shut it down

SHUT. IT. DOWN.

i know that a lot of people have misgivings about this, for two predictable reasons: (1) they believe that it doesn’t do any good, doesn’t accomplish anything, the media will ignore or ridicule it, and DC doesn’t care; (2) only a small minority of people on the internet will participate, and it won’t have the intended effect of slowing down the war machine.

let me address these as snark-free and sensitively as possible.

i have discussed in various comment areas as well as here that resistance, demonstration, etc. are not merely symbolic activities designed to make us feel better about ourselves, although the fact that they may have these ancillary effects isn’t a bad thing. the important thing about resistance is that it is a “use it or lose it” right. the fact is that the system never “gave” us the right to protest or resist; it has always been won by struggle. if we do not exercise these rights frequently, in fact at every possible opportunity, we are destined to lose these rights.

secondly, it is our duty as human beings, and not simply our patriotic duty as americans [although it is that as well] to not cooperate with an outlaw government engaging in illegal and immoral practices on our behalf. one of the best ways to not cooperate is to refuse to participate in the economy.

thirdly, and i hope this is the most convincing argument, it doesn’t matter if only six or a dozen or 1200 or 24,000 of us do this. what matters is that we do it. and do it again. and do it again. and do it again. perhaps the second time more people will do it. and the third time, even more. these should not be seen as mere jolly bank holidays or as the Dead Kennedys so acidly termed it, “Halloween”, where we dress up as radicals for one night and then go back about our business as compliant consumers.

this is our chance to back up our words with action. it is true resistance of the purest kind – noncompliance with the functioning of the war machine – and it is truly nonviolent. furthermore, it is non-centralized and therefore cannot be broken up by SWAT teams. nobody is going to break down your door and force you to work. yet.