Anyone Keeping Up With the January 6th Riot?
ASPartOfMe
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Trump effectively used free speech in order to attack minority groups which appeals to the republican heartland that he's somehow "not afraid to speak what has been on their minds but they are too afraid to say"
It's a cheap way and indecent way to be popular among conservatives who were fed up candidates the GOP put up and liked the popularism Trump spouted.
Its not the first time GOP politicians threatened to kill democrats. I'm not American but the Australian media published Sarah Palin's use of cross-hairs over democrat Gabby Giffords which almost certainly inspired the person who shot Gabby in the head.
A toxic mix of gun culture and prejudice.
They conditionally want free speech which means 1. They don’t believe in free speech 2. They are no different from the wokes they critize.
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ASPartOfMe
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Now back on topic
The indecency of GOP excuses for Jan. 6 by Cathy Young
Behind Pay Wall
This grim juxtaposition sums up, in a nutshell, the indecency of pro-Donald Trump Republicans’ stance regarding Jan. 6.
By and large, their approach — used by people ranging from random Twitter posters to members of Congress — has been to deny, minimize, justify, or explain away. The excuses and explanations have multiplied, often canceling each other out.
The minimizers mock the notion that Jan. 6 was an attempted coup, pointing out that the rioters had no chance of actually seizing power or of preventing Joe Biden’s certification as the election winner. That much is true. But it seems clear that they believed they had a good chance to thwart Biden (or, as they saw it, to "stop the steal"). No less important, it appears that Trump believed his supporters could successfully intimidate Congress into handing him the victory.
When the president of the United States eggs on a mob of his supporters to invade the Capitol and force Congress to reverse the results of an election, and that mob manages to seize the building and force the lawmakers into hiding, that’s an attack on our democracy even if the coup had no chance of succeeding.
Trump supporters have a smidgen of a point when they argue that many major media outlets and progressive politicians downplayed or excused the violence and damage from rioting that often erupted during the racial justice protests of 2020, which caused severe economic and social damage in many cities. I, for one, would welcome hearings on that issue as well. But the Jan. 6 insurrection stands apart as a violent assault on the seat of our democracy encouraged by the former president himself.
The fact that so many members of one of our two major parties are excusing this attack just makes it more dangerous.
This is why while it was a riot I hate calling it that. Riots are a dime a dozen, they can be caused by drunken college students, or people celebrating their favorite teams winning a championship. BLM inspired riots and Antifa riots were even insurrections when they attacked police stations and Federal buildings. All too often they have also been excused with the “mostly peaceful protests” gaslighting. What last summers riots were not were an attempted coup, what they were not was the most serious attack on Washington since the British attacked in 1814 and the British were after buildings not elected officials.
And to those dismissing it because “it was never going to succeed” you might be speaking too soon, engaging in your own “Mission Accomplished” delusion. Tell me about it in 2025 when Republicans having won the midterms refuse to certify the results of the 2024 general election they lost. Paranoid hyperbole? I hope but that is the most likely way this is going to play out IMHO.
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Last edited by ASPartOfMe on 06 Aug 2021, 4:38 am, edited 1 time in total.
Um, the people you label as "wokes" don't threaten to lynch congressmen.
You cant even begin to compare BLM and antifa with the MAGA crazies.
Those people who caused damage to public property during BLM protests were not part of the organising groups. Both BLM and antifa are grassroots movements with no clear leadership or centralised control.
In stark contrast the Capitol insurrection was organised from the highest level of the republican party who not only instigated the rioters to murder but collaborated with GOP politicians to obtain secret intel on the building plans in order to exact their vengeance, No wonder Mike Pence cooperated later on since he realised his ass was included in the lynchmob's gun sights. Trump happily encouraged this.
ASPartOfMe
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You cant even begin to compare BLM and antifa with the MAGA crazies.
Those people who caused damage to public property during BLM protests were not part of the organising groups. Both BLM and antifa are grassroots movements with no clear leadership or centralised control.
In stark contrast the Capitol insurrection was organised from the highest level of the republican party who not only instigated the rioters to murder but collaborated with GOP politicians to obtain secret intel on the building plans in order to exact their vengeance, No wonder Mike Pence cooperated later on since he realised his ass was included in the lynchmob's gun sights. Trump happily encouraged this.
Cathy Young whose article I quoted from compared and in commenting on her piece I expanded on that. We both found Jan 6 much more serious. Me and her compared with the explicit purpose of debunking the common whataboutism excusing, minimizing and gaslighting of January 6. Somehow in your mind a blistering attack post about January 6 is an excuse making post for January 6.
Did you not get taught the lesson that two wrongs do not make a right? Just because 1/6 was worse is no reason to minimize Summer 2020, or the revolutionary intent of the BLM founders who in part set the stage for the summer of 2020 and took full advantage of the moment they were waiting and hoping for. You and others can keep trying and trying and trying to minimize what happened last year but you are never, never, never going to get me to minimize 2020. January 6, hell nearly everything the MAGA’s have ever done gives you guys a powerful and probably unbeatable rhetorical weapon. Good for you and tough s**t for me and others who are not stuck in the current tribal thinking, obla di, obla da life goes on.
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Last edited by ASPartOfMe on 06 Aug 2021, 5:34 am, edited 3 times in total.
You cant even begin to compare BLM and antifa with the MAGA crazies.
Those people who caused damage to public property during BLM protests were not part of the organising groups. Both BLM and antifa are grassroots movements with no clear leadership or centralised control.
In stark contrast the Capitol insurrection was organised from the highest level of the republican party who not only instigated the rioters to murder but collaborated with GOP politicians to obtain secret intel on the building plans in order to exact their vengeance, No wonder Mike Pence cooperated later on since he realised his ass was included in the lynchmob's gun sights. Trump happily encouraged this.
Yes I did compare and so did Cathy Young whose article I quoted and we both found Jan 6 much more seroius.
You have to post the extract about BLM and antifa because Cathy Young's article is behind a paywall
ASPartOfMe
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You cant even begin to compare BLM and antifa with the MAGA crazies.
Those people who caused damage to public property during BLM protests were not part of the organising groups. Both BLM and antifa are grassroots movements with no clear leadership or centralised control.
In stark contrast the Capitol insurrection was organised from the highest level of the republican party who not only instigated the rioters to murder but collaborated with GOP politicians to obtain secret intel on the building plans in order to exact their vengeance, No wonder Mike Pence cooperated later on since he realised his ass was included in the lynchmob's gun sights. Trump happily encouraged this.
Yes I did compare and so did Cathy Young whose article I quoted and we both found Jan 6 much more seroius.
You have to post the extract about BLM and antifa because Cathy Young's article is behind a paywall
Requote.
Even though unlike me she did not explicitly name BLM they are most likely whose role she would like investigated. As far as the general comparison of which incident was worse, clear enough for me.
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“My autism is not a superpower. It also isn’t some kind of god-forsaken, endless fountain of suffering inflicted on my family. It’s just part of who I am as a person”. - Sara Luterman
I think what is precipitating the movements comes from three completely different triggers.
1 BLM is from hundreds of years of oppression and legitimate frustration at the continued fear that black people have for the police who continue to over react when stopping black people. It's no coincidence that in the era that every black person can now afford camera phones that police are being captured on film resulting in recent mandatory requirements that police carry bodycams. The rate of abuse hasn't changed, it's just been captured on film. It also explains the rise in Karens being caught (like the Amy Coopers and Abigail Elphicks) on film who could previously weaponise race when attacking a black person knowing that the police will always take their side.
2, Antifa are made up of gun carrying white folk who hate racism. Are probably embarrassed and angry they live in a country that still encourages unhealthy right wing values. They take the philosophy "never again" and probably feel they they need to defend against the rise of white supremacist ideology from rearing its head again (it ruled every facet of American life for 400 years in case you forgot).
3, Then we have the MAGA/QAnon/tea party/Alt-right/proud boy/militia coalition who make up the crowd who attacked the capitol building on Jan 6th. What drove them is conspiracies and populism. Many of them are rank and file republicans flew in private jets to attend the attack and could be described as "Bougie" terrorists along with an assortment of gun nuts, racists and rednecks who all love Trump. I wouldn't be surprised if there were plenty of god-fearing christians among those carrying nooses to lynch congressmen.
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ASPartOfMe
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U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth ordered Devlyn Thompson, who struck an officer with a baton, to be detained, ruling that the potential coronavirus risk did not constitute "an exceptional circumstance" allowing for his release.
Attorney Thomas Durkin said Thompson, who also has a form of autism, has not been vaccinated due to "concerns over severe allergic reactions" related to an ingredient in the vaccines.
Thompson had been free since being charged last month, and prosecutors acknowledged that he has been cooperating in the investigation. But the government maintained that the violent nature of his conviction required that he be jailed pending his sentencing next month.
Lamberth said Thompson faced a maximum punishment of 20 years in prison but deferred sentencing until a background investigation could be completed.
Citing Thompson's remorse and cooperation with investigators, Durkin argued that his client should qualify for a much lesser punishment than the maximum.
"He has never once backed off from the stupidity and absurdity of his conduct," Durkin said of his client who was appearing virtually from Seattle, Washington. "This was a one-off for him."
Durkin maintained that his client's conduct, while serious, was not part of an organized conspiracy and that he was not associated with extremist groups who participated in the violent siege.
The baton Thompson used against the officer, according to court documents, was found on the ground, and attorneys claimed that he only used the weapon to knock a can of pepper spray out of the officer's hand.
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“My autism is not a superpower. It also isn’t some kind of god-forsaken, endless fountain of suffering inflicted on my family. It’s just part of who I am as a person”. - Sara Luterman
Don’t forget Redneck Revolt.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/shadowproo ... hites/amp/
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Kraichgauer
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Don’t forget Redneck Revolt.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/shadowproo ... hites/amp/
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