>1. Power - what happened at the Capitol was conducted by people who have enjoyed broad political power, whereas the BLM protests were about the people who have been unjustly under the thumb (or knee) of those in power.
I don't think this is true at all. There is a lot of resentment out there from poor whites who have been getting the short end of many sticks lately. They may be better off than poor blacks on average, but they do not enjoy political power. Don't make the mistake of thinking that just because the people who enjoy political power are white, that all, or even most, whites enjoy political power.
I believe both protests were by groups lacking in power, and that this sort of thing is only going to get worse as economic inequality increases.
Most people don't have power, and it's getting worse as power is concentrated into the hands of the few. As bad as black people have it on average, pitting poor blacks against poor whites is a distraction from the real power disparity, which is that a lot of people in the US are really, really poor. Whilst the elites pay lip service to the issues faced by blacks, whist doing almost nothing to help (a rich black kid getting into a better school does nothing for the impoverished masses), the poorer whites don't feel like the elites are even pretending to try to address their problems. And they're right.
The US needs to fix its inequality issues if it expects either side to stop protesting, and violence is only going to get worse as people see their issues not being addressed.
Storming the capital was not a bright idea, but angry people are stupid, and they're going to just cause as much destruction as possible until life for them gets better. History is littered with examples of inequality leading to violent uprising.
I completely agree with your point about the power and wealth imbalances in American society today regardless of race. We have growing wealth inequality and that is limiting opportunity relative to what we used to enjoy and is usually destabilizing to societies. It’s bad and getting worse.
It sounds like we generally agree but I also don’t think I did a good job of stating my point about power imbalance. The stated purpose of the gathering at the Capitol was to take power away from other people who voted. It was a demonstration in support of disenfranchisement, in so far as people were there to ‘stop the steal’. And it was done with the support and incitement of the most powerful person in America. BLM has never been about taking peoples rights away, and that’s a huge difference.
It’s also come out that a lot of the people there weren’t exactly poor, we’ve seen lawyers and business owners and cops and a whole bunch of middle class people, flying in and staying at the Hyatt etc. This makes sense, it cost money to get to DC, and the poorest wouldn’t be able to make the trip, and it shows in voter demographics too. I absolutely believe that some of the unrest and dissatisfaction on the right is due to the real economic anxiety arguments that you point out, but I think there’s also something deeper down that is much darker than that - a loss of privileged status that certain voters are experiencing due to changes occurring in America.
This is happening along gender, race, age, education, and economic lines simultaneously. 40+ year old whites that make up the majority of the right grew up with social expectations and experiences that have changed a lot. You used to be able to get a HS or maybe college degree and have a well paying job right there waiting. You used to be able to buy a house. You used to watch TV and see people that look like you. You used to interact with the opposite sex in a particular way. You used to be perfectly healthy. Now you’re older, you’re navigating different gender dynamics, more voices and cultures are coming up and different people are on tv, and you’re now dealing with health issues. Your job, where you used to get paid well and find worth, is not doing that anymore. Your sense of purpose, self-worth, and place in the world is challenged.
Some of this status loss is necessary as America moves forward on gender and race. Some is just the indignity of aging. Some is economic. Put together this loss of status is creating resentment, which is being used by media and demagogues to sow division and feelings of victimhood.
Where on the spectrum these people were of ‘totally manipulated and brainwashed’ vs ‘just here because I’m worried about status loss’ vs ‘conscious support for disenfranchisement and anti-democratic power grabs’, their actions and the implications of those actions at the Capitol were nonetheless something altogether different than past protests & riots.
I don't think this is true at all. There is a lot of resentment out there from poor whites who have been getting the short end of many sticks lately. They may be better off than poor blacks on average, but they do not enjoy political power. Don't make the mistake of thinking that just because the people who enjoy political power are white, that all, or even most, whites enjoy political power.
I believe both protests were by groups lacking in power, and that this sort of thing is only going to get worse as economic inequality increases.
Most people don't have power, and it's getting worse as power is concentrated into the hands of the few. As bad as black people have it on average, pitting poor blacks against poor whites is a distraction from the real power disparity, which is that a lot of people in the US are really, really poor. Whilst the elites pay lip service to the issues faced by blacks, whist doing almost nothing to help (a rich black kid getting into a better school does nothing for the impoverished masses), the poorer whites don't feel like the elites are even pretending to try to address their problems. And they're right.
The US needs to fix its inequality issues if it expects either side to stop protesting, and violence is only going to get worse as people see their issues not being addressed.
Storming the capital was not a bright idea, but angry people are stupid, and they're going to just cause as much destruction as possible until life for them gets better. History is littered with examples of inequality leading to violent uprising.