As a member of the "older generation of organizers", let me say that I was damned pleased to see all of the contingents of young people on Saturday in DC. The movement is strengthened by the deployment of a diversity of tactics, and even old geezers are frankly not so happy about ritualized protest these days. There's a place for permitted actions for folks who simply are not arrestable -- and a place for actions that step beyond those boundaries, as well.

Re hatin' on either the new SDS or the Block, I'm for constructive criticism, but only the liberal/right opposition benefits from picking apart opportunities for mutual aid and solidarity with these kids (sorry about the k-word, but I'm three times the age of a lot of you-all, and I use the term with love).

So -- re the block on Saturday, anybody remember seeing Media Benjamin LEAVING the bridge while those in the blockade could have used some backup? It's too bad, because she missed her younger compatriots sizing up the situation and making a smart strategic decision to back off in the face of superior force. At the same time, some of those same older folks at the rally below started heading UP to the blockade after a call for support was announced from the stage.

And what was Medea doing up there in the first place? Apparently heading to the bridge to participate in a Code Pink action with the same goal as the kids ... but the block got there first.

The block is by its nature flexible, fluid and evolving. So is SDS in this moment. In the end, it's about who has the fortitude to stick together, strategically support one another, and keep the conversation about strategies and tactics real. And we should ALL back that effort.