Raw Story
By Stephen C. Webster

After publishing a scathing essay criticizing the tactics of some “Occupy” protesters, Pulitzer-winning journalist Chris Hedges appeared on Russia Today’s The Alyona Show to discuss what he sees as a “cancer” on the movement: the so-called “Black Bloc.”

The “Black Bloc” isn’t so much a sub-group as it is a tactic used by vandals to provide safety in numbers. The thinking is, if one is part of a large group that’s wearing all black, individuals who commit acts of mayhem are harder to pick out from the crowd. While black-clad anarchists have not been a staple feature of the “Occupy” protests, they have emerged in some of the more publicized confrontations, especially in Oakland, where they smashed private property, broke into buildings and sparked mass arrests.

“The prime mover behind wiping out the Occupy encampments was, of course, a Democratic administration,” Hedges said. “And that’s because they deeply fear this movement. It has called their bluff. It has exposed them as corporate puppets in this two party corporate duopoly. I think they realize despite the efforts by MoveOn.org, Van Jones and others that they are not going to co-opt this movement. And so, on the one hand they will try to physically erase it — we just had the D.C. encampment shut down — and internally they will try to divide it.”

That divison has already begun, Hedges said. 

In his opinion, “Black Bloc” is merely “serving the interests of the 1 percent,” and they must be stopped at any cost.

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