Street Party for Obama

Better late than never.
As the highly hyped presidential election results were announced last Tuesday night, the excitement many people felt here in south Minneapolis bubbled up and spilled into the streets. On Cedar and Riverside avenues, the energy was fierce and widely felt, and the celebration continued for hours. The stretch of Cedar avenue in between the Nomad pub and Palmer’s bar became a passage of dancing, singing bodies. Participants in the celebration directed traffic and I didn’t see a single driver angered at the interruption posed by the crowd. I felt an unsual sense of cooperation, both by fellow partiers unafraid to stand in the street, and by those passing by in cars and bikes, smiling and shouting with us.

The Minneapolis police attempted to control the celebration, issuing orders to stay on the sidewalk and to please celebrate more calmly that were barely audible over the cheering and singing, and the impromptu orchestra. After several unsuccessful attempts at quelling the energy, one MPD car drove through the crowd pepper-spraying all the partiers within reach. Ultimately the police were useless in terms of directing traffic, which was already being handled, and couldn’t do much beyond standing around.

I am someone who is skeptical of the promises of change offered by a politician. This is because I believe that the government serves the purpose of maintaining an imbalance of power, and that the way that system works is incompatible with the air of change and revolution that Obama exudes. So my excitement to be at a street party was perhaps less motivated by the election results than many of my fellow partiers, many of whom were Somali immigrants, but it was still a joy to stand alongside everyone and feel infinite possibilities ahead, and an honor feel so many of us unintimidated by the Minneapolis police.

Some questions did arise for me as I participated in the spectacle as something of an outsider. What does it mean for us that spontaneous, popular street demonstrations are occurring in celebration of a presidential election? This is the first time in my relatively short life that I’ve seen anarchists and democrats dancing together, uninhibited, in the street. What does this mean, strategically, for radicals? One thing I felt on Tuesday night was this immense sense of relief, as if all the ills and exploitation in our lives had been cured instantly, as if a revolution had occurred. Perhaps the wild chanting of “YES WE CAN” is a demonstration of a floodgate crashing open, and it can be remembered that the fight is not yet over, and that to survive, we’ve gotta move toward a world where we will be able to make the decisions that are right for each of us and for our communities, not just for a president making better decisions.

no borders, no state, obama 08!