Obama's Inauguration: How to Respond?

The internet has been a flood lately with discussions on what anarchists, anti-authoritarians and others should do on January 20th.

On one side of the debate is the website hopefrompeople.com, who put out a call to form a "Celebrate People’s History and Build Popular Power" bloc. Signed by many high-profile figures, including Noam Chomsky and Howard Zinn, the site states:

As people striving toward a non hierarchical society, yes, we can—and should—be rigorously critical of Barack Obama. […]But not all heads of state are alike, and if we fail to recognize both the historical meaning and power of this particular moment, we will ensure our own irrelevance.

Perhaps, as people working to build a world from below without electoralism or statecraft, we also need to listen on January 20. It is neither the time nor the place to critique hope or excitement on the part of people who have engaged in grassroots struggles in so many ways and won a substantial victory.

Many strongly disagree with this idea though. On DC indymedia, an anonymous author posted a critique of the call

The quickest way for anyone to ensure their own irrelevance, especially in the face of seminal historical events such as this one, is to renege on one’s responsibility to offer true and honest analysis of the situation, as one sees it through one’s own eyes.

Is it a "victory" to be "celebrated" when we get our half a loaf? Or is it a set-back? If the sole motivation for being given half a loaf is to dissuade us from revolution, to restore our faith in the supposedly “representative” nature of liberal democracy, aren’t we dutifully serving the interests of the ruling class we purport to oppose by acting as agents of conduit for the very lies they seek to spread?

The discussion continued on many rochester email lists and face-to-face conversations (post 1, post 2). It seems the radical community is split on how to respond to the this historic election.

So what do you think? How should people respond to Obama's inauguration? What plans do you have for the 20th? Click the link below, and let's discuss.