On Wednesday, November 3, a small group comprised mostly of Macalester students staged a protest that culminated in shutting down the intersection at Grand and Snelling. This direct action was met with resistance at every level. We were accused of acting juvenile and behaving selfishly, irresponsibly, and without purpose. This is one member’s defense.

I begin with a proposition so simple that it appears self-evident: Reality matters. The events that happen every day around the world matter, and they are the only means with which to evaluate a position or an action. If we ignore Reality, then there is no standard of accountability.

I believe my next proposition to be equally self-evident, and I believe many of my readers will as well. Our president has been allowed to ignore Reality. If you think he has lied about every policy decision since day one, and if you think he is a lying, despotic, Crusading Homophobe, you do not need convincing. If you think otherwise after the past four years, it is beyond my power to change your mind here.

Despite the unprecedented worldwide protests, untold volumes of literature chronicling his crimes, and truly incredible actions by organizations such as MoveOn.org and America Coming Together, our president still sits in power. He was not held accountable for his atrocities. He was allowed to ignore his domestic and international failures, and run as a strong leader. He was allowed to construct homophobia as a “moral value.” More importantly, this has happened without any serious disruptions to our way of life.

Acting within the system failed to remove him from power, and failed to show the extent to which citizens of this country are outraged. Lawful, permitted actions were either unnoticed or trivialized. We now need tactics that cannot be ignored. These tactics, for obvious reasons, often fall outside of what is considered lawful.

We must not allow him to claim a mandate. We must show that we persist, and that the violence perpetrated upon us and the rest of the world will not stand unchecked. Your job is not over. Your conscience cannot be cleared. Fuck “November 2.” It was a lie. It was a T-shirt. It was a Brand Name that perpetuated “November 2” as our only day for action, and voting as our only outlet.

Over 1,100 reports of touch screen voting problems have been reported as of Nov. 8. That does not mean one thousand individuals registered complaints, it means massive errors for the 40 million Americans who voted on digital machines. A more detailed account of these problems can be found at http://truthout.org/docs_04/110804A.shtml or by simply doing online research about Diebold, ‘vote spoilage,’ or at http://blackboxvoting.org.

This election was stolen before a single vote was cast. It was stolen when the mainstream media marginalized the organized dissent at the RNC, and allowed it to fade from the public debate. It was stolen when We the People allowed corporations to cover our election and deliver our votes. Diebold has made documented contributions of over $200,000 to the Republican Party in 2000, 2001, and 2002, and pledged Ohio’s electoral votes for the current President in 2004 (see “Truthout” link above).

This resistance, however, is not just about systematic disenfranchisement. A recount is not our ultimate goal. This is not just about the Occupation. Or just about the rights of women and the GLBT community. This is about invoking our rights as self-determined beings to resist a government that is destroying the world. This is about disrupting a society whose uninterrupted daily workings allow our leaders to ignore Reality. These disruptions must rise from our moral obligations as citizens of the world, not our lawful obligations as citizens of a government we believe to be the root of the problem.

To the accomodationists who say “look how close we were; he’s a lame duck now; next time we will win,” I ask this: how long must our outrage incubate before it may make itself heard? What is the appropriate civilian death toll before we are justified in taking action? Must we wait until our government turns its tanks on us? (see video of tanks approaching Los Angeles protesters recently at http://la.indymedia.org/)

The system has failed us, now maybe more than ever, and so we claim the right to disrupt it by any means at our disposal. Our leaders have been allowed to ignore Reality. They have not been forced to acknowledge resistance. This is why I broke the law on that Wednesday, and it did not go ignored. Both local papers covered our action. It made the AP wire. Forty students stepped into the street. Imagine if one hundred had. Or two hundred. Or if every person who believes what I am saying united to speak so loudly that it could not be ignored. If I speak for the rest of the street-protesters, I am happy. If I speak for those who will join me next time, I am infinitely more so.

If you are interested in getting active, keep your eyes open.