Rather than lobbying or pleading with representatives, these examples highlight the power of direct action to create the material changes our so-called “representatives” deny us. By directly meeting needs and attacking #colonial, #white-supremacist, #imperialist, #hetero-patriarchal, and #capitalist structures, we can help build communities and institutions that meet the needs of all people rather than serving the ruling class. Ruth Wilson Gilmore writes, “abolition is about presence, not absence. It’s about building life-affirming institutions.” Direct action is how we address colonialism, #capitalism, and #imperialism and build life affirming #communities and worlds.