Direct action is a form of political activism which seeks immediate remedy for perceived ills, as opposed to indirect actions such as electing representatives who promise to provide remedy at some later date.
Direct action includes such activities as strikes, boycotts, workplace occupations, sit-ins, intimidation, harassment, political assassinations, revolutionary/guerrilla warfare, terrorism or sabotage, and less oppositional methods such as establishing radical social centres, which are often squatted. Direct actions are often (but not always) a form of civil disobedience, and are sometimes illegal. Direct action participants aim to either:
- obstruct another agent or organization from performing some practice to which they object.
- act with whatever resources and methods are within their power, either on their own or as part of a group, in order to solve problems.
Supporters of direct action view reformist politics as ineffective in bringing about change, while still giving a sense of accomplishment to the participants, thus allowing the party or institution being targeted to continue with its perceived harmful practices without further harassment. Anarchist Emma Goldman articulated this idea by saying "if voting changed anything, they'd make it illegal."
source Wikipedia Direct Action
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Pictures of Anti-War Protests from around the World via:Colorado Campaign for Middle East Peace