Rioters storm U.S. Capitol with support from the Commander in Chief
- tomelkeles
- Jan 9, 2021
- 3 min read
How the riots at the Capitol exposed the hypocrisy of the American far-right, the prevalence of white supremacy and the disregard for democracy in the States.
I am sure everyone will be able to appreciate the beautiful irony demonstrated on the 6th of January 2021 in Washington D.C. The very same people who were gleefully proclaiming ‘When the looting starts, the shooting starts’ in the summer of 2020, have now surrendered any pretence of moral high ground in favour of what can only really be described as a bestial fascist coup attempt. In the U.S. Holocaust museum, there hangs a sign detailing 14 early warning signs of emerging fascism:
Watching the demonstrations on Capitol Hill was like playing a sick game of bingo as the rioters and Trump administration went 14 for 14 on the fascism checklist.
Far less subtly than this was the actual Nazi merchandise on display, ‘camp Auschwitz staff’ t-shirts and swastika tattoos were just some of the sickening imagery from inside the Capitol building. Most worryingly of all, were the scenes of these so called ‘patriots’ tearing down the stars and stripes to be replaced with ‘MAGA’, Nazi or confederate flags. The self-contradictory nature of these riots is demonstrated clearly in the right-wing commentators who spurred on violent protest in D.C. Figures such as Tomi Lahren and Ian Miles Cheong, as well as, of course, the President himself who all eagerly encouraged their followers to act following the election only to just as quickly denounce the violence after it broke out.
Another point of concern following these riots is the general lack of police resistance. This is the most stark and excruciating example of white privilege in modern America. The tear gas, pepper spray and rubber bullets used so emphatically at black-led events including the violin vigil of a black teenager slain at the hands of police, or a peaceful march led by black mothers protesting racial inequality faced by their children, appeared to have been left at the precinct. These brutal methods of crowd control were replaced by selfies and water bottles. What is the point of a $650 billion dollar defence budget if an unwashed mob of weapon-brandishing Nazis are allowed to waltz in, unimpeded into the seat of western democracy?
The disparity in treatment of white vs non-white Americans has never been on clearer display, raising the question am I incredulous has to be asked in 2021; ‘What would have happened if the rioters were black?’
While the police proved incapable of even menacingly waving a baton, the riots claimed the lives of 5 victims, 4 rioters and one police officer. Of the 4 rioters, 3 died of suspected heart attacks and one, a white, female air-force vet, was shot dead in the Capitol building.
This whole episode, along with President Trump’s general destabilisation of the US political system has been an embarrassment for America, but worse than that, the whole West. Russian and Chinese media has gleefully pounced on the opportunity to expose their Western rivals’ weakness and fractious infighting. They laugh to see the supposed victor of the Cold War reduced to a dumpster fire of personality cults, riots and guns.
The sentiment at the crux of this debacle is dissatisfaction with the election. The presidential personality cult is apparently unable to compute the notion the candidate they voted for losing an election. Stirred into an incensed fervour by repeated baseless claims of election fraud and ‘stolen’ ballots is the true cause of the riots, it is believed that by storming the Capitol, the rioters hoped to steal the vote boxes and destroy the ballots. One of the most striking images of the day was the widely circulated picture of a man walking off with the speaker of the house of representative’s lectern. Is this how democracy in the USA is doomed to die? Going out with a whimper as it is carried off by a beaming everyman in a bobble hat.