tbh its absolutely infuriating when people who exclusively protest
without doing any foundational or sustainable work and never take a
moment outside of the spotlight to assume a supportive role for somebody
else act as if they are entitled to not just the services of those of
us who generally work in supportive positions (and frankly, put a lot
more time, money and effort into providing that support than they do
just showing up for their Weekly March To Yell At A Building), but also
to our complete adoration and gratitude.They act like rude
customers who tell you that you wouldnt have a job if it werent for
them. Yea, its true, I wouldnt have to do jail support if nobody got
arrested. Why do you think thats something I /want/ to do? how much
unpaid labor do you think im capable of throwing out there for you?of
course I’m still going to do it, of course im going to show up at your
march and walk from union square to trump tower with my medic kit for
the four-millionth time. But I have personally known so many protestors
who show up to every single march they can cram into their schedule, and
who do their god-damndest to get themselves arrested every time.
Literally playing “im-not-touching-you” by walking with one foot on the
sidewalk and the other in the gutter and yelling at cops daring them to
arrest them. I’m all for risking arrest to accomplish a goal, lockdowns
and blocking traffic and all that jazz has its time and place, but these
guys will get arrested on purpose and six hours later when they get out
of the precinct they will laugh and brag about how many times theyve
been arrested, while the medics and legal who just wanted to go to bed
get no thanks for the effort they put into making sure your arrest was
something you’re apparently happy to brag about later, rather than
ending with your ass getting beat or a jail sentence.Why do
yall feel the need to waste our resources and our energy without cause?
How come you think trying to break each other’s records for who’s been
in handcuffs more times is a fun game to play when it creates so much
work for your comrades in support positions? Why dont you ever take a
turn at the dirty work? and why the fuck do you think that /I/ owe /You/
for getting yourself arrested when im the one who camped out in front
of the precinct with coffee and chips and cigarettes and checked yr
wrists to make sure your handcuffs werent on too tight? you aint leading
this movement, and “putting your body on the line” is not what you’re
doing. When you literally jump in front of a scooter cop for no reason
other than to look cool, thats not helping anyone and its creating
unnecessary work for those of us who are actually trying to keep your
ass safe. You are not more important, you are not more at risk, you are
not the face of the movement, you are not a hero.The most
frustrating part of this is watching young people and first-time
protestors get swept up in the moment watching you yell and be all cool,
and then when the cops feel the need to scare the crowd by swooping in
and doing some random arrests, they get arrested because they didnt see
it coming. I keep going to this shit for the sake of the young people
who are vulnerable and mothers with children and elders and people who
genuinely need medical and legal support, but every time I get one or
two newbies, and then wind up having to deflect time away from caring
for their traumatized asses for some dipshit who’s been arrested twice
already this month. Its absolutely selfish and incredible that theyve
managed to create a clique where they reinforce their reckless,
ridiculous, harmful behavior and congratulate themselves on being more
radical than the people who have to clean up their mess.
I really loved reading this and I want to share it, not because my experiences with black block are often like this (they’re generally not but types like this definitely exist.) or because I think a ‘you’re not the real radical, I’M the real radical!’ conversation is productive (it’s not). I see a lot of value in the work my local black blockers do.
I love this text because it is such a powerful raw expression of the rage and pain that being a member of the support system in an anarchist movement can involve and the neglect of those activists that happens in some, though certainly not all, communities.
I want everyone to read stuff like this because I believe improvement comes from hearing each others rage first, really listening and then moving from a place of compassion towards doing better as an anarchist community.
QueerAnarchism 