WASHINGTON — It’s not at all hyperbolic of me to say that January 6th, 2021, will be a day that lives in infamy. The day our democracy was attacked by a mob--encouraged into action by the seditious words of a sitting President and select congressional members desperate to hold on to power. A mob forcing its way into the halls and chambers of congress, desecrating it as they pleased. Vandalizing and looting its chambers, while terrorizing its members.
Let’s be clear; this was a failure of law enforcement, and a glaring example of its hypocrisy and double standards.
Last summer we were given an up-close view of how the law handles what they perceive as threat. Chemical irritants, tasers, rubber bullets, all applied with overwhelming force by officers oftentimes dressed for battle. We saw these forces wielded against peaceful protesters repeatedly. Once, just to clear the way for a photo op. We watched a helicopter buzz our citizens and we even heard calls for the military to be loosed on our streets.
But what did we see Wednesday? A Capitol Police force completely unprepared for the chaos that they had to know was coming. A police force seen on video removing barricades and whose members took selfies with rioters. Not protesters, rioters, that they even helped make their way down the stairs. If you remember, this is the very same police force that shot a woman to death, in the front seat of her car following a chase up Constitution Avenue, because they thought her a danger.
They seemed to be ready that day, what was different?
In the aftermath a question was posed: What would have happened if these were Black Lives Matter activists? I didn’t ask because I know what would have happened. And so do you. Because we’ve all been living with these failures, hypocrisy’s, and double standards for quite a long time.
Yesterday, these three made their way into our halls of legislation. Carried there by so-called patriots bent on disrupting our democracy. Ultimately it failed, as we knew it would. But in doing so it showed failures we must never allow to happen again. And by that I mean both the siege and the double standard.
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