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Anarchists justify G8 security spending

Rob Maciak

So I had this rant written up about the seemingly unimpaired G8/G20 security budget. You know, the nearly $1 Billion spent by the government of Canada to protect the world’s most elitist hot-doggers. But after returning from a relaxing weekend in the Shuswap, I was dismayed to discover that a relatively new brand of terrorism had been unleashed in downtown Toronto during sensible protests. After witnessing this abhorrent display of criminality disguised as activism, I immediately knew that I could no longer condemn reckless government spending for the local Black Bloc Anarchists had justified it. My omnipotent pal Marriam-Webster describes anarchism as a “political theory holding all forms of government authority to be unnecessary and undesirable”. Black Bloc protests have been occurring since the 1980s around the world and are often formed by an ad hoc group with no central organization. They dress in black clothing, cover their faces so their mothers can’t identify them on the news, and engage in petty delinquent behaviour like smashing store-front windows, lighting fires, battling with police, and hiding and running away. However, texts like “The Black Bloc Papers” are beginning to appear and are being written by members of anarchist collectives that seek to grow and unite this scattered political ideology. These books discuss violent and criminal tactics that ultimately undermine legitimate demonstrations like those taking place in Toronto. A quote from The Black Bloc Papers: “Our sight here is exclusively fixed upon those brave black clad women and men who dare to challenge the authority of the police baton with fire in their heart and a fist in the air”. There are so many things that can be said about this not-so-bright group of misfits. First, I hope they do not call themselves activists or legitimate protesters, because those individuals are not afraid to show their faces when standing up for civil rights and equality. They are willing to be arrested and processed before they would ever run and hide from a deserving cause. Secondly, they are obviously completely delusional hypocritical brainless thugs and nothing more. Challenge the authority of the police baton? Give me a break! This is not North Korea or some police state, it is Canada and there are plenty of productive and effective ways to play a role in determining the direction of our civil democracy to which they give a black eye. Black Bloc terrorist attacks target the government in general and the individuals who perpetrate these attacks fail to realize they epitomize why we need governments in the first place—hence the hypocrisy. They are not part of a solution but part of a larger societal problem. These proverbial bad apples are not activists, but simply common criminals with delusions of a world that will never exist.