I am not on either side in the US, there isn't a party that represents me, but something stuck out to me.
>culminating in an armed assault that some now claim as a false flag operation?
We had to hear all summer about how it was really Boogaloo Boys/White Nationalists/The CIA and not BLM rioting. This is something I see as endemic to all sides. I think this must be perspective based as everything in the above list has a mirror image from the other party, and in both cases it seems like a fair criticism.
> We had to hear all summer about how it was ... not BLM rioting.
I think an important distinction here is that the riots had no political goal to them, and had almost no support from BLM figures themselves, and even less from national politicians. Indeed, if your goal is for the police to be defunded, then the last thing you would want to do is create a situation where people fear for their lives and their property and need the protection of the police.
Contrast that with the goals of the people storming the Capitol and you'll see that they had national politicians who also wanted to interrupt the joint session of Congress and prevent (some of) the electoral votes from being counted, to ultimately change the outcome of the election.
Do you really see the BLM marches (even the small minority that turned violent) as equivalent to what happened at the Capitol? Some obvious differences:
- There were no politicians or their cronies calling for "trial by combat" or similar.
- There was no one showing up with a gallows.
- There was no intent to disrupt a democratic procedure.
- Where violence occurred, it was quickly and unequivocally condemned across the board.
- Destruction of property is not the same as threatening physical harm to people (and no, before you go there, engaging with riot police is not the same as advancing on a chamber of mostly-elderly, unarmed politicians).
Congress was able to convene immediately after the nuts stormed the Capitol inside the Capitol. Minor physical damage was committed. Compare that to the BLM marches and the nuts that rioted, burned, and seized city blocks, freeways, police precincts, harassed people in restaurants with bullhorns, drank from their cups, ate their food, etc.
The invasion of the capital was an attempt to stop the legally mandated processes that allow the peaceful transfer of power. The attackers were intent on hanging on pence and others as evidenced by their chants and the equipment they brought.
The rioters cannot honestly be lumped into the Democrat, blm, etc groups as different groups plainly held different objectives. I think the best explanation for the riots is simply revenge against people that sit comfortably ignoring the disaffected cries for help.
Other than a small minority of agitators, I don't think most people went to a BLM protest with revenge, destruction, and murder on their mind. I mean, the whole point was opposing the murder of unarmed citizens by agents of the state. The slogan was "defund the police", not "hang Mike Pence."
Yes, ~25 Americans were killed last year in connection to these things, but as this article shows, that may be as much about the presence of guns at these things than anything else— here's a pretty solid summary: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/31/americans-kill...
That's a bad faith argument if I've ever seen one.
Understanding why people do things, even bad things, is crucial to easing divisiveness.
I understand why people stormed the capitol. I do not condone their actions and hope they are all made examples of.
Just as I understand the hundreds of years of history that is behind this summers protests. I am far more sympathetic to the tens of millions that protested against fascism and racism then I am to the actual fascists that tried to usurp democracy and install a dictator while taking scalps.
When impoverished, abused, and neglected people peacefully take to streets en masse to demand change are met with brutal policing, that could be war crimes, instead of compromise and change what else do you honestly expect to happen? When millions of people can't afford to put on the table what do you expect them to do when the majority party fails to provide even a poverty level existence during a pandemic that disproportionately effects their demographic? Should they shut up and starve to death? Should they continue to take these beatings from police? Until the field is leveled don't expect this movement to die; they're fighting for their right to live.
So, if more people protest about a long-standing issue, it has more credence than fewer people protesting in one instance about a recent issue? Is that what you are trying to say?
It seems you may be asking a leading question in bad faith with the goal of trapping me in a gotcha. If that's not your goal please clarify your question.
Ignoring reality doesn’t make it go away. Those riots caused large areas of cities to be burned and seized, killing dozens if not hundreds of people, attacked police and local politicians, stormed into residential neighborhoods targeting specific profiles of people, harassed patrons of restaurants, beat and bludgeoned owners and patrons of stores based on racist targeting, crushed the economy of certain areas, burned and vandalized courts and police precincts, and all this over a span of months.
You want to equate that with the Capitol riots which happened over a span of a few hours by a few hundred people? Seriously?
If you belligerently disregard the the plight of being, poor, minority, lgbtq+, etc in America then sure these are awful behaviors. This is intellectually dishonest, and a bad faith argument straight off of fox news.
These riots piss you off and terrify you because they expose the fragility of your privileged existence that is wholly reliant on the systemic imbalances the protestors have spent their lives under the boot of.
Fighting for ones right to exist without being murdered by police is the argument of blm. Focus on that instead of using the actions of a few to air your racist and classist grievances.
Protesting is a feature of democracy even if it offends you.
Storming Congress to hang the vice president and Trump's other political enemies is an assault on democracy and a push for dictatorship.
Your inability to recognize the difference is extremely concerning.
>>>Do you really see the BLM marches (even the small minority that turned violent) as equivalent to what happened at the Capitol?
As a black American I absolutely consider last year's widespread urban riots WORSE than the Capitol raid. The summer demonstrated a complete unwillingness to enforce law and order, creating an environment which cost the lives of at least 3 black people[1][2][3], and close to 30 other American lives as well. Livelihoods of minority small-business owners were destroyed. [4][5] We can nitpick whether this was explicitly supported by politicians, but it's fairly obvious it was tacitly supported by Democrat leadership for political gain in an election year.[6] As I look for small business investment opportunities, why would I ever put money in a distressed American neighborhood, with such a high risk for destruction of assets in the current political climate? I'll do business with my Mozambican and Tanzanian friends before I ever invest in an American district run by the sort of idiots who steered their own communities towards evaporating wealth instead of building it.
And I bet you we wouldn't have had the upswell in insurgent inclinations that culminated in the Capitol raid if the Trump-supporting extremists hadn't observed the rampant civil unrest for months and concluded "Oh, I guess it's okay to break stuff and violate rules now. There seems to be minimal consequences." Boy were they wrong.
> We had to hear all summer about how it was really Boogaloo Boys/White Nationalists/The CIA and not BLM rioting.
I’m sorry the reporting is so bad. Here in the US as a leftist I saw most of my friends posting “in defense of rioting”, “property isn’t people”, and quoting MLK on the lessons of riots. The right just thought they could stage a coup and also get away without any criticism for trying.
Interesting take. The blm riots were supported and approved by both the mainstream levers of power (media, government) and continue to be so. They were both larger in scale and duration.
The capitol riots were both smaller in scale and, more importantly generally condemned by their sides equivalent levers of power.
I actually consider the right response here more reasonable than the left.
If black lives mattered and politicians represented their constituents these riots would not have occurred. I expect more. Until the consequences of treating minorities as subhuman directly effect billionaires and their very lives nothing will change.
>culminating in an armed assault that some now claim as a false flag operation?
We had to hear all summer about how it was really Boogaloo Boys/White Nationalists/The CIA and not BLM rioting. This is something I see as endemic to all sides. I think this must be perspective based as everything in the above list has a mirror image from the other party, and in both cases it seems like a fair criticism.