Op Ed: Of Course We’re Talking About January 6th
By: Binaka Norris
We weren’t even a week into 2021, and we witnessed a coup. A domestic terrorist attack. The Confederate Flag flew proudly in the Capitol building. A noose was prophetically framed outside. Who’s getting strung up? Democracy.
This tweet from Tomi Lahren lives in my head rent-free: “If @realDonaldTrump were to lose (he won’t) his supporters will go to work tomorrow just as we do everyday. When Biden loses, his “supporters” will likely loot and riot. Tells you everything you need to know! #Trump2020.” I could go on and on about this tweet, but I’ll spare you the soapbox and get to the point: protesting and terrorism are not the same things. I know, this concept may seem crazy, but groups of people fighting for their right to exist just doesn’t equate to sore losers storming the Capitol. I want to say I’m surprised, but white conservatives losing their minds when they don’t get their way isn’t far-fetched. But don’t worry, they aren’t hurting too much - QAnon Shaman Jacob Chansley (the guy with the antlers) gets the extreme punishment of eating only organic food while in federal custody (sigh), and one woman was “muh..muh..maced” (I’m tearing up already). Plus, only a little over 40 of them have been arrested, so most of them are getting off scot-free. Now I’m no mathematician, but I’m assuming that in a crowd of thousands of unmasked criminals, the arrest number should be just a little higher, especially considering the FBI was able to locate a BLM protestor from an Etsy receipt. Now don’t get me wrong - being upset over your candidate's loss is completely fine and understandable. If Biden had lost, I’m sure a good deal of the country would be downtrodden as well. However, a political loss is not an excuse to desecrate federal property. But for people who have had every advantage (white privilege, religious privilege, hetero + cis privilege), losing is unfamiliar. When people who have been able to spew their hateful, violent, and supremacist nonsense freely are suddenly getting a slap on the wrist, things can feel backward.
“But BLM protests were violent too.” Okay, I hear you. The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project has stated that 93% of BLM protests were peaceful, but that 7% may mean a great deal to you. Let’s compare a violent BLM protest to the events at the Capitol.
The Good Taste Ice Cream Shoppe in Kenosha was burned during the Kenosha protests in August. The entire building is demolished. This isn’t the only business that suffered due to Kenosha violence. So let’s do some digging. Kenosha is pretty racially segregated, with lower-income BIPOC citizens living in one area, and wealthier white citizens living in a separate one. Obviously, there is sparse intermingling, but for the most part, it’s pretty divided. What were the reactions of Kenosha residents? Many were saddened and confused but understood the emotions behind it. Resident Eric Vines says, “This is one of the ways that – unfortunately – people know how to take out their anger, because peaceful protests since the '60s have not evidently been too effective.” Another resident, Kenneth Smith stated, “I think people were just looking for a little justice, you know?” While what happened in their town was a tragedy, people understood that it was bigger than a burned building - it was years of compounding race-related violence, and the resulting travesty was, at its core, a cry for help.
Now let’s see some reactions to the Capitol attack. Simon Peter, a Democrat from Minnesota says “I'm disgusted but not surprised. I anticipated this would happen and it was a matter of when, not if. I didn't anticipate that it would happen in the capital. This is the president whose people - since the racial justice movement in the summer - said they were for "law and order". So the "law and order" people broke into the Capitol and changed the American flag with the Trump flag.” Republican James Clark offers, “I had actually thought about going down to the protests with a sign that said "Republicans Against Trump". My brother said, if I had done that, there would have been five deaths, not four, and he may have been right.” Once again, we see sadness and confusion, but no real indicator of purpose. Many people, on both sides, didn’t see the real point of the riots, and couldn’t offer the same somewhat empathetic response that we saw during BLM protests. Perhaps this is because we are comparing apples to oranges. The fight for basic human rights is not the same as a political temper tantrum.
The call now is for unity. “America is better than this.” “We can make it through together.” “Stronger together.” I don’t know about you, but I’m not going to “get unified” with white supremacists. I don’t want to “hold hands” with politicians and leaders that incite violence. I don’t want to “agree to disagree” with people who hate my existence. America is not better than this. America has been enabling white supremacy, inequality, and injustice in the name of democracy since its inception.
The Capitol rioters represent the old nature of American democracy. The facade of people leading people, when it was actually privileged people choosing other privileged people. They are the echoes of America’s beginning. American democracy was formed by the exploitation of others in hopes of power for a few. Without change, it may end in the same fashion.