The assault on the Nation’s Capitol is an issue of culture. Moreover, is an issue that cannot be solely blamed on classism, racism nor mistaken as hyper partisanship (though they do play a role). In the wake of this deadly assault, the harm of (blind) culture cannot be taken lightly or ignored.
This is a culture that bum-rushed the Capitol and made it it’s Bitch. The Capitol was taken under siege of an openly, emboldened, attack on Wednesday, January 6, 2021. The violent assault was an act of domestic violence at the encouragement of the President, his fans and House allies; resulting in five deaths, including the heinous, fatal beating of Brian Sicknick, a Capitol police officer, bludgeoned in the head with a fire extinguisher.
How in the hell did we get here? There is much to be examined with the light of an equally brutal bravery, vulnerability and honesty.
Why was the mobilization of dispatched Maryland police and national guard military police blocked for 90 minutes from deployment into the Capitol building?
Question: What would have happened if a Black Lives Matter leader had stood in front of a crowd of charged supporters and said, “we are going to march to the Capitol, take what belongs to us, and take back our election” and then commence to doing it?
How is it that “45 % of Republican voters polled (the day after the attack) said they support the storming of the Capitol Building”? 45 Percent of Republican Voters Support Storming of Capitol Building: Poll (newsweek.com)
“A lot of the people who stormed the Capitol are not the typical “Olive Garden eaters (working poor).” The woman who was shot (Ashli Babbit), a 14-year Airforce veteran… was radicalized into internet, domestic terrorism. There are doctors, (veterans), lawyers and people who flew private planes to be there, who are also bragging that this woman paid top honors to die in such an event, saying it was “the best day of her life” (paraphrased, Meghan McCain, The View, ‘Political Fallout from Capitol Siege, Part 1,’ 1/8/2021, https://youtu.be/wShQamF_2W4 ).
Trumpism, Nationalism, Culturalism: “White is always right” is a fundamental inherited belief. The culturalism of Trump followers (some who are self-proclaimed White Nationalists) is entrenched in devoted defiance of proof and evidence; embedded in hyper-loyalty to a romanticized America / Confederacy, and takes to the charms of a charismatic leader, better yet, one with machismo. And this culture takes on an “us against them” mentality, including a demeaning view of the poor in general & more specifically to poor people of color, Blacks, the movement for Black Lives (BLM), Liberals (those who purport fairness for all), women, Jews, the Chinese and journalism.
Included in these beliefs is the myth of meritocracy. In other words, that poverty is due to a lack of morals as opposed to evidence that emphatically shows it is baked into the structural batter of systemic injustice. There is also blatant evidence of the middle class being swallowed nearly whole in the bowels of side gigs (side jobs) and struggle. More still, this myth perpetuates a stigma against Black skin in a climate of White Nationalists who literally place culture first. That is culture before reason, culture before evidence, culture before equality.
Notwithstanding, these beliefs are not exclusively believed, reiterated or perpetuated by Whites, as in the case of Ben Carson, https://youtu.be/KGnG_sEUrvk and many Black conservatives https://youtu.be/IVIoC5ROaHk .
The “right” seems to blame the “left” for being in their “feelings.” Nonetheless, half of Republicans are impassioned Trump loyalists.
It is Plato who said, “Love is a serious mental disease.”
Would you say it is time to fall out of love and stand for equal justice and equal protection under the law?
Will it be community or chaos? and Where do we go from here?
Lisa there's so much food for thought in this write up. It's a must share!