Anarchist Black Bloc Press Release

            Statement from R2K Black Bloc

            We, the various members of the Anti-Statist Black Bloc (ASBB) put forth the following statement in the wake
            of the Philadelphia Police Department's blatant misinformation and the corporate media's biased reports
            against us. The ASBB advocates the building of an organized movement against corporate and state tyranny in
            America. We recognize that poor and working class people have lost control of their communities and
            individual lives. The Democratic and Republican parties clearly support social relations in which this is
            furthered. By supporting the death penalty, militarism, corporate welfare, and the cutting of social spending,
            amongst others, they have proven to be political parties of profit over people as all parties have. By organizing
            black blocs and using direct action, we confront this intolerable and unacceptable system.

            As anarchists we believe private property is theft, state property is a tool for the protection of corporate
            interests and that both must be destroyed for the creation of a society based on mutual aid and individual
            liberty. By spray-painting a wall we transform the way we think of it from a conception based on monetary
            value to one based on practicality. In a system that is concerned only with profit we make our most effective
            protest when we hit the oppressors in the pocketbook. Property damage, as one form of strategic direct
            action, is an effective way to achieve this goal. This is not just a theory ... this is a fact. Since the actions of the
            black bloc in Seattle against the WTO, a running debate about global capitalism and democracy has finally
            entered the public discourse. We are on the brink of a new social revolution.

            At yesterday's protest, members of the ASBB specifically targeted police and other government property. The
            ASBB did NOT attack "mom & pop" businesses, or personal property. Remember that there are other
            organizations and associations that work autonomously with similar tactics. The can only be responsible for
            OUR actions. The ASBB disavows any responsibility for damage to the personal property of working class
            and "mom & pop" businesses.

            The second most misconstrued tactic of the ASBB is the wearing of masks. Since the exposing of
            COINTELPRO, it has been plainly obvious that many government organizations have been monitoring and
            disrupting radical organizations. This is a threat to our personal safety and liberty. In this sense, we wear
            masks for our protection. We do not wear masks to threaten or intimidate the public. Wearing masks also
            sends the message that we are in solidarity with each other as equals. We look forward to the day when we
            can live in a society where we won't have to wear our masks.

            We also stand in solidarity with all the other brothers and sisters who came out to protest yesterday. We are
            NOT terrorists and we are not an isolated group. We represent a diverse coalition of different races, genders,
            classes, and political viewpoints that are truly interested in creating a meaningful democracy and fighting the
            real terrorists: corporate America and the police State. For it was not us who bombed an entire city block,
            destroying homes and countless memories. It was not us who shot dead Robert Brown. It was not us who
            brutalized Thomas Jones to a bloody pulp. All these actions are the responsibility of the defenders of private
            property, the Philadelphia police. We encourage all oppressed peoples to organize for active resistance
            against power and privilege. Onward to Anarchist social revoilution!!!