile and unproductive, but their presence taints what are otherwise very legitimate and important grievances and seriously compromises public opinion and support of these causes.
There is not a single group I despise more than your average black bloc "anarchist protester". I'm disappointed (but unsurprised) that Anon has confused real protesters with these guys, too.