Yes, that spelling in the title was intentional. Forgive me, it’s extremely late as I write this.
As new, more disturbing reports come in about why there was such a severe lack of security and disappointing confirmation of the lax treatment violent rioters got by police, it’s increasingly clear that this was in fact a larger conspiracy than I originally imagined. Multiple news sources have been doing an amazing job compiling security request documents, speaking with House & Senate leaders who were admittedly traumatized by the events, and painstakingly piecing together the days, weeks, and months leading up to the January 6th insurrection.
My previous post was written in a fury on the same day of the riots, so there are a few things I did get wrong about tear gas being deployed into crowds and (feeble) attempts by Capitol police to stop some of the rioters from entering the Capitol. Tear gas was in fact shot into crowds, but it wasn’t enough to stop them. There were Capitol police who tried to thwart the onslaught of the violent crowd, but they were extremely outnumbered. However, the gross reality that police presence would’ve undoubtedly been staggering were these protests for black lives still applies. This abominable demonstration of white power, fragility, and privilege was able to barge through the doors of the Capitol and ransack offices and hallways, stealing and defiling. Not a second thought to them of immediate repercussions or threat of violence. If it were a BLM protest, there would’ve been truckloads of tear gas on hand. A small army of police perched on the steps in riot gear no doubt.
We are all holding our breath waiting for Monday when the House starts the process for impeachment. There are a few reasons why this is so imperative right now. One, it will set a precedent that insurrection is intolerable (which duh- it’s literally in the US Codes), and two, it will prevent Trump from being able to reap the benefits of a former president such as a pension, travel stipend (that we the people pay for!), among other things, but most importantly he won’t be able to run again, which he’s already threatened to do months ago. I cannot express how dire this impeachment is. Not only so he can’t get his rotund orange hindquarters in that Oval office ever again, but this would be a clear message to white supremacists that their brand of politics isn’t without inexorable consequence. If the Republicans don’t get it together and acknowledge the president’s pivotal role in sedition, they’ll be formally introducing nazism into American politics. We know it’s been there. In the past they’ve masked the conspicuous leanings of white supremacy, running on a platform of tax cuts and government restrictions that simply don’t benefit a majority of the country. Right now the spotlight is on them to outwardly denounce or fully embrace white supremacist ideals. A sect of the Republican party has been indoctrinated for decades, but there is still a sliver of folks who are not about nazism and are watching their party turn into something truly ugly. I’ll be the first to say, Republicans always just seemed (still) overtly racist to me and I don’t usually agree with their platform, but I understand the fundamentals and know their party right now has taken a turn towards an extreme not all of them agree with. I can be sympathetic to that sentiment, but know this is also the same party who has used race and otherism to reach their base, so this was all kind of inevitable…
Racism is what got us here along with many other cultural, structural, and historical failings of this nation. Some Republicans were eager to denounce the behavior of the roving hoards of bloodthirsty, bear-fur-wearing, neo-nazis, but they are the same ones who birthed this monstrosity and coddled white supremacy through silence or direct encouragement. Now, a bunch of them are trying to distance themselves from the president, but the damage has already been done. We have all seen who and what they stood by for the last four years to cling onto a modicum of power. They’re cowards. They don’t deserve to be applauded or celebrated for doing something they should have done years ago. Then there’s a whole other group of Republicans, including SENATORS and celebrities, who are doubling down on their support and/or expressing disapproval of impeachment which just reads to me as, I don’t want to be held responsible next.
Below are a few truly terrible takes I’ve seen online that illustrate their utter disconnect from reality:
Those calling for impeachment or invoking the 25th Amendment in response to President Trump’s rhetoric this week are themselves engaging in intemperate and inflammatory language and calling for action that is equally irresponsible and could well incite further violence.
— Rep. Kevin Brady (@RepKevinBrady) January 10, 2021
The conservative movement is about to face a level of collective discrimination by the institutions of our society not seen since Jim Crow
— Will Chamberlain (@willchamberlain) January 8, 2021
unacceptable https://t.co/2EMAbU3ImA
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) January 10, 2021
For real, Kirstie?! Also, this tweet has since been deleted, and she’s insisting that there are “multiple definitions” of slavery explaining what she meant was a “‘restricted freedom’ like in Venezuela.” I don’t have the patience…
These heartless, spineless lickspittles are equating being limited or removed completely from social media platforms, seeing a significant drop in their following, and getting an earful from their followers and the public at large to Jim Crow, civil rights violations, and SLAVERY. The reckoning they’re experiencing is really throwing them and I am here for it. These flunkies have taken to crying victim about being censored by tech companies who have finally started enforcing their terms of service and suspending/removing accounts en masse. Instead of taking a beat and trying to understand why so many profiles are being purged, conservative talking heads are taking this opportunity to invoke the 1st Amendment. Free Speech. As if we hadn’t heard enough out of them these past four years on the news, online, in think pieces, op-eds, interviews, TV shows, and documentaries. If anything, we have been oversaturated with their thoughts and feelings for decades. Trump’s removal from Twitter inspired a wave of the whiniest big babies I’ve ever seen. They’re so not used to being punished for their actions, they’ve forgotten what discipline and responsibility even look like. As I’ve heard on The Read numerous times, words mean things.
White supremacy has always been at the underbelly of this country. I guess it’s really more like the bones. It’s what this country was founded and built on and manifests in our laws, entertainment, and institutions. It’s something, as a black women, I’ve had to endure while simultaneously living my life without exploding. It’s something all Black Americans have to deal with and acknowledge at some point in our lives. I always think of W.E.B DuBois’s concept of double consciousness. We are inextricably tied to America and our Black experience. So, when we saw the riots taking place we may have been stunned at first, but not surprised. Seeing the amount of white privilege and entitlement that day still bothers me.
I keep hearing “America is on the brink” and seriously don’t know what this country is going to look like if Trump isn’t impeached or removed from office. After witnessing the rise in hate crimes and seeing him operate without restraint, this is the government’s final instance to convey our country isn’t completely lost. Ultimately, I would love to see an overhaul maybe even removal of institutions that have profited or thrived off of inequality. Two-party politics and neoliberal capitalism hasn’t done anything for anyone but the 1% for decades, but if Trump doesn’t get impeached the hope for any sort of change is diminished.
Lastly, and this is a bit off-topic, but I intensely dislike the term Big Tech. It sounds like a Playskool toy and not a set of monopolies that possess way too much information and influence on society without any guardrails or true understanding of the amount of damage it has and can inflict. Am I being hyperbolic? No. No, I don’t think so.