February 5, 2017

Anarchists who helped kill Occupy worry anti-Trump activists

http://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Anarchists-who-helped-kill-Occupy-worry-10908947.php?cmpid=gatehp

As Kathy Lipscomb watched TV newscasts of “black bloc” anarchists smashing windows at a UC Berkeley protest, the former organizer of Occupy demonstrations was obsessed by two thoughts.

The first, she said, was: “Oh no, not again.” The second: “We can’t let them help ruin things this time.”

Those sentiments echoed across the Bay Area as leaders of the current wave of protests against President Trump took heed of Wednesday’s campus violence, Trump’s subsequent threat to cut funding to UC Berkeley, and what all that portends for their movement.

Their biggest fear is a repeat of what happened to Occupy earlier this decade, when black bloc violence chased away nonviolent, mainstream protesters — and helped lead to Occupy’s collapse about five years ago.

I think the rioting helped Milo Yiannopolous. His sales have soared on Amazon and he's becoming increasingly well-known. The fact that he has benefited so much from the actions of the balaclava-wearing rioters makes me wonder who was behind it.