The Capitol VS the Summer Riots

Like most Americans, I was disturbed by the events at the capitol on January 6. But unlike many on the left side of the aisle, I have been decrying violence and riots across the summer.

But I’ve heard “whataboutism” or rather, asking for consistency, is unacceptable.

Even worse, I keep hearing there’s no comparison to the summer riots and the events at the capitol.

Joe Scarborough of Morning Joe mocked commentators this week, who say mom and pop shops being vandalized are just as bad. “No, Jackass. The United States Capitol is the center of American democracy. And while I am a fierce defender of people’s rights to defend their private property, I’m not going to confuse a taco stand with the United States capitol.”

This sort of continuous elitism is sickening.

America is more than one day. It’s more than one election. Despite the obsessive behavior from folks on the left and right, it’s definitely bigger than one man.

The United States is great because wise men, who once suffered the oppression of a tyrannical government, acknowledged our God-given rights, and constructed the constitution, which lays out how we are protected from the government.

The capitol is a centralized hub of our representation, elected on a federal level. Some members are elected after fierce debates and vigorous campaigning. Some slide into office because the population is so heavily slanted politically. A great deal of them have so much money in their war chest, they expect to die in office—regardless of performance.

A vast majority of Americans don’t bother with politics. Their world is the little piece of the American Dream they’ve built for themselves: their family, church, job, business, etc. They move America forward and subsidize the lavish living and power of those in office. And, sadly, too many of our politicians will do anything to keep that power.

The summer riots were created and sustained by lies, and many sitting members in Congress pushed for it. They sacrificed their constituents for more power, like an archaic priest throwing a sacrifice into a volcano.

The lie was that racism is so rampant in America, cops are out of control and hunting black men. There isn’t sufficient data to support that belief. It proves the opposite. If you assume a police officer shoots someone based on their race and not the surrounding circumstances—such as if they posed a reasonable mortal threat—that’s a bigoted assumption. You may be proven correct, but that burden of proof is on you.

When riots broke out, the media spun it as “fiery but mostly peaceful protests.” Surely, when Scott Carpenter lost his family furniture store, started by his parents 40 years ago, it was more than a “taco stand.” Women and children who had their homes destroyed lost more than a “taco stand.” Tell Ann Dorn that she lost a “taco stand.” There were billions in property damage and upward of 30 lives taken.

The chaos and the impact were bad enough, but the enablers were egregious. When mass looting occurred, those who spoke out against it were demonized. “You value things over black lives,” was the mantra repeated by activists, and journalists enabled them. President (then candidate) Joe Biden’s staffers paid to bail out rioters, and Vice President Harris promoted a fund to bail them out. This fund, by their own admission, indiscriminately bails out anyone: alleged murders, rapists, etc.

When the McCloskeys wanted to exercise their rights and defend their property from a mob yelling about “revolution,” they were met with scorn and prosecution. One of those trespassers is a sitting congresswoman today.

Business owners in Kenosha were terrified of losing their property and, unfortunately, turned to a 17-year-old for help. This eventually led to a violent altercation and the arrest of Kyle Rittenhouse. And though he’ll probably get off on self-defense, that didn’t keep the Biden campaign from alleging Rittenhouse was a white supremacist in a campaign ad.

When President Trump utilized troops to protect federal property, he was met with fierce criticism. Lies spread about “unmarked” officers “kidnapping peaceful protestors.” It was clear Democrats and the mainstream media didn’t want him to solve the problem.

Keith Ellison, former DNC Co-Chair and current Minnesota AG overseeing the George Floyd case, once proudly posed with an Antifa guide, yet Senator Jerry Nadler called them a “myth.” Joe Biden called them an “idea,” while they actively terrorized Seattle and Portland. One Antifa-BLM supporter murdered a Trump supporter in cold blood, then had the honor of being interviewed by Vice News for his trouble.

When Rand Paul was attacked by a BLM mob after leaving the RNC convention, he was mocked as if he were exaggerating the danger. Mind you, this is a man who survived an assignation attempt, when a crazy Bernie supporter tried to kill Republicans over their healthcare policies.

The protesters had nonstop justification from the media and elected officials. They had a PR machine offering cover, and attempts to squash unrest were condemned. The Democrats even had former President Barrack Obama in on their little charade. They wanted chaos because they believe in “never waste a good crisis.”

As long as Americans were obsessed with racism, and if they could tie it to Trump, victory was a possibility.

Many of the BLM protests were peaceful. I had family members attend a few, but Democrats didn’t have a blanket appreciation for the first amendment when business owners and their patrons spoke out against the lockdowns. It was okay for BLM to proceed through the pandemic because what they stood for was too important not to risk the spread of Covid-19. Lockdown protesters were deemed unpatriotic, selfish, grandma killers, while Democrat governors—with the most strenuous lockdowns—applied policies that put grandmas at risk.

Every day Americans were going hungry, at risk of losing their homes, and closing their businesses while Nancy Pelosi showed off her premium ice cream and got her hair done maskless at in-door salons. Pastors were arrested and fined for having service, even in their cars. Our Supreme Court was recently 5-4 on a clear first amendment issue regarding lockdowns, so while I’m glad for the victory, I’m not breathing easy.

Yes, January 6 was a terrible day. And while evidence has not been presented that enough fake ballots were produced to overturn the result of the election, The New York Times detailed a piece explaining some examples of how the election was rigged, though they used the word “fortifying.”

Even still, I wish Trump aired his grievances with the grace and dignity his office demanded. That’s on him.

I wish I could feel good about a Biden and Harris administration, but on top of policy differences, I’m haunted by the knowledge that these two were willing to do irreparable damage to the country for the sake of power. On the same debate stage that Biden said he was the head of the Democrat Party, he also shrugged off any sort of influence over elected officials who refused federal help to squash violence and looting. It’s not because he lacked power as a private citizen. Chaos was the plan.

Our democracy isn’t at risk because of one event, day, or person. It’s at risk when our elected officials believe their own hype. It doesn’t matter if you’re on the right or the left. As soon as those in power believe their ideas and desires outweigh the God-given rights of other Americans, it’s a danger. The future of our nation is at risk when those in authority fight for power rather than liberty, especially to the detriment of their constituents. Thankfully, our founders created checks and balances. Unfortunately, we have politicians in Congress who want to destroy that balance.

Partisan commentators and politicians will gloss over the chaos that destroyed lives and livelihoods because it benefited them. To look back or make comparisons is forbidden, even though Biden and Harris brought it up themselves. As a matter of fact, they implied the capitol police were racist because the rioters weren’t treated worse.

Granted, the capitol is significantly more important, as far as historical context and power dynamics, than a taco stand. But to dismiss the ramifications of the summer riots would be shameful, and it will guarantee further abuse against the American people in the future. It’s possible to acknowledge the severity of both and the roles our elected leaders played, including the ones in the White House.