How well do you know your friend in the SRA? Have you talked to them about this character design and gotten good feedback?

I’m sure there’s people who would play this character as written, but there’s a lot of subtext that I was picking up that you confirmed in your comments. I feel you’re building a character that is more influenced by the right-wing media narrative of violent anarchist, not the authentic experience of the black bloc as it exists. I think it doesn’t accurately reflect martial activity typical of the anarchist community.

Anarchists can be fighters and violent, and there’s a couple people fitting the MMA-type description in the anarchist scene, but they are increasingly rare. Part of that is due to Joe Rogan’s swerve to the right, but more important were several scandals involving the contradictions between anarchism and MMA culture. Jeff Monson was a high profile American anarchist who won a number of MMA titles, but was ejected from the anarchist community following domestic abuse allegations from his partner and reports of sexual assault. He has since revealed himself to be an opportunist, and he’s now a pro-Putin Russian politician. ‘Alpha-male’ masculinity has always created tension in anarchist spaces, and is increasingly actively resisted, as a number of those men were dramatically revealed to be agents provocateurs, police informants, and sexual predators.

MMA fighters and ‘black bloc’ anarchists are two mostly non-intersecting sets. Black bloc is less a culture than a tactic, one that requires a high level of physical endurance. People who train to bloc up successfully tend to look less like Joe Rogan and more like Lance Armstrong. The bloc is a highly mobile protest formation whose purpose is to direct police resources away from conventional protest activities or confront small groups of fascists. While intimidating, the goal is not to be frightening like a bear, but terrifying like a swarm of hornets. The bloc will frequently disperse, split into smaller groups to move quickly though obstacles like cars in stopped traffic or side streets, only to re-form at their next coordination point, thwarting all attempts of police to corral or kettle them. Only when they are cornered does the tight formation show its sting, as any attempt by police to pull a member away for arrest is responded to with a tug of war and blows.

The bloc is as fast as its slowest member, as anyone left behind is in danger of being snatched. Actions can last as long as six hours, often spending all day on foot, walking and sprinting. The MMA physique is not built for that kind of activity. Police, typically steroid abusers who also build to intimidate in one-on-one confrontations, wear out quickly in full riot gear while chasing a bloc. But more importantly, core values of anarchism are replicated in the black bloc; avoiding violence except when necessary and in self-defense, and coordination and cooperation among many creating a much more credible threat than a hyper-specialized violence-seeking few. When it comes to confronting MMA-style fascist types, they rely on their overwhelming numbers over individual prowess. Both fascists and trained riot police have been known to rout and run when confronted with a well-coordinated bloc.

Members of a bloc are diverse, but are more likely to be social workers, bike couriers, and waitresses than professional fighters. They train in underground gyms and community fitness centers as a social activity rather than a calling. Fighter is not their primary identity.

I like this - both the ambition and the character. I suspect his description as written falls a bit short of some SRA and Black Block types, but it also doesn’t preclude a fairly radical alignment.