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Letter to the Egyptian Black Bloc, in Arabic and in English

Sun, 02/10/2013 - 13:06 -- Anonymous (not verified)

from CrimethInc.

We present here, in Arabic and in English, an open letter from participants in black bloc actions in the United States to participants in the Egyptian black bloc, aimed at initiating a dialogue beyond the exchange of youtube videos. This is of interest to everyone around the world struggling for liberation, so please print and distribute widely:


        Printable PDF in English [3.5 MB]                     Printable PDF in Arabic [3.7 MB]

The emergence of the black bloc in Egypt at this time should not surprise us as much as it surprises pacifists and authoritarians. The struggles of the 21st century will not be limited to nonviolent civil disobedience, nor to reformism; they are bound to involve open conflict with the state. Moreover, they will be increasingly international in scope and character. Whenever anyone anywhere around the world stands up for herself or himself—however awkwardly, however humbly—it sets a precedent for the next generation of resistance. Let’s rise to the occasion.

“Black Anger” by MC Sayed appeared on the two-year anniversary of the Egyptian uprising. These clumsy subtitles are part of our effort to facilitate intercontinental communication.

 

The criticisms of the black bloc in Egypt are all too familiar. Those who have more privilege and power than you accuse you of being spoiled rich kids. Those who are not willing to run the same risks accuse you of cowardice. Those who have different goals than you complain that you are not strategic. Those for whom democracy means the amplification of their own voices insist that you should submit to majority rule in order to silence you. Those who depend on foreign military aid, who bow to foreign political pressure in selling out the people of Egypt, accuse you of importing foreign tactics. You are blamed for the violence of the police, when the police are always precisely as violent as they have to be to maintain their supremacy, and their ongoing violence is only visible because you resist it. Above all, authorities of all kinds do everything they can to isolate you from others who might resist.

 


To the Egyptian Black Bloc

from “black bloc anarchists” in the US

You strike the note—it sounds in us.

It is an honor to address you on account of your courage in the struggle still unfolding in Egypt.

For a decade and a half, we have participated in black bloc actions in the US and elsewhere around the world. Of course, we do not represent anyone or anything; the black bloc is a tactic, not a group—that is what makes it so frightening to our rulers. But on the basis of our experience with this tactic, we would like to share some of our perspectives in hopes of establishing a more explicit intercontinental dialogue.

We have already been in a kind of dialogue with you, exchanging signals of revolt across the ocean. We’ve circulated reports of your struggle here, and now we are seeing photos and videos of our actions appear in youtube collages from Egypt. But we want more dialogue than youtube collages allow. We want to be able to discuss strategy as well as tactics, and goals as well as strategy.

First and foremost: you are not alone. You are part of a struggle against oppressive power that is taking place all over the world. The same economy that is plundering Egypt wrecks our lives and land here in the US; the same networks of armed force that tear-gas you in Cairo maintain “order” in New York City. If we are to win anything in this struggle, we can only do so internationally.

It is embarrassing that it took us so long to address you in Arabic—that shows how unprepared we are for the opportunities history is offering. But that may change quickly in the coming years. It will have to.

We have gained our experience with black bloc tactics under what you might call adverse conditions—as a small minority acting against a stable power structure, without much support from the rest of society. The black bloc evolved in that context, and it is interesting to see it appear in a situation of more generalized revolt.

Indeed, the longevity of the black bloc surprises everyone; over and over it has been pronounced dead, yet it keeps coming back. This is because, like Anonymous, it expresses the spirit of our times. In an era when tremendous disparities are maintained by surveillance and policing, any meaningful movement is bound to involve anonymity and clashes with the authorities.

The black bloc is important because it gives that anonymity and antagonism a political content: it ties specific struggles against oppression to the possibility of a generalized struggle against all oppressive power. It is a coup to “brand” anonymous collective confrontation with the authorities as anarchist—this means that everyone who stands up for himself against the authorities must ask, sooner or later, what his relationship to others’ struggles is.

It is fitting that the black bloc emerged in Egypt on the two-year anniversary of an uprising that only replaced one tyranny with another. The problems caused by capitalism and government cannot be solved by a mere change of regimes. It will take a struggle from the ground up—the emergence of social formations that can defend themselves against government and capitalism. This is not a matter of addressing demands to those in power, and it is not something that can be won simply by attacking presidential palaces. It requires us to oppose the structures of domination everywhere they appear, shifting our strategy from mere protest to the assertion of another way of life.

The criticisms of the black bloc in Egypt are all too familiar to us—we have watched reactionaries read from this same script since 1999. You are blamed for the violence of the police, when the police are always precisely as violent as they have to be to maintain their supremacy, and their ongoing violence is only visible because you resist it. Those who have more privilege and power than you accuse you of being spoiled rich kids. Those who are not willing to run the same risks accuse you of cowardice. Those who have different goals than you complain that you are not strategic. Those for whom democracy means the amplification of their own voices insist that you should submit to majority rule in order to silence you. Those who depend on foreign military aid, who bow to foreign political pressure in selling out the people of Egypt, accuse you of importing foreign tactics. Above all, authorities of all kinds do everything they can to isolate you from others who might resist.

Indeed, in our experience, this is the greatest risk in using the black bloc tactic: in giving an identity to anonymity and struggle, it offers the authorities an opportunity to make an “other” out of us, to quarantine our revolt and our ideas. It is a mistake to view ourselves as separate from the rest of society. The black bloc is powerful and dangerous only so long as it remains a space of revolt that anyone can flow into—the tip of the iceberg of something much broader. Our rulers do not fear anarchists—they fear that anarchist values and practices will spread.

It is important not to impose a dichotomy between being honest about our goals and participating in movements larger than us. On one hand, we must be clear that we reject all forms of domination; if we do not, everyone will have to learn again and again how little police and the poverty they impose change from one government to the next. This is why we should not hide our values under the same vague banner of “democracy” that disguises others’ hunger for power: doing so only legitimizes the structures that will be used against us later. But at the same time, we have to maintain the openness that enables tactics and ideas to circulate. Anarchism is not an identity, it has no meaning in isolation; it is a relationship that must spread.

In the United States, anarchists have erred on both sides of this dichotomy. Often, we have served as shock troops and free labor for liberal causes, taking great risks to advance their agendas while failing to act on our own analysis. We hoped this would connect us to the rest of society, but connections that depend on us hiding our values are meaningless.

Other times, anarchists have acted as though we could accomplish our goals on our own, winding up in a private grudge match with the state that everyone else assumed had nothing to do with them. Certainly, we can’t wait for mass consensus to begin our project of revolt; we can only find others in revolt by rising up ourselves—but the point is to find others. Over and over, we’ve thought our own dreams too wild to propose, only to see other people enacting them spontaneously. In fact, the time is ripe for us to advance our proposals: capitalism is in crisis around the world, and soon billions will have to choose between totalitarianism and the kind of freedom no government can provide.

If it is true that the state cannot solve our problems, all who wish to wield its authority will discredit themselves once they assume power. The sooner all the Muslim Brotherhoods of the world associate themselves with the state the better: this will clarify things for those who do not yet understand why anyone would be an anarchist. When the opposition parties join the rulers in telling everyone to get out of the street and the streets remain full, this suggests that people are catching on. In this situation, anarchists could help turn regime change into social revolution, a full-scale transformation of everyday life.

The US government needs Egypt to have a government with whom to coordinate the resource extraction necessary for global capitalism. The black bloc scares them because it is not legible in their conception of politics—it offers no one to negotiate with. They want to bring all the political parties into “dialogue” in order to map everything in their structures of power; we want to take the struggle out of the hands of political parties entirely, establishing dialogue among people rather than with parties or governments. We seek to spread struggles in which we communicate with and inspire others directly, as you have inspired us.

We will continue this dialogue in the most meaningful way we can—by continuing to challenge the power structures here in the United States, which underpin those in Egypt and elsewhere around the world. But if any of you can send us reports from your struggles, or translate materials between English and Arabic, we would be glad to hear from you. May we meet in the streets of a stateless world.

rollingthunder @ crimethinc.com

Further Reading

10 Points on the Black Bloc [Video]
Introduction to the Black Bloc
Black Bloc Safety and Fashion Guide
Debate about Black Bloc Tactics

من “الأناركيين البلاك بلوك” في الولايات المتحدة

تدقون النغمة – فيتردد صداها فينا

إنه لشرف لنا أن نخاطبكم نظرا لشجاعتكم في النضال الذي مازال مفتوحا في مصر.
لقد شاركنا لمدة عِقد ونصف في أعمال البلاك بلوك في الولايات المتحدة وفي غيرها من البلدان حول العالم. بالطبع نحن لا نمثل أحدا ما أو جهة ما؛ فالبلاك بلوك طريقة وليست جماعة – وهذا ما يجعلها مخيفة جدا لحكامنا. لكن بناء على خبرتنا مع هذه الطريقة، نود أن نشارككم بعضا من وجهات نظرنا على أمل تأسيس حوار أكثر وضوحا ما بين القارات.
لقد كنا بالفعل في نوع من الحوار معكم؛ متبادلين إشارات الثورة عبر المحيط. لقد وزعنا تقارير عن نضالكم هنا، والآن نرى صورا وفيديوهات لأعمالنا تظهر في مقاطع على اليوتيوب من مصر. لكننا نريد حوارا أكثر مما تسمح به مقاطع اليوتيوب. إننا نريد أن نتمكن من مناقشة الاستراتيجية بنفس القدر الذي نريد أن نناقش به التكتيكات، وأن نناقش الأهداف بنفس القدر الذي نناقش به الاستراتيجية.
أولا وأخيرا : أنتم لستم وحدكم. أنتم جزء من نضال ضد القوى القمعية يحدث في كل أنحاء العالم. فالاقتصاد الذي ينهب مصر يدمر حياتنا وأرضنا هنا في الولايات المتحدة، ونفس شبكات القوات المسلحة التي تلقي عليكم بقنابل الغاز المسيل للدموع في القاهرة هي التي تحفظ “النظام” في مدينة نيويورك. إذا كان لنا أن نفوز بأي شيء في هذا النضال، فلن يمكننا أن نفعل ذلك إلا دوليا.
إنه لشيء مخجل أن استغرقنا كل هذا الوقت الطويل لمخاطبتكم بالعربية؛ وهو الأمر الذي يكشف كم أننا غير مستعدين للفرص التي يقدمها لنا التاريخ. لكن من المحتمل أن يتغير هذا بسرعة في السنوات القادمة. لابد وأن يحدث هذا.
لقد اكتسبنا خبرتنا بتكتيكات البلاك بلوك تحت ما يمكن أن تسموه بالظروف المعاكسة؛ باعتبارنا أقلية صغيرة تعمل ضد بنية قوة مستقرة، ودون دعم كبير من بقية المجتمع. تطورت البلاك بلوك في هذا السياق، ومن المثير رؤيتها تظهر في موقف ثوري أكثر عمومية.
بالفعل يدهش طول عمر البلاك بلوك الجميع؛ فمرة بعد أخرى يتم الإعلان عن وفاتها، لكنها تستمر في العودة من جديد. ذلك لأنها – مثل مجموعة أنونيموس (المجهولون : وهم مجموعة مستقلة عبر الإنترنت تناضل عبر الاختراق البرامجي) – تعبر عن روح زماننا. في عصر يتم الحفاظ فيه على الفوارق الهائلة عن طريق المراقبة والشرطة، تكون أي حركة لها معنى مضطرة إلى التزام إخفاء الهوية والصدامات مع السلطات.
البلاك بلوك مهمة لأنها تعطي لهذه المجهولية والعداء محتوى سياسيا : فهي تربط نضالات معينة ضد القمع بإمكانية نضال عام ضد كل القوى القمعية. إنها ضربة موفقة أن “نَسِمَ” المواجهة الجماعية مجهولة الأسماء مع السلطات بالأناركية – فهذا يعني أن كل من يقف لمصلحة ذاته ضد السلطات يجب أن يتساءل – عاجلا أو آجلا – ما هي علاقته بنضالات الآخرين.
إنه من المناسب أن ظهرت حركة البلاك بلوك في مصر في الذكرى الثانية لثورة استبدلت فقط حكما استبداديا بآخر. إن المشكلات التي سببتها الرأسمالية والحكومة لا يمكن أن يحلها مجرد تغيير للأنظمة. سيتطلب الأمر نضالا من أسفل إلى أعلى – بظهور تشكيلات اجتماعية يمكنها الدفاع عن نفسها ضد الحكومة والرأسمالية. الأمر ليس له علاقة بتوجيه طلبات لمن هم في السلطة، ولا هو شيء يمكن الفوز به ببساطة عن طريق مهاجمة القصور الرئاسية. يتطلب الأمر منا مقاومة كل كيانات الهيمنة في كل مكان تظهر فيه، وتغيير استراتيجيتنا من مجرد احتجاج إلى تأكيد شكل آخر للحياة.
إن الانتقادات التي توجه إلى البلاك بلوك في مصر مألوفة بشكل زائد عن اللزوم لنا – لقد شاهدنا رجعيين يقرؤون من نفس السيناريو منذ عام 1999. أنتم تُلامون على عنف الشرطة، في الوقت الذي يكون فيه رجال الشرطة عنيفين كما يجب أن يكونوا بالضبط ليحافظوا على تفوقهم، وعنفهم المستمر يظهر للعيان فقط لأنكم تقاومونه. هؤلاء الذين يملكون امتيازات وقوة أكثر منكم يتهمونكم بأنكم عيال أثرياء مدللون. هؤلاء الذين هم غير راغبين في التعرض لنفس المخاطرات يتهمونكم بالجبن. هؤلاء الذين لديهم أهداف مختلفة عنكم يشتكون من أنكم غير استراتيجيين. هؤلاء الذين تعني الديمقراطية لهم تضخيم أصواتهم يصرون على أنكم يجب أن تخضعوا لحكم الأغلبية لكي يسكتوكم. هؤلاء الذين يعتمدون على المساعدات العسكرية الأجنبية، والذين ينحنون أمام الضغوط السياسية الأجنبية لبيع شعب مصر، يتهمونكم باستيراد تكتيكات أجنبية. قبل كل شيء، تفعل السلطات من كل نوع كل ما يمكنها فعله لعزلكم عن الآخرين الذين من المحتمل أن يشتركوا في المقاومة.
في الحقيقة ومن خلال خبرتنا، تلك هي المخاطرة الأكبر في استخدام تكتيك البلاك بلوك : أي في إعطاء هوية للمجهولية والنضال، فهذا يقدم للسلطات فرصة أن يجعلوا منا “آخر”، أن يحجروا على ثورتنا وأفكارنا. إنه لمن الخطأ أن نرى أنفسنا كجزء منفصل عن بقية المجتمع. تظل البلاك بلوك قوية وخطيرة طالما ظلت مساحة للثورة يمكن لأي شخص أن يدخل في غمارها – قمة جبل الجليد لشيء أكثر اتساعا بكثير. إن حكامنا لا يخافون الأناركيين – إنهم يخافون من أن تنتشر القيم والممارسات الأناركية.
من المهم ألا نفرض انقساما بين كوننا صادقين مع أهدافنا وبين المشاركة في حركات أكبر منا. من ناحية يجب أن نكون واضحين بشأن رفضنا لكل أشكال الهيمنة، إذا لم نفعل ذلك سيضطر الجميع لأن يتعلموا مرة بعد أخرى كيف أن الشرطة والفقر الذي تفرضه نادرا ما يتغيران من حكومة إلى الحكومة التي تليها. هذا هو السبب في أننا لا ينبغي أن نخفي قيمنا تحت نفس لافتة “الديمقراطية” المبهمة التي يتنكر وراءها جوع الآخرين للسلطة؛ فلن يؤدي هذا إلا إلى إضفاء الشرعية على الهياكل التي ستُستخدم ضدنا فيما بعد. لكن في نفس الوقت يجب أن نحافظ على الانفتاح الذي سيمكِّن تكتيكاتنا وأفكارنا من أن تنتشر. الأناركية ليست هوية، وليس لها معنى في حالة العزلة، إنها علاقة يجب أن تنتشر.
لقد أخطأ الأناركيون في الولايات المتحدة على كلا الناحيتين لهذا الانقسام. لقد عملنا كثيرا كقوات صدامية وعمال مجانيين للقضايا الليبرالية، وخضنا مخاطر هائلة للدفع بأجنداتهم قدما مع فشلنا في العمل وفقا لتحليلاتنا الخاصة. كنا نأمل أن يؤدي هذا إلى ربطنا ببقية المجتمع، لكن الروابط التي تعتمد على كوننا نخفي قيمنا هي روابط بلا معنى.
في أوقات أخرى عمل الأناركيون كما لو كان بإمكاننا أن نحقق أهدافنا بالاعتماد على أنفسنا فقط، وانتهى الأمر بنا إلى مباراة خاصة في الضغينة مع الدولة رأى كل من هم خارجها أن لا شأن لهم بها. بالتأكيد لا يمكننا انتظار الإجماع الجماهيري حتى نبدأ مشروع ثورتنا، فلا يمكننا أن نجد آخرين في الثورة معنا إلا بأن نثور بأنفسنا – لكن المهم هو أن نجد آخرين. لقد اعتقدنا مرارا وتكرارا أن أحلامنا أكثر جرأة من أن نعرضها، فقط لنرى أناسا آخرين يفعلونها بشكل عفوي. في الحقيقة لقد حان الوقت لنا كي نقدم مقترحاتنا : إن الرأسمالية في أزمة في كل أنحاء العالم، وقريبا سيضطر المليارات من البشر للاختيار ما بين الشمولية وما بين ذلك النوع من الحرية الذي لا تستطيع أي حكومة أن تقدمه.
إذا كان صحيحا أن الدولة لا تستطيع أن تحل مشاكلنا، فإن كل من يتمنون ممارسة سلطتها سيفقدون مصداقيتهم بمجرد أن يتولوا هذه السلطة. كلما أسرع جميع الإخوان المسلمين في العالم نحو ربط أنفسهم بالدولة كلما كان ذلك أفضل : سيوضح هذا الأمور لهؤلاء الذين لم يفهموا بعد لماذا يصبح المرء أناركيا. عندما تنضم أحزاب المعارضة إلى الحكام في دعوة الجميع لمغادرة الشارع وتظل الشوارع مملوءة فهذا يشير إلى أن الناس بدأوا يدركون الفكرة. في هذا الموقف يمكن للأناركيين أن يسهموا في تحويل تغير النظام إلى ثورة اجتماعية، إلى تحول كامل في الحياة اليومية.
تحتاج حكومة الولايات المتحدة إلى أن تكون لدى مصر حكومة تنسق معها استخراج الموارد الضرورية للرأسمالية العالمية. وتخيفهم البلاك بلوك لأنها ليست واضحة في مفهومهم عن السياسة – فهي لا تقدم أحدا يمكن التفاوض معه. إنهم يريدون أن يجمعوا كل الأحزاب السياسية في “حوار” لكي يرسموا خريطة تفصيلية لكل شيء في هياكل سطوتهم؛ إننا نريد أن ننتزع النضال من أيدي الأحزاب السياسية بشكل كامل، مؤسسين لحوار بين الناس بدلا من الحوار مع الأحزاب أو الحكومات. نحن نسعى لنشر نضالات نتواصل فيها مع الآخرين ونلهمهم بشكل مباشر، مثلما ألهمتمونا أنتم.
سنتابع هذا الحوار بأكثر طريقة لها معنى يمكننا إياها؛ وذلك بالاستمرار في تحدي هياكل القوة هنا في الولايات المتحدة، والتي تدعم مثيلتها في مصر وفي أماكن أخرى حول العالم. لكن إذا كان يمكن لأي أحد منكم أن يرسل إلينا تقارير من نضالاتكم، أو يترجم موادا بين الإنجليزية والعربية، فسيسعدنا أن نتواصل معكم. على أمل بأن نلتقي في شوارع عالم بلا دولة.

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Comments

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

this is one of the most embarrassing things that crimethinc has ever done.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

why?

Submitted by anonymous on

Because - as it says in the text - it took them almost two weeks to translate this into Arabic!

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

Your point is still unclear. The text itself is embarrassing or it is embarrassing it took them two weeks to translate it? If the latter, do you think most anarchists know someone who is sympathetic to black bloc tactics, a secure person to work with, fluent in Arabic, and willing to spend time on something like this? My guess is that such a person is hard to come by. And a Google translation doesn't cut it.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

This is why I dont talk shit on crimethinc anymore. This is fucking solid and much needed.
Thanks for still doing it yall. and getting better!

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

agreed. piece was solid. Crimethinc gets better all the time. Keep up the great work!

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

If people are gonna criticize CrimethInc., can they please give a *legitimate* reason why?

Jesus fucking christ, it's been 13 years now, think of SOMETHING half way decent please?

Or, like they have said themselves - OUT DO US!

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

really it's been like almost 20 years. whatever they do some dumb motherfucker hates on it. they must be doing something right.

Submitted by yep (not verified) on

no kidding. folks spend too much time trying to feel smarter or more "revolutionary", often failing to describe or out do(as it were) how they are bringing the revolution. crimethinc changed my life, and i owe them a lot. so fuck the haters. at least they're trying

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

A reasonable critique of crimethinc is that even when the text has a lot of good potential,such as this one, there is never a moment without some sort of condescending "we have been doing this for a long time and are knowledge-holders so pay attention" tone. It becomes less dialogue and more instructional.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

On the contrary, this text focuses on the experiences anarchists have had using the black bloc in the US, which seems totally appropriate.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

considering that anyone who stays in the anarchist movement in the u.s. for more than 2 years is considered a "veteran," i don't blame anyone who's been at it for more than 5 for having a condescending tone. after watching the same cycles of activism, repression, movement building, autonomous actions, etc play out over and over again, it's hard to be continually needing to make the same points to new folks over and over and over, only to be met with the attitude of "why should we listen to you?" mad props to crimethinc, and others, for sticking with it.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

Really? I get a 'condescending tone' from most of the academic-sounding insurrectionary texts, not from CrimethInc's work.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

haha. ever read foucault? now THATS a fucking condescending bastard! <3

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

i read foucault aloud to the mirror, imagining that i am foucault, condescending to myself

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

i think the problem is that they sound like they're giving advice to the black bloc. which is stupid. given that the egyptian bb know a hell of a lot more about revolution than we do. we should be taking advice from them.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

The thing I've heard repeatedly from people in Egypt this past month is that it seems like no one anywhere else in the world is paying attention. I think this is good because it at least makes it clear that they're not on their own. Maybe the best way to show that we take the BB folks over there seriously is to enter into a serious dialog with them on the basis of our experiences. Adding explicit discussion to the resonance of gestures can only help in my book.

Egypt and the States really aren't as different as all that. They're different, but we're seeing the same tactics and questions and problems all over the world now.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

One more thought on this. The whole Arabic-speaking world is watching Egypt right now, even if most people in the US are not. So a letter like this isn't just directed at the crews in Al-Ahlawy but at people everywhere from Morocco to, say, Indonesia who are currently in discussions about what kind of struggles make sense for them. If other people's eyes are on the US, like the videos from BB Cairo suggest (if you hadn't already put that together), the least we can do is make an honest effort to communicate with them about what we are thinking here and what our conclusions are from doing these things that have ended up as video clips.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

It's mostly only theocrats who read Arabic in Indonesia.

The more you know!

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

Yeah, but Indonesia has an increasingly strong anarchist movement (with some English speakers) and could be an important launchpad for struggles in that part of the world.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

do you not see how this sounds paternalistic? like...let me tell you kids how this stuff works.

lots of people i've talked to were turned off by this piece for that reason.

i do like a correspondence on this with egypt would be awesome. nor is there anything wrong with sharing experience. it's a tone thing.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

i had a similar reaction initially when i read the title ("oh great,....") but i thought this was really well done, and didnt find it paternalistic at all. All of the things talked about in this piece are indeed hard learned lessons we re still learning in our own context, and i think thats pretty clear. Whats more, many of them are directly pulled from experiences with the bloc that are being directly cited in media by egyptians right now - i really don't think its paternalistic to take a step past the video spectacle and talk about some of the real life successes and failures we ve had that make up the substance of those video images.

But perhaps im reading the tone here differently? Could you be more specific?

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

yeah, some people can get alienated by just about anything. those people tend to become a certain kind of anarchist.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

We have different experiences, we should be sharing them in a two-way dialogue. This text is clearly one attempt at opening up such a dialogue; if it produces any response, then we can start taking advice directly from them. And I don't think it's that stupid to talk about the Egyptian black bloc taking advice from foreigners, when the tactic appearing in Egypt is the result of them paying attention to international struggles in the first place.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

do people send "advice" to other countries? would people give "advice" to greek anarchists? if your answer is no, then you might have a problem with a colonialist mentality.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

I give advice to Greek anarchists all the time. Who doesn't give their friends advice? Assholes I guess. I don't really think this piece has anything to do with advice. It seems more like a "Hello, over there!" kinda thing.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

actually, greeks have invitted repeatedly anarchists from all over the world , including the US, to participate in discussions and give lectures in greece. so, um yeah. and vice versa, theyve come over here and talked about their experiences. anarchists have always done this, for centuries literally. the fact that shit is kicking off in one place doesnt mean people in other places dont have something to contribute in dialogue, or that such dialogue is automatically condescending.

nor is necessarily colonialist for someone in the us to write some ideas to some folks in cairo, any more than folks in cairo adopting a "western" tactic is them exhibiting some kind of reactionary internalized colonial ambition....Anarchism has always had this kind of complicated but inspiring international exchange. It can be done in ways that are fucked, but i hardly think this letter represents an example of that.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

The piece shares some pretty crucial experiences and lessons learned, some things id pay a lot of money to be able to send back in time to myself and my crew in 1999 or so. I guess one could think of this as advice, but its not mandatory or paternalistic - the tone is reflective about north american experiences, and nowhere in the piece does it prioritize interpreting the egyptian context from afar. Nowhere here is anyone being told what to do - it discusses experiences in the US and whatever people in the somewhat similar, somewhat different context of Egypt decide to do with these reflections is up to them.

Yes, the egyptians clearly no "advice" on how to be courageous or intelligent in their own context, from north americans. But they ARE choosing to adopt a tactic from the north american and european theaters, suggesting several things: 1) the differences between egypt and our own worlds are not so great as we may think 2) this tactic we ve been experimenting with for decades over here has resonance elsewhere 3) the egyptians are directly referencing specific uses of the bloc in non middleeastern contexts (pittsburgh, seattle, oakland commune, Germany and Italy, Spain, Greece) 4) the experiences and lessons we ve learned and mistakes we ve made with this tactic in these contexts may ALSO have resonance, and be welcome.

i doubt anyone is at risk of taking this letter as gospel; im guessing that if egyptians (and others new to the bloc) read it, they ll take some things as useful, others as irrelevant or tangental at best, and still others will seem wrong or irrelevant now but in a few years might seem highly insightful.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

The piece shares some pretty crucial experiences and lessons learned, some things id pay a lot of money to be able to send back in time to myself and my crew in 1999 or so. I guess one could think of this as "advice," but its not mandatory or paternalistic - the tone is reflective about north american experiences, and nowhere in the piece does it prioritize interpreting the egyptian context from afar. Nowhere here is anyone being told what to do - it discusses experiences in the US and whatever people in the somewhat similar, somewhat different context of Egypt decide to do with these reflections is up to them.

Yes, the egyptians clearly need no "advice" on how to be courageous or intelligent in their own context, from north americans. But they ARE choosing to adopt a tactic from the north american and european theaters, suggesting several things: 1) the differences between egypt and our own worlds are not so great as we may think 2) this tactic we ve been experimenting with for decades over here has resonance elsewhere 3) the egyptians are directly referencing specific uses of the bloc in non middleeastern contexts (pittsburgh, seattle, oakland commune, Germany and Italy, Spain, Greece) 4) the experiences and lessons we ve learned and mistakes we ve made with this tactic in these contexts may ALSO have resonance, and be welcome.

i doubt anyone is at risk of taking this letter as gospel; im guessing that if egyptians (and others new to the bloc) read it, they ll take some things as useful, others as irrelevant or tangental at best, and still others will seem wrong or irrelevant now but in a few years might seem highly insightful.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

The piece shares some pretty crucial experiences and lessons learned, some things id pay a lot of money to be able to send back in time to myself and my crew in 1999 or so. I guess one could think of this as "advice," but its not mandatory or paternalistic - the tone is reflective about north american experiences, and nowhere in the piece does it prioritize interpreting the egyptian context from afar. Nowhere here is anyone being told what to do - it discusses experiences in the US and whatever people in the somewhat similar, somewhat different context of Egypt decide to do with these reflections is up to them.

Yes, the egyptians clearly need no "advice" on how to be courageous or intelligent in their own context, from north americans. But they ARE choosing to adopt a tactic from the north american and european theaters, suggesting several things: 1) the differences between egypt and our own worlds are not so great as we may think 2) this tactic we ve been experimenting with for decades over here has resonance elsewhere 3) the egyptians are directly referencing specific uses of the bloc in non middleeastern contexts (pittsburgh, seattle, oakland commune, Germany and Italy, Spain, Greece) 4) the experiences and lessons we ve learned and mistakes we ve made with this tactic in these contexts may ALSO have resonance, and be welcome.

i doubt anyone is at risk of taking this letter as gospel; im guessing that if egyptians (and others new to the bloc) read it, they ll take some things as useful, others as irrelevant or tangental at best, and still others will seem wrong or irrelevant now but in a few years might seem highly insightful.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

three times

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

I would be interested in listening to their advice, but I'm not sure it's true that they're in a way better position that us or that they've got things way more figured out.

It's not as if giving-advice is some kind of authoritarian gesture that is always incredibly rude or presumptuous. They don't have to listen, they don't even have to read this document...

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

Personally, I think this is awesome. Why hasn't anyone else done something like this yet?

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

this is cool, but are there any translations of texts from bb egypt?

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

That's a german translation of a statement from the european Fédération Anarchiste to egyptians.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

dang.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

FOR a UNITED FRONT against the MAIN ENEMY (pacifist reformers)

Signed - one whose identity is tied up with a more-radical-than-thou bunch of black Borg assholes

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

"The Black Borg Assholes" sounds like an excellent band name to me.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

dibs!

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

I think there are a couple factors that shape what this letter is trying to do that this comment thread mostly isn't taking into account, that make any sort of dialogue with the Egyptian black bloc a difficult task.

For one, translation is difficult - many of the concepts we ve been trying to develop or understand in our own contexts might, i could imagine, be hard to translate both linguistically and culturally to the egyptian world. Really, I have no idea, but i can imagine some things might be difficult to get across.

For that reason, its really not a surprise that the biggest contribution "we" ve made to the egyptian rev has at this point been, if you break it down, a series of images: a dumpster rolling towards a police line in pittsburgh, a greek comrade shooting fireworks, oakland kids in black masks smashing a bank, black flags, guy fawkes masks (sorry...), etc. And so the tactic of the black bloc has spread, but its somewhat unclear how much of the political substance behind it has travelled along with it. Obviously shit changes when the context is different, but i think this overwhelming world of images makes it all the more necessary to make explicit links that (re)politicize the tactic and offer an explicit framing of where it came from and where its been going. One can read this as paternalistic advice, or a poor tone to set, but im willing to bet there are many, many now considering bloccing up for the first time in Egypt, whose ONLY context for this tactic is a 30 second youtube clip. Taking the risk to provide some of the lessons and analysis folks here have learned from this tactic, in a direct effort at dialogue in arabic, even at the risk of appearing paternalistic, seems preferable to letting youtube and CNN speak for us. And im willing to bet that a lot of folks in cairo, port saeyd, etc, will be excited to read this attempt at dialogue and contextualization, even if they disagree with parts of it. Hopefully they see fit to respond.

Another problem here, aside from issues of translation and spectacle, is that the bloc there doesn't seem to be composed only or primarily of anarchists or even antiauthoritarians, in the way it tends to be in the US and Europe. The tactic has largely been catalyzed by the ultras, some of whom are affiliated or have affinity with anarchist ideas, but whose connections with the political tradition are often tenuous. Liberals, trotskyists, apolitical but angry folks, have also joined in - at this point its reported that street vendors are selling or giving away black masks to everyone.

This generalization is obvously exciting in some ways, but it presents a bit of an obstacle for a piece like this, in that the piece is pretty clearly drawing on a specifically anarchist analysis of the successes and failures of a tactic that in Egypt has blown up way beyond anarchists. So part of the intent here, from what i can tell, is to not just reflect on north american experiences but to intentionally and consciously paint this tactic as reflecting anarchist aspirations. This makes it a more aggressive approach, but i get why the authors would go that route: the parts about the bloc resisting political legibility, avoiding both lowest common denominator populism as well as isolation, etc....Some people are perhaps reading this letter as paternalistic for these reasons; i dont agree, but i also sympathize with the difficult line being walked here. On the one hand, nobody "owns" this tactic - on the other hand, if the spread of the bloc doesn't actually enable the spread of anarchist ideas and practices, or (worse) just serves as protest security for liberals, then what is the fucking point, from our point of view?

This aspect of the letter may very well be written off by large segments of the revolutionaries in egypt, who may wish to appropriate this now popular tactic without addressing the "baggage" of an ideology whose anti authoritarianism and anticapitalism they find inconvenient to their own visions. But i would argue that is why this aspect of the Letter is all the more necessary, to support those in the bloc who ARE anarchists, and wish to connect themselves explicitly to an international movement whose ideas they find useful in the egyptian world. Whether or not this letter accomplishes this task, or just opens the door, or fails to even do that, is up to the reader to decide - hopefully others in the US and Europe will regardless continue to attempt this kind of dialogue, translate it to arabic, and spread it around the middle east. If nothing else, the failures in tone or analysis or humility of this piece might at least be a spark for better efforts.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

Yeah, and they got there first, once again.

What I would personally like to see is a critical discussion from us US anarchists about the arguments summed up in this article. It seems like one year we're all about promoting the black bloc, then we're anti-identity and anti-bloc, then people in Egypt do it and we get excited about it again. What gives?

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

i think this is a good point. specifically this text seems to try to take an opportunity , in this case being the rise of the bloc, to introduce more dialogue with egyptian anarchists. The dialogue is what is important, and i think the piece does acknowledge, albeit briefly, some of the potential pitfalls of this tactic (the whole section on being quarantined, on the identity component, etc.) The aspects that hold potential here are not the act of wearing identical black clothing -which btw the egyptians dont actually seem that good at, based on the pix ive seen....-but some of the political and strategic questions underpinning the use of the tactic.

Perhaps one reason for the fickle enthusiasm you draw attention to is the use of the tactic in a very different, very "generalized" context?

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

Only idiots desperate to imitate Tiqqun without understanding it conflated the critique of identity with being anti-bloc. See, for example, the laughable Applied Non-existence, which finally made good on its name. The black bloc IS a "zone of offensive opacity" and was in fact the inspiration for the concept. Anarchists in the street never abandoned the bloc tactic, as displayed everywhere in the US where exciting and interesting things happened in the street.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

Cuz the usefulness of any subversive practice is directly tied to how far it can be generalized and spread, and the black bloc in the US felt like it had reached the limits of how widely it could be taken up, so people were losing interest in it, then people in Egypt started doing it and that showed there was some potential for it to spread further after all?

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

the question is...

does it still have any usefulness in the us?

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

I think that just depends on a whole array of other factors, that arent really about the bloc itself. The tactic keeps dying down and resurging (think anti glove to anti war to austerity/occupy eras) in part because it seems to hit a limit, but then the context shifts and new people can flow into it. A new sea for the sharks to swim in...

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

Haven't read it yet but after noticing the multiple people coming into the Egyptian solidarity event pages from Egypt and asking for help/attention/thoughts from people outside Egypt all I have to say is WELL PLAYED and THANK YOU Crimethinc!

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

Last week there were about 10 or so solidarity actions for the egyptian anarchists around the world. There were FB event pages and other posts that egyptians were commenting on

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

k thx i was confused. hopefully folks spread this letter via the FB and whatnots tooo

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

"The criticisms of the black bloc in Egypt are all too familiar. Those who have more privilege and power than you accuse you of being spoiled rich kids. Those who are not willing to run the same risks accuse you of cowardice. Those who have different goals than you complain that you are not strategic. Those for whom democracy means the amplification of their own voices insist that you should submit to majority rule in order to silence you. Those who depend on foreign military aid, who bow to foreign political pressure in selling out the people of Egypt, accuse you of importing foreign tactics. You are blamed for the violence of the police, when the police are always precisely as violent as they have to be to maintain their supremacy, and their ongoing violence is only visible because you resist it. Above all, authorities of all kinds do everything they can to isolate you from others who might resist."

yessss!

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

Those of you who find this piece embarrassing or colonialist for giving advice to Egyptian black blocers, how do you feel about this one:

"Given that the previous five steps have been taken, it is absolutely imperative that the following message be transmitted to our comrades in Egypt:

None of us will succeed unless you physically destroy the Pyramids of Giza. We understand the importance these relics have for those employed in the tourist industry and the resistance they would put up to defend them. But that is precisely why they must be destroyed. These archaic monstrosities, built by slaves, have absorbed an inordinate amount of attention and energy. Egypt has suffered from numerous foreign occupations due in no small part to our enemies fixation on what they represent: TOTAL CONTROL. All invaders have sought to claim the pyramids as their own. What we find most disturbing, however, is the fixation that contemporary wage-slaves have in regards to these disgusting temples. If you can convince the population of Cairo to destroy these relics of tyranny and slavery, we win. In no uncertain terms, this is the final task. Cross the river with pickaxes in your hands. Head south along the Nile until you reach Al-Ahram and then follow that road south-west all the way to the sands of Giza. Climb to the top of the three pyramids and begin chipping away at what remains of their tips. If you can do this, if you can convince the slaves to not only hate but to destroy the temples of the masters, you will have won the war. The world may continue to crumble, but you will have committed the crime that contains all other crimes. Have courage, friends, and prepare yourselves for what we all must do, everywhere. The pyramids have persisted through time and so have we. Our time is now. Do what must be done. Now. Go. "

http://anarchistinternational.org/wordpress/?page_id=190

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

DEAR CRIMETHINC:

I feel like what might be really helpful right now is if you released suggestions here in the US pertaining to the best way of going about getting complicated/detailed texts like these translated into Arabic, so that more of us could have an easier time joining the dialogue.

So, if, for example, it really does just take luck in knowing an individual who's skill and interest in the subject match up, that would be good to know. Alternately if you have experience with a a particular organization or institution that can get the job done, likewise this would be handy.

Thanks

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

^^^^^^^^^^^^^written from a mental institution................................

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

Good question.

First, we tried the graduate students. But they were sort of wishy-washy about the whole thing, and never finished what they took on (probably they had academic work that took priority). Then, we tried the undergraduates. They were more enthusiastic, and to our complete surprise did what they said they would do, but they didn't have much experience, and it showed (see video captioning). All along, we'd been trying our own international networks, which usually serve us, but this time they didn't.

In fact--and this was instructive, and reminds us of the importance of a certain open-ended strategic orientation we've had to learn over and over--in the end it was just acquaintances, friends overseas of friends here from outside our political contacts, who took this on, viewing it as important and historic work.

So in sum, as always, take yourself seriously and stop at nothing. With enough people you can do anything, and you probably already know those people. There are no easy answers, but the answer is--it's possible.

There, you got your question answered--in a comments section on a-news, no less! Next up: snowfall in hell.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

Get help.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

The comments on this post seem like total non sequiturs. Is this the result of some moderator deleting a comment and then the nesting getting fucked up?

Anyway - good answer from CrimethInc.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

Ask the Egyptian black blocers what they think about Israelis. I reckon their answers won't be very.. uh.. 'libertarian'.

Of course, neither are the answers by most Euro and American leftists and anarchists...

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

Yeah, that's why I don't support struggles by black folks in the US, either. I can already guess that their politics are anti-Semitic without even talking with them.

I'm being sarcastic, but you... IGTT 2/10.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

Wait. wait. hold on. is it really...hold on everybody, i think we may have spotted that rare endangered species on our comment forum....THE ANTI DEUTSCH! Wow i thought all yall died out! Still bummed that the entire international anarchist milieu basically decided that you were completely batshit crazy about that whole, "Destroy All Nations, But Israel Last", waving american and israeli flags at antifa demos, ending communiques with love for george bush, thing? Sorry about that....

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

I hate those people! I went to Germany and even radical spaces and squats reaked of guilt. People argued with me about a kaffiyeh and had posters saying 'Fight for Israel.'

I said they looked like fascists.

Apparently germans nae appreciate that.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

I love the anti-Deutsch, cos their politics may be shit, but they cause endless rage in shitty leftists. Yeah, I'd like it if everyone just came to their senses and adopted internationalist anarchist/communist positions, but as long as people continue to fetishise nationalist struggles in the name of anti-imperialism, then I'll continue to enjoy the anti-Deutsch trolling them. Wait, what does any of this have to do with Egypt and the black bloc again?

Submitted by rickshaw (not verified) on

It's hard not to look at the emergence of a 'black block' within an already militant generalized social upheaval as nothing but a tool for the egyptian state to manage revolt. Far from something to be excited about, it seems that the black bloc tactic could only fragment and stifle revolt in the streets of egypt because it's the perfect vehicle to assign any undesirable activity to and turn the war against the state+capital into an inward argument over legitimacy of force. The very first international press I read already attributed a bunch of unverifiable actions, such as firing on security forces, to the bloc. Legitimacy is relative to different contexts, but there's always something considered "too far" by that context and all the state/press has to do is attribute this to the block to begin to foster divisions. One could recall the recurrent claims of urine and feces collection by alleged bloc'ers in the us. I feel that the letter could have been more direct about the tendency of black block Identity to do this, but perhaps not at the expense of being more paternalistic. I think that the letter walks this line pretty well and that it will bolster dialogue that is hopefully already taking place in egypt. For anonymity, not identity!

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

"It's hard not to look at the emergence of a 'black block' within an already militant generalized social upheaval as nothing but a tool for the egyptian state to manage revolt."

I have to admit, i felt very similarly when i first heard about the emergence of the bloc in cairo. But upon hearing dozens of stories and direct reports about how the tactic is spreading, and directly contributing to a scenario where opposition parties no longer seem to have much control over anti-morsi demonstrations, which is an important shift, Im willing to aknowledge that the bloc has not at all helped the egyptian state better "manage revolt."

Aside from this, the very real possibility exists that the bloc could help radicalize, or provide a more anticapitalist or international substance to, the already militant street activity, if for no other reason than by force of aesthetic association with an international trend. I think this letter is cool in that it attempts to make such an association more explicit and less coincidental.

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