“The weapon of criticism cannot, of course, replace criticism of the weapon, material force must be overthrown by material force; but theory also becomes a material force as soon as it has gripped the masses”
Marx
During the recent student revolt in Italy and the UK there has been an interesting piece of cross-border academic activism, students in Rome and London have formed ‘book bloc’s', ‘armed’ with knowledge.
Marx looked the riot police in the eye, Derrida gave them a cheeky wink, knowledge confronts the Neo-Liberal order!
And if you fancy making your very own shield here’s a ‘how to’ video:
This action has similarities with earlier forms of protest from groups like the Tutte Bianche in the Anti-Capitalist movement. During the demonstrations in Prague in 2000 that shut down the meetings of the IMF and World Bank one day early–which helped spark a revolt in Europe that lasted into the middle of the decade–they used the body as a part of civil disobedience and this was seen as a particular strategy, they said “We are not armed, we are acting as citizens, putting our persons at risk, in order to demonstrate that the democracy of the IMF and the World Bank is tanks and armed police. We are not criminals, they are suppressing citizens exercising their rights. We want to show that it is possible to rebel against the order using our bodies as weapons.”
The tactic of presenting what you are for to the powers of repression, is also one used by Climate Camp during the Heathrow protests of 2007, and earlier by groups like Ne Pas Plier in France who worked with unemployed groups to produce graphic shows on demonstrations using the faces of the unemployed association members to powerful effect.
Book Bloc Bites Back!
“The weapon of criticism cannot, of course, replace criticism of the weapon, material force must be overthrown by material force; but theory also becomes a material force as soon as it has gripped the masses”
Marx
During the recent student revolt in Italy and the UK there has been an interesting piece of cross-border academic activism, students in Rome and London have formed ‘book bloc’s', ‘armed’ with knowledge.
Marx looked the riot police in the eye, Derrida gave them a cheeky wink, knowledge confronts the Neo-Liberal order!
And if you fancy making your very own shield here’s a ‘how to’ video:
This action has similarities with earlier forms of protest from groups like the Tutte Bianche in the Anti-Capitalist movement. During the demonstrations in Prague in 2000 that shut down the meetings of the IMF and World Bank one day early–which helped spark a revolt in Europe that lasted into the middle of the decade–they used the body as a part of civil disobedience and this was seen as a particular strategy, they said “We are not armed, we are acting as citizens, putting our persons at risk, in order to demonstrate that the democracy of the IMF and the World Bank is tanks and armed police. We are not criminals, they are suppressing citizens exercising their rights. We want to show that it is possible to rebel against the order using our bodies as weapons.”
The tactic of presenting what you are for to the powers of repression, is also one used by Climate Camp during the Heathrow protests of 2007, and earlier by groups like Ne Pas Plier in France who worked with unemployed groups to produce graphic shows on demonstrations using the faces of the unemployed association members to powerful effect.