155.-how-it-is-to-be-fun-2012.pdf
Web PDF • Imposed PDF • Raw TXT (OCR)

















HOW IT IS TO BE FUN
I's been almost a year since Occupy Wall Street
began and quickly evolved into a nation wide
series of events. In that time we have witnessed an
increase! of attention and interest in anarchism
and black bloc activity. We are excited about all
the new arrivals but are also concemed for their
safety. There are many fexts available about black
bloc tactics as well as about how fo minimize your
risk of experiencing harm while engaging in these
kinds of actions, but these texts are largely only
available through obscure publications and
websites. We wonder if things would have been
different for the Cleveland five if they had been
able to access some of this information prior to
winding up in a police trap. The following is a letter
fo the new arrival, may it find you well and be of
some use fo you as you experiment with new
means of approaching freedom.
So you caught wind of some of the media hype about the black bloc or maybe you
saw us at a protest doing what we do and now you want in, Sweet, welcome!
We're not an organization so you don't have to sign up anywhere, we are people all
over the world who employ a certain tactic against domination when we see fit to
do so and we're excited to meet you. Together well create and destroy history.
However, before crossing that line into illegality with us there are some things you
could benefit from knowing and considering



Alright, first things first, Security Culture®. Security Culture is exactly what it
sounds like, i's when we adopt a set of habits and practices that allow us to create
and maintain a culture in which we keep ourselves and each other secure from
police repression. Obviously, we hate the police and the police hate us. We attack
them when we can and they attack us when they can. This does not only take place
in the arena of protest. When we're not openly fighting them in the streets we are
doing everything we can to undermine their authority and make their jobs more
difficult. We spread anti-police propaganda, we collect and exploit information
about them, we clandestinely sabotage their infrastructure, we figure out ways to
solve our own problems and keep ourselves and our neighbors safe without them,
and in rare cases throughout history we've even murdered some of the bastards!
And likewise, when the police are not beating, gassing and arresting us at protests
they/re doing everything they can’ to put us in jail. They" listen to our phones, read
our text messages, infiltrate our events, surveil our spaces*, record keystrokes on
our computers, plant evidence, raid our homes, force our friends to give up
information on us, send undercover agents to entrap us‘, and in some rare cases
throughout history they've even murdered some of us” bastards. The State has and
uuses many agents towards this end; they're expanding their technologies",
developing their tactics and getting paid well to do so.



This brings us to the most basic element of Security Culture, keeping
your goddamn mouth shut. This means not talking to people about illegal things
you've done to prove you're cool. It sounds easy but a lot of people fuck this up.
The only people you talk to about sketchy stuff are the people who you're doing it
with (those people are your affinity group, we'll explain what that is in a
second). It also means never talking to police or feds for any reason ever; the only
thing you will ever have to say to them is “I want to speak to an attorney”, And
the second most basic element of Security Culture is staying off their radar. This
means being careful of what you say on your cell phone and where you bring it,
the same goes for email and what you look up online. It means not announcing
your intentions to overthrow the government via violent means during and Occupy
General Assembly in Cleveland. The whole thing basically boils down to being
careful that the government has no idea what sneaky plans you have cooking up in
your head, you don't want to go to prison for years BEFORE you even got to burn
a bank just cause you let it slip to the wrong person youre going to bring
molotov? to the party.









You've probably heard all that before but it never hurts to hear it again. Even
experienced criminals can sometimes find themselves caught in police traps, and
inexperienced criminals often fare litte better than fish in a barrel. Type Cleveland
bridge 5 into an internet search engine to find out what can go wrong when
inexperienced people allow a sketchy dude they just met into their affinity group.

Now for some basics about a key elementary component of the black bloc:
Affinity Group". If you haven't got one yet don't worry, you can still riot, it just
won't be nearly as much fun or as destructive. An affinity group is basically three
to cight people who trust each other well enough to get their hands dirty together.
Don't just grab a hold of the first few anarchists you meet and form an affinity
group. These should be people you know well, preferably people you like and get
along with. Friendship is helpful in these groups for developing bonds of trust,
but remember that someone who is an awesome party buddy might be a
total liability in an arrest scenario, and likewise someone who is totally solid,
down, and capable might be a complete bore to hang out with. It can also be
helpful if you share subcultural roots like punk" or hip hop"? or fly fishing
enthusiasm or whatever. This is not because a shared subcultural identity is in any
way a magic defense against betrayal, but because it makes it easier for you to find
out about someone's personal history. You can find out through friends of friends
‘what this person was up to before you met them last year. Were they volunteering
at an infoshop'* somewhere with people whose friends you're acquainted with,
or were they getting busted with a bunch of drugs and mysteriously doing no time
for it only to show up later in activist circles trying to get people to do illegal
actions? Also it's best to avoid having people in your group who are mentally or
emotionally unstable, as well as people who are addicted to drugs or alcohol.
You're not going to get much sleep if someone from your group gets busted and
they/re siting in a jail cell with a head full of information the police want to mine
and they're getting dope sick or having a panic attack. You might also want to
be cautious of committing crimes with rich kids. It could be very easy for someone
to decide that their rebellious phase is over when they are forced to make a choice
between going to jail, or enjoying wealth and leisure, For more on why you should
avoid doing actions with drug addiets or rich kids look up * Hand
“Jennifer Kolar" on the internet







Once you've gotten with a sick tight clique and are ready to go all out, i's probably
a good idea to start small, Before paintbombing"” the face shields of a line of riot
police together, you can instead go out at night and do some wheat pasting'"® or
sraffiti” together. After that try moving on to more risky nighttime vandalism, a
smashed ATM here a slashed cop tire there, use your imagination. You'll get a
better idea of who you're working with and whether or not you want them by your
side when the stakes are higher. A great way for you and your group to deepen
your knowledge of each other is to do a reading group” together. Not only is this
inelpful for expanding and deepening your own ideas about why you wish to
destroy the current order, but you also iearn important stuff about who is in your
group. Someone who is an adrenaline junky just in it for the kicks will often have
litle interest in reading and discussing ideas". This person is a liability because
if they are motivated not by a desire to resist domination but only by a desire to get
their pulse up, then the likelihood that they'l roll on you when the fun partis over


and they're facing charges increases greatly, Often, but not always, an informant or
provocateur will also have no interest in developing and expanding their analysis
and will only be interested in pushing you to commit crimes.

There are no_casy answers for dealing with snitches and infiltrators.
It's important to out snitches publicly so they can’t just move onto their next
victims, but before outing someone as a snitch or an undercover you want to be
completely sure which is usually difficult. If you get too hasty you could end up
needlessly ruining friendships and reputations just because you let your paranoia
get the better of you. I's a good idea to discuss your suspicions with others and get
some feedback; you might find out there is a reasonable explanation for what was
making you suspicious. But if someone is acting in a way that makes you
uncomfortable and you're having a hard time trusting them, just stop associating
with them, they can't entrap you if you don't plan or commit crimes with them,
There have been instances where people have collected information about people
they've suspected of being infltrators and found out for sure, like when Peter
Bohmer™ managed to get a hold of the parents of a suspected informant on the
telephone, he pretended to be an insurance salesman and they mentioned that their
son gets insurance through his employer, he then asked who their son was
employed by and they proudly told him that their son is an FBI agent! There have
been other times when informants have been so obvious about it that there
was never a period of doubt. It would be cool if we dealt with snitches the way the
mob does but so far as I know, no one snitching on anarchists has wound up in
stitches yet







If you have to, go it alone for your first few times out with the black bloc™, Keep
in mind that even though you won't have an affinity group watching your back or
helping you to pull off some of the more exciting things we black bloe’s have been
known for, you at least know your group isn’t compromised, Patience is key with
forming a crew. Choosing the right affinity group could be the difference between
a series of exciting adventures in your war on Control or an excruciating
sentence in a prison cell". While itis important to stay snitch free and safe, there's
really not too much to worry about so long as you keep your senses sharp and
exercise good judgment. For every agent or snitch out there trying to bust you
there are a hundred people like you who want to destroy this world and experience
Joy and freedom in the process. You'll end up meeting just the right people and
you'll be doing this for a long time, I promise.

So how do you find out where the next rowdy action is going to take
place? ‘There's a number of ways to find out about upcoming Black Bloc marches
and/or riots, The best and easiest way is to be in a community of anarchists - don't
worry you'll meet them (although after a while you might wish you hadn', I won't
lie to you, we're a strange bunch!). But barring that, you could look for ¢all-outs
for upcoming black bloc actions on websites like Anarchistnews.org* or Infoshop
News”, but you might find it easier to try to connect with anarchists in your region
through more local sites like Puget Sound Anarchists® for Seattle or Bay of
for the SE-Oakland bay area” or Sabotage Media" for Eastern Canada, If




you live in a big city try and look for posters at anarchist spaces or just around
town announcing any upcoming anarchist demonstrations. You can usually tell
whether or not it’s going to be a riot based on the language in the call-out and the
imagery in the posters. There is no point in going to a liberal protest march with
very few other anarchists and proceeding to vandalize ATMs and fight the cops.
Is much better when its 300 or more of us chasing off the riot police™ and
helping each other loot and burn the property of the ruling class. Again be patient
and vigilant because there's gonna be some crazy shit going down as the system
continues to crumble and you won't want to miss it



Now lets say you know the date, time and location of the anti-capitalist march”
You know there's going to be a black bloc’ and you're either going it alone or
with your affinity group. You're bound and determined to get fierce against
oppression, but do you know the terrain? You might consider walking, skating or
biking around the area beforehand to take it in and familiarize yourself with its
features. This could include noting the locations of Corporate targets, banks, State
buildings like courts and probation offices, as well as other insidious institutions
like anti-gay mega churches or white supremacist meeting places. Note whether or
not these places are near the march routes. Try to locate CCTV surveillance
cameras", escape routes, good places to hide things before the demonstration,
rooftops with quick and easy access, bars or coffee shops you can dip into. Keep
an eye out for weapons caches, maybe a hotel's fountain is full of heavy river
rocks, or perhaps there's a construction site guarded by a rickety chain link fence
that’s full of rubble and rebar, Take note of whether its on a hill or not, what
the weather will be like and anything and everything you can think of. If there is a
lot of hills try to remember where the dumpsters are, those things can get rolling
pretty fast with the help of gravity and whatever they crash into is going to feel it,
Captain Obvious gets caught, so look sharp, and try to not act suspicious,



So now you know the area and the demonstration is stil a few days away, what are
you going to do during it? If you're alone you might want to start small. You might
inave fun printing or photocopying a leaflet you made for the demonstration or
printing already made’” ones from anarchist websites. If you size it so you can cut
the paper into fourths with the text and images on the front and back, you can fill
your backpack with these and throw them up into the air when people start
breaking shit and that way the gawkers can be informed of why this thing they
Jjust witnessed took place. You might have noticed that there isa staircase to a roof
overlooking the march route and you took steps to make sure it was open during
the march so you could run up those stairs and make it rain propaganda leaflets as
the march passes. You could also shoot off some fireworks” or hang a banner"
from up there. Any of these things can serve the purpose of both communicating to
others and raising the excitement level of the march, which is important because a
bored march is a vulnerable march. Maybe you just want to show up with a can of
spray paint*" express your ideas all over the walls of a city in the midst of revolt.
You might consider bringing something sharp you can use to slash the tires of
police cruisers or corporate media vans before blending back into the bloc.
Perhaps you'll bring a hammer, erow bar, U-lock, plastic bag of rocks, a chain or
some other blunt instrument you can use to smash capital” (literally) and or
protect yourself and others from police attacks. Remember to keep these items
concealed from the cops when they'e lining both sides of the march looking for
troublemakers like you, or you can hide your heavy wooden pole in plain sight by
attaching a black flag to it and waving it proudly! (A flag pole by the way will go
through a window easily if instead of swinging it like an axe or a baseball bat you
use both hands and jab with the end of it) It's also helpful to know that the flow
and mood of the march at some point might call for mobility, defense from police
attack, and to not to stick with preplanned march routes. When this happens be
ready to use the forces of spontaneity and improvisation.

Now let's say you do have an affinity group and don't need to act alone. What can
groups do together that you can't do by yourself? Well, for starters, you can act as
organs_within_the bloc. You could be medics", window smashers, paint
bombers, graffiti writers, wheat-pasters, scouts, a communications team,

team’, a video team, looters, or you could just hold a sweet banner"? you and
your friends made. Your crew could take on the task of building barricades with
‘whatever is around to impede the police. Newspaper boxes, trash cans, tables from
fancy restaurants, or dumpsters (lit or unlit, your choice) can all be used to slow
the pigs' roll with little effort. Some clever graffiti during the May 68! riots in
Paris read, "Barricades close the street, but open the way" referring to their use
of cars to block roads in their informed push towards freedom, Even though the
demonstration you're planning to attend probably won't involve burning barricades
or hanging the last capitalist with the guts of the last bureaucrat, the point is that it
isa good idea to have a game plan







shields





Police and Feds call the part where you and your crew come up with said
game plan as ‘the conspiratorial stage of a crime’, so it's important to do this part
carefully. Many arrests happen because of mistakes people made while putting
their plan together. So watch what you say on the phone, or what you look up on
your computer. Dont buy sketchy things on your credit cards or from a place near
here you live, Before excitedly hashing out your menacing plans with your
affinity group make sure you're someplace where you're not going to be heard, It
could be a good idea to ditch your phones and go for a walk in the park, or on a
hiking trail just to be sure that your conversation isn't under surveillance. Not that
you're going to be doing anything larger than Black Bloc but when Fox News"
uses "Black Bloc" and "AfQueda" in the same sentence it makes sense to take
precautions

Now, that the big day is coming you might be thinking ‘what do_I
wear"? Obviously you want a black jacket with a hood to hide your hair
and something to cover your face. A black ski mask" will cover more of your face
than a black bandana will but you also might be the only one there wearing a ski
mask and will therefore be easier to single out. Its probably best to go with a solid
black bandana (solid black means no pictures or designs printed on it) and maybe
some dark sunglasses. Underneath your black party clothes should be some
normal-flauge, something you can blend into an unmasked crowd with after you're
done tearing shit up. You want to look like a yuppie, a college student -a liberal
peacenick- someone the police aren't going to think to search for the hammer that
Jjust smashed that ATM fen minutes earlier. Maybe wear a nice button up, or an
‘Obama 2012 shirt, or a preppy blouse. At this point you might be wondering, do I
just show up to the march already in bloc? No. Have your black bloc clothes in
your backpack ready to put on when you start to see other people mask up, if you
show up to the bloc and everyone is already masked then go inside the crowd
(these are your friends) and mask up, if not, then duck down behind a car
or something and quickly assemble your ensemble. The reason you duck
low behind something is so there aren't photographs of you bloc-ing up that can be
used to connect you with all the crazy shit you did that’s featured on the next days’
front page. Something not so obvious to Some that the police use to sort out the
differences in the black bloc are shoes and backpacks. Insurtectionary anarchists
in Chile™ have dealt with this by wearing their hoodies over their backpacks and
covering their shoes with plastic grocery bags so they don't have to throw them
away afterwards. Maybe showing up to your first or second riot with plastic bags
con your shoes isn't the best idea, but it does gives you an insight in the ways the
police police the bloc. Sometimes police will kettle and mass arrest entire crowds,
if for some reason you can't get away make sure you do not get arrested with your
party clothes on you or in your back pack. Mass arrests take a long time to
execute, giving you plenty of time to ditch anything sketchy you're still carrying,



This might be a good time to go over body armor’. Unless you plan
on confronting the police head on with sticks, shields and helmets along with
thousands of other people in the streets all day long, which does happen but not
often (enough), you probably don't need it. If you're new to this whole riot thing,
try to wear things that help you remain agile and reflexive to your surroundings;
always remain ready to run, attack, defend, de-arrest®, disperse and blend in.
You've probably seen many of us pick up tear gas canisters and throw them back
the way they came, Well those things will burn your hands so we do this with
gloves, heavy duty gloves stolen from Corporate chain stores, like just
about everything we arm ourselves with, even computers and video cameras.
Ifyou think you might find yourself in a situation of prolonged conflict in tear gas,
a gas mask is handy to have and if that fails lemon juice and apple cider vinegar on
a black bandana pre-sealed in a ziploc bag will help counter the effects. During
the December 2008 riots in Greece”, people neutralized the tear gas in the air by
setting fire to cars, dumpsters, and whatever else was around to burn up the gas,
while the jury's still out on the scientific merit of these anecdotes, word on the
streets of Athens is it works. However, it's usually a bad idea to play with fire
outside of the context of total open insurrection in the streets. If you find yourself
in something like the 92" LA riots, or the above mentioned Greek insurrection,
then sure go for it, but if its forty people in hoodies breaking away from an anti-
war march, then maybe don't up the ante so much.











So the big day is here! You're so glad you went to bed carly last night, but you're
so nervous you wanna throw up. Well I'm glad you noticed because on a day like
today it's really important to listen to your body. It's normal to feel some
butterflies but if you're gut tells you something is Totally Wrong: listen to it. This
might mean ditching your super sketchy plan and just going and playing it by ear,
seeing how the day unfolds and striking only if an opportunity arises. Even if you
decide to commit no crimes at all, just being another body in the crowd dressed in
black is helpful, the more of you there are the harder it is for the police to single
anyone out. Try to have a Plan B scenario worked out beforehand in case one of
you doesn't feel up to it. Make sure to stay well hydrated throughout the day and
avoid eating huge meals. Have a lite meal before leaving home and eat small
amounts of food periodically throughout the day, think apples and protein
bars. Also do some stretching; you're going to be on your feet all day so you want
to feel limber and agile. Make sure you and your friends look inconspicuous on
your way to the demonstration. Arrive 5 to 10 minutes later than it officially starts,
avoid police lines, and find your people, It's customary for at least one person to
raise a black flag® high so that others can find the black bloc before the demo
starts,

So what ends up happening? Maybe nothing memorable. Maybe you just go
home with blistered feet and no cool stories. Maybe you all just get beaten and
arrested. Or maybe you start a fight that sets off something big and the police flee
in terror while you and your friends burn the banks and loot the shops. Whatever
happens remember, we don't do this because we believe we have a road map out or
blueprint for a better world, we know that any one who claims such absurdities is
a lying politician, We do this because capitalism has created a world here and now
that has nothing for us and this is just one way our deep and total desire to destroy
that world can manifest itself materially. We don‘ believe in waiting™ for some
magic moment to strike. The system perpetuates itself by controlling you,
promising you a future so long as you politely endure a miserable present that
seems to never end. When we resist their control the present becomes ours for as
Tong as we can keep it. This isthe state of exception, this is what we want to create
and expand, We might never end up expanding it into perpetuity, but we don’t see
that as a reason to simply accept the conditions of the nightmare we're currently
living. We refuse to go down without a fight.



Be dangerous and stay safe. We'll see you in the streets. ATTACK!


Footnotes

butp://www. youtube.com/wateh?v=FITgNi3INr4&0b=av3_



2. hitp:/security.resist.ca/personal/culture.shiml

3. _hittp:/theanarchistlibrary.org/library/various-authors-a-murder-of-
crows#tocd5,

4. hitp:/www.crimethine.com/blog/2012/05/29/inside-the-fbi-entrapment-
strategy’

5. hitps/aetforfree.nostate.net!%p=9755,

6. hitp:/snitchwire blogspot.com/2010/07/police-infiltrate-anarchists-and.html

7. tp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m070HUt6SM

8. _http:/iwww.wired.comvthreatlevel/2012/03/fF nsadatacenter/all/

9. tp:!/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molotov_cocktail

10. http://theanarchistlibrary.org/HTML/Anonymous_The_Affinity_Group.html

11. hitp:/www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhldbymXK-8&ob-av2n

12. hutp:/www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVLLNXtujBM.

13. hitp:/thelonghaul.org/

14, hitp:snitchwire.blogspot.com/201 1/04/lead-elf-informant-jake-ferguson.himl

15. http://snitchwvire.blogspot.com/201 1/09/carth-first-journal-publishes-
giant.html

16. http://www. youtube.com/watch?v=doQAwLb-DEE.

17. hitp:/www..woostercollective.comipost'wooster-how-to...6-robusts-how-to~
rmake-a-paint-bomb

18, hutp:/www.youtube.comwatch?v=TIBEVS.tgp4

19. hitp:/www.youtube.com/watch?v-UovsPn4Dvg0

20. hitp:/theanarchistlibrary.org/

21. hitps/zinelibrary.info

22. http:/iwww.iede.com/%7Epaulwolf/cointelpro/coinwear3.htm

23. hntp:/www.zcommunications.org/zspace/peterbohmer

24, http:!vimeo.com!25952876

25. hitp://denverabe. wordpress.com’

26. hitp://anarchistnews.org/

277. hitp:!inews.infoshop.org/

28. hntp:/pugetsoundanarchists.org/

29. http:/iwww-bayofrage.com!

30. http://www. indybay.org/

31. http:/ivww.sabotagemedia.anarkhia.org/

32. http:/ivww.youtube.com/watch?v=FaiTexIPtil

33. http://www. youtube.comy/watch?v=zkBMpngSy3Y_






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hittp:/Avww.infoshop.org/amp/bgp/BlackBlockPapers2.paf

http://www. indymedia.org.uk/en/2012/04/494643.html
hitp:/inelibrary.info/flyers

http://www. youtube.com/watch?v=yPjMs4V Fa9g

hitp:/Avww. flickr.com/photos/ceye/4181399426)
hitp:!/pugetsoundanarchists.org/node/476
http:/anarchistnews.org/content/slogans-yo

hitp:/Avww. youtube.com/watch?v=GCmIQz_acGA

http://www crimethine.comtexts/pastfeatures/blocs. php

-future-first-aid-0
http://www. youtube.com/watch?y=46UeXGhvaT I

bitp://submedia.tv/

hitp:/fuckyeahanarchistbanners.tumblr.com/
hutp:/www.cdde.vtedu/siontine!
http://anarchistnews.org/content/men-black-violent-agenda

http://www crimethine.com/blog/2008/10/1 I/fashion-tips-for-the-brave!
hitp:/Avww. youtube.com/watch?v=sdY R3ETRARe
http://erimethine.com/moviesichicago. html
hutp:/Avww.zinelibrary.info/bodyhammer
hitp:/Avww.youtube.com/watch?v-Qd0huoFLLal

http://www. portlandoceupier.org/2012/02/28/defensive-black-bloc-tacties!
hitp:/svww.youtube.com/watch?v=wRe_i_tGjOU
hitp:/zinelibrary.info/no-we-cant-all-just-get-along-hip-hop-gang-unity-and-
Iacriots

hitp:/svww-anarchism.net/symbol_bfhtm
hittp:/theanarchistlibrary.org/library/sasha-k-some-notes-on-insurrectionary-
anarchism

hitp:/svww. youtube com/watch?v=k_ZNE6E3{JU




So you caught wind of
some of the media hype
‘about the black bloc or
maybe you saw us at a
protest doing what we
do and now you want in.
Sweet, welcome! We're
not an organization so
you don't have to sign
up anywhere, we are
people all over the
world who employ a
certain tactic against
domination when we
see fit to do so and
we're excited to meet
you. Together we'll
create and destroy
history. However, before
crossing that line into
illegality with us there
‘are some things you
could benefit from
knowing and
considering.