The question is: do we really have to think about this in either pro-Black Bloc, or against-Black Bloc? Isn't there another way? Possible suggestion follows.

There are many reasons for wanting the Black Bloc. I will get to this in a moment. But because I feel the following bears repeating, I will simply select what I think was a good recent quote:

DrMandible - Vandalizing shit is detrimental to the cause. If we actually want a revolution, we need to convince people. I'm not talking about some work-in-the-system vanguard shit. But we can engage in direct action without scaring the shit out of people who might otherwise be on our side.

I think this is the basic gist of why Occupy and the resistance in general would want to keep the Black Bloc out of the protests. Additionaly, this recent comment (really just quoting from the report, sorry) further supports this position:

fogglesworth - Some quotes from the article: ...from 2000 to 2006, organized civilian populations successfully employed nonviolent methods including boycotts, strikes, protests, and organized noncooperation to challenge entrenched power and exact political concessions in Serbia (2000), Madagascar (2002), Georgia (2003) and Ukraine (2004-2005), Lebanon (2005), and Nepal (2006)... Our findings show that major nonviolent campaigns have achieved success 53 percent of the time, compared with 26 percent for violent resistance campaigns. There are two reasons for this success. First, a campaign's commitment to nonviolent methods enhances its domestic and international legitimacy and encourages more broad-based participation in the resistance, which translates into increased pressure being brought to bear on the target. Recognition of the challenge group's grievances can translate into greater internal and external support for that group and alienation of the target regime, undermining the regime's main sources of political, economic, and even military power. Second, whereas governments easily justify violent counterattacks against armed insurgents, regime violence against nonviolent movements is more likely to backfire against the regime. Potentially sympathetic publics perceive violent militants as having maximalist or extremist goals beyond accommodation, but they perceive nonviolent resistance groups as less extreme, thereby enhancing their appeal and facilitating the extraction of concessions through bargaining.

Now, I will not go into why we DO want the Black Bloc. There are many, many reasons, and I agree with all of them. But I also agree with the previous reasons why we should not have them.

Here is my thought and question for the Black Bloc: masking up is intended to conceal identity... but why not be completely invisible? What I mean is, there is the thought that the Black Bloc provides a certain moral support, but for most of the other reasons for having the Black Bloc, you don't actually have to be participating in protests. So, if help is needed, you mask up, move in and help, otherwise, any other actions can be made outside of the main protest.

Why not be the silent, invisible force for good? How awesome would it have been if Oakland had marched to their building to find that the fence had already been taken down the night before in secret? Tagging corporate property? Why not do so at any other time, and attribute it accordingly? Why not in secret?

I'm sure there is a lot I'm missing, and not thinking of. But I think this world has changed from the 'massive ground force' tactics of the previous century. This is a guerrilla warfare world now. Precision strikes on targets in stealth, with small teams in the dark, not broad-daylight armies gathering in lines like Romans.

This just seems to be the more appropriate tactic, imho. Organic. Fluid. Dynamic. "Be like water" said Bruce Lee. Go look up that video.

I mean, I appreciate the Black Bloc as much as anyone, but I highly recommend changing tactics to be more ninja, less Spartan. Just as Anonymous is the Black Bloc of the internet, why not be separate but supportive aspect of Occupy or the larger movement? This brings greater mobility, greater freedom and diversity of tactics, and I think, greater incentive for others to act in a similar manner, witnessing prime examples.