The notion of seeking legitimacy from the state, whilst adhering to the rules it constructs and enforces, with the hope of attaining an end result which sees the deconstruction of the aforementioned institution and in replacement the installation of a non-hierarchical/egalitarian society is delusional at best. What I refer to here is the incessant insistence that an adherence to the legality the state sets out as a legitimizing factor when managing populations, within marches/protests and all other activities which purportedly have the stated goals of retaining a piece of what was once in the hands of those most effected by the tyranny of state-capitalism, is what is necessary. This nonsensical quest for legitimacy in the eyes of the state and the corporate driven media is not only frustrating and self-neutralizing, it allows for the hierarchy of the state to be replicated within given social ‘justice’ circles.
The quest for legitimacy usually comes in the form of a vanguard of self-appointed authority figures who put the call out for a march or demonstration and quickly add in such phrases as ‘family friendly’ and ‘non-violent’ (a piece of a false dichotomy) and who themselves act as the ‘peace police’, ensuring that the job of the police is made easier for them and free of charge too!!
A common problem which arises, which at face value to anyone whose understanding of the state and capital is not very thorough is a plausible concept, is the notion that by remaining within the realm of passivity and adhering to the enforcement of structural violence (legality), the media will look more favorably on the given message of said ‘movement’. The first falsehood of this assertion is the notion that capitalist driven media is itself neutral and doesn’t have a vested interest in maintaining the privileging and empowerment of those who retain power from the state and capital. That being said, under no circumstance is it possibly understandable that any honest individual could subscribe to such a myth, as the corporate driven media is never going to be a friend of the people, the poor and downtrodden.
One such example within the canadian state is the occupation of the Palestinian territory (I say territory to include all that has been physically usurped by Isreal and not a reference to strictly the West Bank and Gaza). As someone who has been to several mass demos in relation to this issue over a number of years, I have come to see a repetition of the same mistake and I see that as being intrinsically linked to disregarded class antagonisms over here within those who purport themselves to be in opposition to Canada/U.S. backed Isreali genocide. I have witnessed more rebellious factions within these marches being scolded and prevented from confronting the white supremacist zionists who show up to show their support for overt fascism, by the self-appointed authoritarian figureheads whose interest in the march lie in opposition to those who truly want to resist oppression. And it never fails that the number one excuse given during any attempt at pacification, is that the media will do a spin on the scenario and portray those confronting the fascists as being fascistic hooligans themselves. The problem with this ‘argument’ is that the white supremacist colonial media structure within the canadian state portrays pro-Palestinian activists as such regardless of what we do. Just by waving the flag of the oppressed we will be portrayed as supporters of terrorism, because we can choose to ignore reality, but the statists of this empire understand very well that they have a huge vested interest (primarily military) in the colonial apartheid regime of Isreal. Furthermore, the media in perhaps more surreptitious ways, will then capitalize on what Norman Finkelstein correctly called the holocaust industry, and portray anyone who even voices an opinion that is in opposition to the empowerment of Isreal as anti-semites. The latter is inevitable and cannot be contended with by pacifying the true resistance of those who feel the rage burning within them to do something to fight back against genocide.
One main reason to challenge and dismantle the false logic of adhering to the will of the Canadian state in this case, is that what is going on in Isreal is an exact replication of what has been going on over here for about 512 or so years. It is substantially easier to ignore a mass genocide when it is being maintained in your backyard and you choose to identify yourself with the nation-state upon which said extirpation of the Indigenous population takes place.
Another issue which arises out of the quest for legitimacy, is the constant mimicking of the states narrative when dealing with more subversive elements within ‘movements’. More recently, this has come in the form of attacking those who choose to utilize the tactic of the black bloc at marches and by setting up an environment in which the police can pick off individuals who choose to bravely transcend the demarcations set forth by the cops. Long and pointless debates then transpire as to the ‘legitimacy’ of the bloc, the intentions of the people contained therein and the usefulness of choosing this tactic of resistance. These arguments, although not always, usually come from the more socio-economically privileged and those who can therefore choose to ignore the everyday reality of structural violence. Violence is an inherent part to the legitimacy of the state and cannot be divorced from it.
This futile argument takes sights off of the very real and present violence of the police and places it within the self-defeating realm of attacking those who choose to pose a threat to the legitimacy of the police. As well, ignoring the inherent violence imbued within the practice of policing, those who bust through police lines and de-arrest are generally portrayed as being antagonists in a situation in which under any other banner would be recognized for what it is, protecting comrades from the most overt examples of rampant repression. Those who seek legitimacy from the state, opt to trust state functionaries at their word and turn on those who offer up the most courageous and realistic opposition to structural violence.
All the aforementioned doesn’t even begin to speak to the outright dismantling of oppressive institutions and relationships, merely dealing with effectively resisting state repression in the now and the quest for legitimacy has already ensured that any given movement will be recuperated and repackaged by the state and fellow capitalists.

I will continue to write on this later on, however in the meantime here is some useful reading on the matter or legitimacy and violence:

http://crimethinc.com/texts/recentfeatures/violence.php

http://www.zinelibrary.info/against-pacifist-linearity

http://www.interfacejournal.net/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Int...

http://wewantsomefood.blogspot.ca/2011/12/you-are-not-durutti-but-we-are...