And to think I thought ending 2020 with a “Dear John” letter was over the top.
Not a week into the new year, we’re seeing these front-page, all caps headlines all over the world: “INSURRECTION.” “CAPITOL SIEGE.” “MOB INVASION.” My God, what is happening to us?
More than 200 years ago, the last time the U.S. Capitol was invaded, America was at war with the British.
It was August 1814, as The War of 1812 against Great Britain neared its conclusion. British troops sailed into the Chesapeake Bay and up the Patuxent River, then fought their way toward Washington.
On August 24, using torches and gunpowder paste, British forces burned the Capitol, the president’s house and nearly every other public building in Washington. The Capitol was barely more than a burned-out shell.
According to Senate history, the beautiful chamber was left “a most magnificent ruin.”
It’s one thing to have another nation challenge the United States and invade its government buildings. It’s quite another to initiate this hell ourselves.
On January 6, 2021, instead of torches and gunpowder paste, rioters toted coolers containing long guns, along with Molotov cocktails and cans of bear spray.
Shameful. That’s the best thing I can say about you.
Yes, you. I’m talking to you. You know who you are.
And don’t forget about insurrection, sedition and treason, all of which you are guilty. You cannot drape yourself in the American flag and then shred its meaning by joining a riotous mob of domestic terrorists and storm the U.S. Capitol on a Wednesday afternoon simply for sport.
This was not your mother’s 1960s Vietnam War protest.
Insurrection: an act or instance of revolting against civil authority or an established government.
Sedition: a felony punishable by fines and up to 20 years in prison; the act of inciting revolt or violence against a lawful authority with the goal of destroying or overthrowing it.
— MERRIAM-WEBSTER
To put it in terms you can better understand, you are not patriots. You are traitors to this great nation.
You are cowards. You are criminals. You are a disgrace.
And you are damn lucky that you are white, privileged and (mostly) male because your sorry ass would be in a DC jail today instead of on your suburban couch.
You have no originality or voice of your own. You make sheep look assertive. You repeat only what you have been told. You are a tool.
You don’t deserve the freedoms truly Great Americans have fought for and sacrificed their lives for.
Rioters committing insurrection and sedition? Neo-Nazis waving their flag on the steps of the Capitol? A Confederate flag carried through the National Statuary Hall of Congress? All to threaten our democracy?
You may think it was no big deal, this so-called “peaceful protest” and everyone’s Constitutional right, which you are so quick to parrot when it suits you. Just not if they’re black or brown.
How terrifying was Wednesday afternoon for those inside the Capitol?
Some members of Congress felt compelled to call family members and close friends to say goodbye. That’s right. Because they feared they might die.
Apparently, when you hear “There’s been a breach” of our nation’s Capitol and are asked to evacuate, don a gas mask and hide under your desk, it’s likely this could be the day your luck runs out.
Democratic House member Grace Meng of New York’s Sixth District thought so. Amid the madness, Meng called her family to tell them she loved them.
U.S. Representative Linda Sanchez, D-Calif., said she had a premonition the night before that things might not go well. She told her husband where to find her will. And her bible.
To the rioters: I hope they find you, all of you, one by one. It won’t be as hard as you think because you’re not that smart.
You are a follower. You are a lemming, which is actually a rat-like rodent. These lemmings are the locusts of mammals and will strip a habitat bare. It’s a longstanding myth that both types of lemmings will march off a cliff if it’s for a good authoritarian cult cause.
It’s a good thing you are white. Otherwise, you would have been stopped with tear gas, clubs, bullets or all three. Without a second thought.
That’s why most of you didn’t even try to disguise yourselves when you joined a riotous mob to storm the U.S. Capitol as the House and Senate were conducting election certification proceedings, halted because you chose to terrorize lawmakers doing their jobs.
Here’s a stellar headline from the New York Post: “Shirtless man in horned helmet at Capitol protest identified.”
Almost beats “Headless woman found in topless bar,” doesn’t it?
Turns out (shocker) “shirtless man” is a 32-year-old QAnon supporter and fixture at far-right rallies in Arizona. (In case you need a QAnon refresher, it is a disproven and discredited far-right conspiracy theory alleging that a cabal of Satan-worshipping pedophiles is running a global child sex-trafficking ring and plotting against the guy in the White House responsible for yesterday’s siege. Oh, and they actually believe he is fighting said cabal.)
This same shirtless fool was photographed in the Senate chamber posing in the chair occupied moments earlier by the vice president of the United States.
Get out of his chair. Get out of my Capitol. Get. Out.
I’m sure Capitol Police would happily direct you to a nice steep cliff.
(Photo credit: Original wood etching by Janice Mihelich.)
12 Comments
flossiesgirl
I am sickened and alarmed by the breach of our Capitol at the hands of MAGA thugs. I am alarmed that they invaded and pillaged our Capitol and then went back to their rooms at the hotel. These people and their “leader” (Trump) need to be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. The sooner the better. We need to invoke the 25th Amendment ASAP.
Jennifer John
Couldn’t agree more, Flossiesgirl.🇺🇸
Margie Smith
Right on! I watched the whole thing on Wednesday afternoon, unbelieving. It was like a bad movie. I can’t wait until Trump is outta there, whether by using the 25th Amendment or by getting impeached — AGAIN.
Jennifer John
Two for two, Margie?🇺🇸
Connie
Disgusted outraged and saddened by the whole thing. I don’t know what this country is coming to. The sooner Trump is out of office the better. What a way to show your own children what a father and president you were, then poisoning the minds of people with your false statements and disregard for the American people. Right now, I am ashamed to say I am an American and live in America.
Jennifer John
Amen, sister.🇺🇸
pippo topolino
The images of what happened in Washington here in Europe and in Italy, where I live, have caused a lot of anguish and concern. The televisions gave a lot of space to the tragic events, broadcasting all phases of the attack live. When you blow the fire, fueling tension, fear and anger, there is always a real risk that you lose control of your actions.
Unfortunately, even in Europe and in Italy the political situation is not so different even if we have not yet reached these points; in my country some exponents of populist and right-wing parties have publicly praised Trump’s policy, they have not skimped on praising his “decisionism.”
As you can see also here, on the other side of the ocean, we are not in good shape. The same situation for Italy and the USA, with the difference that in Washington the attack on democracy took place from outside the building, while in Italy the attack of the democracy and the annihilation of the Constitution is likely to be implemented within the Parliament.
We all have to understand why these outbreaks of fascism, why this is, re-emerged after history had erased them, at least in the Western world. I have my own theory, but this is another story.
At risk there is not only American democracy, it is now clear that many democracies are surrounded by a global return of sovereignty, so the battle that must be fought must be against the attack on the democratic rules that govern the constitutional principles of each state.
Jennifer John
Molte grazie, cugino.❤️
gramcracker8191
All so true. And heartbreaking. But sometimes hideous and unbelievable events have to happen before good things occur.
The news reported this morning that since our president made his “concession” speech yesterday, he’s now considered a traitor to his “loyal followers.” They’ve thrown him under the bus because he publicly condemned the rioting and destruction. And that all along he was considered a tool to enlarge the base of a group of people who want to overthrow our government and our democracy entirely.
Our president was used by this group of dangerous people to advance their cause and not his own. How does it feel to get trashed and ridiculed by a group of people he thought worshipped him?
And it’s because he hasn’t been loyal enough to them. I wonder how that feels to a man who placed such importance on loyalty from his own group of followers and then threw them under the bus when they didn’t.
This bus has run him over and backed up to make sure he’s squashed like a bug. He knows how dangerous they are. Order some Depends, Mr. President.
Jennifer John
Wise words, my sister.❤️🙏🏼
Cheryl Evola
Good one, Jin. Our problem with these terrorists is that they, like their gutless leader, have been coddled and enabled far too long.
When asked to provide facts, they quickly invoke QAnon. An absolute distraction for people who have no facts to give.
They lost. I accepted 2016, and they must now accept 2020. It’s time to move on. We need to quit entertaining the ridiculous chants of these imposter Americans.
Jennifer John
Rhetoric has consequences. Thanks, ce.👍🏼