Recipes for Disaster: an anarchist cookbook

communications equipment), or very difficult to. Keep your companions aware of every person you suspect, but don't "out" undercover agents unless you are absolutely sure they are agents (for example, one of your scouts has been following one, and seen him chatting with, his coworkers), and something concrete can be gained from it. Unsubstantiated accusations between demonstrators can only make situations more tense and demonstration environments less welcoming. As for agents provocateurs and just plain stupid people, they may be moving among or near you, smashing locally-owned stores and private vehicles; whether or not you can prove they are cops or allies thereof, you can certainly make it clear to them that what they are doing is unacceptable and has to stop. Don't get snarled up in a tactical debate in the middle of an action, just make your point (or, in a worst-case scenario, intervene) and get on with things.

Stay aware of others, too, besides the police. Other demonstrators of more "liberal" or authoritarian bents may take it upon themselves to interfere with your activities, unmasking you, assaulting you, or pointing you out to authorities; the same goes for local civilians. It's almost never advisable to respond to this with violence; walk away, or run if necessary. A direct action that turns into a brawl vtdth locals or other activists is disastrous for everyone. Attempt to talk out differences, if this appears possible and worthwhile, when tempers have cooled, in a safe space removed from the immediate action; send a spokesperson if necessary, preferably a supporter from outside the bloc. At the least, this can distract the meddlers while the rest of the group moves on to other actions.

As crazy as things get, remember that the police have firearms, and there's rarely any

reason to risk getting killed for an action. A street confrontation vidth better-armed police

officers is almost always going to be something more of a spectacle of confrontation than

a nO"holds-barred, life-or-death battle. There's no shame in this. The police are restricted

Blocs, Black and Otherwise ^" ^^^* ^^y ^^^ *^° ^Y ^^^^ public opinion will decree about it; you are limited in what

752 you can do by a similar question, for whenever you move up to a more confrontational

tactic the police will immediately upgrade their tactics to a level higher than yours. In this sense, streetfighting is a matter of chivalry for us radicals: we always permit our opponents the more powerful tools, in order to keep the violence from getting too out of hand?and, of course, to show off how much more noble and courageous we are! If the papers read (as they have before), "Violence erupted when activists began throwing back tear gas canisters fired by the police," it will be clear to everyone what's going on.

Stay flexible, tactically. If you showed up in riot gear for a confrontation with the police, but find yourselves totally outnumbered and unprepared, you can turn the other direction and move through nearby neighborhoods picking up trash and beautifying the area?^that'll give the media a confusing message to distort!

Once again, all this will be very different if you are applying the bloc tactic outside the demonstration setting. Rather than provoking a confrontation with the police that you hope will be contagious, you will probably be doing everything you can to avoid encountering them at all. Scouts, in this case, will serve more to warn you about the approach of the police than to monitor the lumbering movements of nearby police forces, and, accordingly, may be better posted at freeway overpasses or in disguise outside the liquor store than on bicycles.

Escape: at the end of the action, the final remaining challenge is to get out of your gear and disappear. Layers, once again, are key: under your bloc clothing, you should be wearing clothing that will make you blend easily with whatever liberal protesters or civilians will be in the area. You may have to get dovm to this layer at an instant's notice: for instance, if the police have singled you out and are pursuing you. Make sure it's a quick and easy transition to make (though not one that can happen accidentally, in the midst of the action!). Try to do this in a mass of inattentive people, or around a corner or in a bush: if you're seen or caught on camera changing, all that trouble you went to masking up may be wasted. Hopefully you have a clever escape route or two already

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