OP-ED: The Blatant Hypocrisy of the Attacks at the US Capitol
Despite what was supposed to be a glorious day for Democrats across the nation following the victory of Georgia Senators Ossoff and Warnock and the certification of Joe Biden’s presidential win, the events of January 6th represented nothing short of an act of domestic terrorism by radical Trump supporters. In reaction to the official counting of electoral votes, which were set to confirm Biden’s position as the 46th President of the United States, right-wing extremists gathered at the United States Capitol prepared to revolt against an election President Trump has claimed to be fraudulent. By 2 pm, right-wing terrorists had stormed the Capitol, desecrating the chambers, smashing windows, breaking into officials’ offices, and creating utter havoc in our nation’s most sacred building, forcing lawmakers to postpone the electoral proceedings and flee from the assault. One of the most striking features of this disgraceful event was the transparent white privilege revealed by the anemic response by law enforcement personnel.
This past summer, protests broke out across the nation following the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers.. Supporters of the Black Lives Matter movement marched in cities across the nation to protest police brutality and systemic racial injustice in America. But in many cities, peaceful protesters met with overwhelming violence from police officers clad in military gear and armed with tear gas, rubber bullets, and riot shields.
In contrast to the brutal response from law enforcement at Black Lives Matter protests over the summer, in which people protesting for the value of others’ lives were treated as criminals, the white terrorists who stormed the Capitol floor this past Wednesday in support of President Trump met with very little resistance from authorities. In minutes, the mob broke through security barriers and the front doors of the United States Capitol building with impunity, streaming onto the floor of the Senate and into the offices of politicians such as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Police stood by and watched as a violent crowd of white people ransacked the most sacred building in America. Those officers who tried to resist the attacks failed because they were severely outnumbered. For example, a video recording shows a police officer armed only with a baton being chased by a mob of Trump supporters, without any other law enforcement personnel in sight.. Soon, the crowd had spread throughout the United States Capitol as the world watched in horror.
The ease with which the overwhelmingly white crowd of attackers entered the building revealed the stark role of white privilege in shaping government responses to protest.. While the National Guard lined the steps of the Capitol during the peaceful Black Lives Matter protests last summer, at this planned attack on the nation’s Capitol, police were unable and unwilling to control the mob. The Black Lives Matter protesters who were treated as criminals were not the people who broke through police barriers to disrupt the proceedings of Congress and interfere with the results of an election. They were not the people who charged at police officers while holding weapons. They took a peaceful stand to call for equality and to end the murder of unarmed black people by our police.. Yet, they were the ones met with violence. Last Wednesday’s disparity in police response epitomized the role of white privilege in America. It is truly terrifying to think about the violence police would have demonstrated if the group at the Capitol on January 6th had been Black. For example, peaceful Black Lives Matter protesters in Lafayette Park were attacked by the police with rubber bullets, pepper spray, tear gas, horses, shields, and batons. But this protest was completely innocuous compared to the shameful acts committed by President Trump’s supporters last week.
January 6th, 2021 will be remembered not only as the day on which pro-Trump terrorists stormed the United States Capitol but also as the day that America’spolice force revealed its stunning racial bias for all the world to witness.
By Ruby Kaufman