Yesterday was one of the wildest days I’ve ever witnessed in American history.
Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in Washington, D.C. to object to the election results. It is being reported that one protestor was shooting into the House chamber causing them to clear the floor and barricade the doors. The actions come after President Trump encouraged peaceful protesting against the electoral vote certification.
The scene was nuts! People were climbing walls. Fighting police. One person even used a scaffold to take down the American flag and replace it with a Trump flag. That action alone speaks volumes. Four people died from rioting. It was quite the scene.
Look at these pictures.
I can’t express to you how unacceptable this is, yet here we are.
These are the same people who chastised Colin Kaepernick for kneeling during the anthem. Those that criticized Black Lives Matter for marching to end police brutality. The people that hated President Obama for saying his son would look like Trayvon Martin. The law and order crowd. These are some of the same folks storming the Capitol. So called patriots of this nation.
One thing that was widely called for during the George Floyd riots was accountability. This even came from President Trump. The problem with that is Trump has been moving without accountability since he began his campaign for the 2016 election. His continual verbal assaults on fellow Americans only served to amp up his base who enjoyed his “no nonsense” style. So many conservatives said that the country had gotten soft. Trump was supposed to turn this around. Turns out all he did was play on your fears.
Trump figured out long ago that words matter and he understands how to weaponize them. If you are arguing this point, then please refer to the “patriots” who conspired to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Witmer. The myriad tweets that castigate anyone who disagrees with him. The juvenile nicknames of his political opponents. My question is how long are Trump’s actions going to be excused?
For the last four to six years it’s been controversy after controversy. Fighting with the media. A redefining of what it means to love America. Trump has continually poured gas on the fire. His appeal to the masses with constant misinformation is deception at it’s finest. It’s to the point where people don’t even know what they are mad about. They can’t tell you the how/why/when/where of election fraud, but they know it happened because Trump and conservative twitter said so. Never mind Trump claimed election fraud in 2016 when he won. These same people were dead silent back then. Why are you speaking up now?
Trump’s response to the storming of the Capitol?
Yup. That’s entirely real. An utter lack of leadership in crisis. He actually encouraged these barbaric events.
I’ve been told on so many occasions that America is the greatest nation on Earth. The truth is the America that you saw yesterday is the America that’s always been. It’s gritty, flawed, angry, loud, and boisterous. It’s the country you love but the side of it you’re blind to. It’s the America you choose to ignore. Until it affects you, of course.
That is the height of privilege.
Sources:
https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/06/politics/us-capitol-lockdown/index.html
A Fresh Voice 