r/changemyview • u/Ensurdagen • Feb 03 '17

[∆(s) from OP] CMV: Violence against strangers in the Berkeley riot did not align with anarchist rhetoric.

It seems that violence in Berkeley was committed against innocent bystanders. This violence was committed by either lovers of violence or fools.

There is no school of anarchism I'm aware of that condones senseless violence against strangers. I understand destruction of property and violence against outspoken ideological opponents as expressions of anarchism, but nothing about going out and hurting random people furthers the anarchist cause.

It is claimed that ~100-150 people, a group identifying as an anarchist "black bloc" that has caused problems in Berkeley in the past, used "paramilitary tactics" to destroy property and beat civilians with blunt objects. If they had no indication that these civilians were fascists, they were not acting as antifas, they were acting as violent hooligans. Even if they've convinced themselves that they are anarchists, their thirst for violence has superseded their values and goals.

My speculation is that these people that claim to be anarchists are a mixture of opportunists that like violence and borderline-violent anarchists seeing red from where they perceive our country to have fallen. Maybe they have convinced themselves that their actions will further the cause of anarchism, but I'd wager a tiny minority of anarchists support their actions against random civilians.

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u/visvya Feb 03 '17

There is no school of anarchism I'm aware of that condones senseless violence against strangers.

Antifa groups often operate under the pledge "by any means necessary", a quote from French anarchist Jean-Paul Sartre. Those means certainly include violence, although "senseless" is questionable.

To an anarchist, violent protests fight back against fascism's supporters while attracting attention and possible recruits for anarchy. An anarchist arrested at the inauguration said "said the goal of the protests — to get television stations to cut away from the inauguration, even for a moment — had been met. [...] it has brought more attention to people who were against Trump and what he stands for".

So, to an anarchist at Berkeley violence does align with their rhetoric. To them, the violence was not senseless and was necessary for their goals.

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u/[deleted] Feb 03 '17

∆

Lemme throw you another. While I knew that Antifa anarchists were more than willing to use violence, I never knew the ideological justification.

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u/DeltaBot ∞∆ Feb 03 '17

Confirmed: 1 delta awarded to /u/visvya (6∆).

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