I have written a very long rebuttal to the piece that Chris Hedges presented Black Bloc: The Cancer in Occupy. His article is deeply disturbing on many levels, not only because it contains a huge host of inaccuracies and outright mistakes. My response is on my political website Chris Hedges WTF are You Thinking? I contemplated putting it on this blog but instead here’s a preamble and you can go there and read it if you are interested in these topics. Yes it’s really really long.
Here is a special preface to it for Buddhist readers.
Many Buddhists are involved with ecological movements of various kinds, from protesting at nuclear facilities to releasing birds, fish or other animals from captivity. Many Buddhists are also involved in various aspects of the Occupy movement. Many Buddhists also read Truth Out on-line magazine and particularly the work of Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Chris Hedges.
My opinion on the use of violence varies between the following:
If someone has a gun and is trying to kill you, it would be reasonable to shoot back with your own gun
14th Dalai Lama
“In the future, this system [Communism] will certainly be forced either from within or without on this land…If, in such an event, we fail to defend our land, the holy lamas…will be eliminated without a trace of their names remaining;…our political system…will be reduced to an empty name; my officials…will be subjugated like slaves to the enemy; and my people, subjected to fear and miseries, will be unable to endure day or night.”
“.…we should make every effort to safeguard ourselves against this impending disaster. Use peaceful means where they are appropriate; but where they are not appropriate, do not hesitate to resort to more forceful means” (emphasis added).
13th Dalai Lama
Generally, of course, non-violence is good, and killing is bad…But each and every thing is judged according to the circumstances of the situation, and, particularly in Buddhism, according to the motivations….In order to save a hundred people, killing one person may be acceptable…Individual, or self, motivation is obviously not allowed….
Jampa Tenzin, a former guerilla and monk
Of course those quotes come from people facing genocide.
I take this quote to heart when considering appropriate courses of action.
Through violence, you may ‘solve’ one problem, but you sow the seeds for another.
14th Dalai Lama
Pragmatic.
The response piece does not necessarily represent my personal political views. I have found however that it is useful to have a broader knowledge of political philosophy beyond one’s own position. It helps to understand the world. I find the techniques and lines of thought of the radical left to be particularly useful in this regard. That’s why many of them were developed. In this case, since Hedges seems to insinuate that Anarchists, particularly those who employ Black Bloc tactics, are to be blamed for the forthcoming downfall of all that is Occupy, I went to some Anarchist writers and employed some of that perspective and methodology to Hedges piece along with some social science and historical interpretation to some degree.
It is presented as a broad survey of some of the issues that occur with Hedges work and the work of Derrick Jensen who he quotes favorably. To understand the depth of those issues please read the links as well there since many of them elaborate on the points made.
If you haven’t been paying that much attention consider some questions:
Where did Hedges get the Cancer reference?
Why would he quote Derrick Jensen who has threatened to blow up dams and a lot of other things? Hint: They’re old friends and have collaborated together before.
Is the Anarchism mentioned by Hedges real or his own mythological creation?
What does Black Bloc really entail? How does it work in the real world?
I look for answers to these and other questions here:
Smiling Buddha Cabaret 