true, true. i had issues with the total nonexistence of facilitation in the street spokes at the capitol and later. but i think that is due to inexperience in those situations.

also, the bloc has always been a tactic. an affinity group of RCYB even took the streets and participated in the RAAB for bush's first inaugural. so anyone can be bloc. it just happens to be a tactic specifically developed by anarchists since 1991 in the US, and since 1980's autonomen in germany.

experienced folks were also in short supply (how many there rocked the RACB at A16? maybe a handful including me. maybe only a couple of us. and if you don't know what i am referring to, then you probably didn't.) case in point, when someone shouted "fuck the corporate media" as a chant later, a lot of people had actually never heard that before. but that is not the fault of newer participants.

so why didn't any more experienced anarchists take the streets? because 98% of the time these marches have been useless in the past two years. last major showdown in dc that was worth it as an action, it seems, was the second inaugural. others had pronounced the black bloc tactic dead...yet again, and never bothered to show. others got cynical. some just were not in the loop, and now they are jealous of everyone who was there. so they will be back.

but what needs to happen to make this all continue to work, and not factionalize anarchists (and the sds'ers in bloc were anarchists)?

some in SDS need to learn what consensus entails. a hint: it does not entail making speeches through megaphones at your fellow bloc'ers. but accusations have been made a lot of times in the past about people being authoritarian, so we need to remember to focus on positives too. it rocked! ok.

and experienced direct actionists need to be there with the inexperienced ones: younger folks get to learn new tactics by watching someone do it rather than by learning the hard way like we did, and we old surly ones get energy from people who haven't actually given up hope yet or burned out on the movement.

it takes a lot to keep this shit going, a lot of patience and a thick skin. as someone who came to this as his first serious black bloc action in years, don't give up. work together, but respect autonomy.

rock.