Personally, I fear mob violence commited with the sanction and cooperation of the state and news media. That's the sort of violence which starts, keeps going, and doesn't stop until it literally burns itself out.
In general, organized violence ends when 1) law enforcement takes decisive action to detain the perpetrators, and 2) organizers think the violence no longer serves their political goals. Both 1) and 2) were true of the Capitol insurrection, which was universally condemned and whose perpetrators were swiftly rounded up. Neither were especially true of the far-left anarchist uprisings, particularly in cities like Portland where permissive DAs let the same rioters out literally within hours of their arrest, while NPR and the Washington Post praised those who threw firebombs at courthouses and police stations. So, I expect less of the former and more of the latter.
> 1) law enforcement takes decisive action to detain the perpetrators, and 2) organizers think the violence no longer serves their political goals. Both 1) and 2) were true of the Capitol insurrection, which was universally condemned
1) The law enforcement has a track record of glad handling the far right. 2) many prominent right wing media and political figures tried blaming the insurrection on antifa, are blocking any investigations, and are justifying the event and the big lie that created it.
I don’t think most people who aren’t supporters of right wing viewpoints will agree with your assessments.
(Considered not replying, but then looked again at the link title...)
The view of law enforcement as going easy on the far-right may have been true in 1970s America, but it does not appear so 2021. Far-right militia movements have been subject to intense scrutiny and violence (and some allege, entrapment) since their growth in the 1990s [0][1]. In the case of the Capitol riot, 525 people have now been federally charged [2]. Arrested rioters have been "savagely beaten" in jail by prison guards, to the point of skull fractures and permanent blindness [3].
It's true that fringe Congressional Republicans such as Josh Hawley or Marjorie Taylor Greene have tried to blame antifa for the Capitol insurrection. They hold no powerful Senate or House positions, and appear "prominent" mainly due to the attention the the press gives them. The actual Republican Congressional leadership swiftly denounced the insurrection, and placed blame for the attack on President Trump [4][5].
In contrast, President Biden and prominent Senators such as Jerry Nadler have repeatedly denied the existence of organized far-left violence at all [6][7], describing events such as the month-long nightly siege of the federal courthouse in Portland "a myth" and "imaginary." Speaker Nancy Pelosi has acknowledged antifa gangs' existence in the past, after they vandalized her house and sprayed it with pig blood.
As rioters threw Molotov cocktails and firebombs at the federal courthouse in Portland, attacked federal agents with hammers, lasers, and bricks, beat and stabbed journalists, set fire to the Mayor's condo building, and were arrested carrying illegal firearms, the Washington Post gave them a glowing photo shoot [8]. They were praised as morally virtuous freedom-fighters. In Seattle, anarchists occupied several city blocks for weeks with assault rifles, and shot dead an unarmed black child [9] before destroying the evidence and concealing the killer's identity. These stories disappeared from the Washington Post, NPR, and even Fox News within days, yet we still get frequent updates on the Capitol insurrection.
Finally, it makes no difference whether cops arrest more left-wing rioters if the local DA and US Attorney decide to release them and dismiss all charges [10][11]. There's been little such leniency applied to violent actors in the Capitol insurrection. This has not gone unnoticed by either the far-right or far-left.
The exasperation I feel watching this unfold as someone on the center-left is a shadow of what I sense from the actual right wing. I think anger at the leniency given to far-left violence last summer is what propelled a lot of people to attack the Capitol, in a "if they can get away with it, why can't we?" sort of tantrum. This emotional potential still remains. The risk of an eventual organized right-wing backlash, which so far has not reached the level of burning down buildings, executing people in the street, or occupying city blocks with armed militants, is what worries me most about the chance of more far-left violence. The extreme right is watching the extreme left get away with it, and they are taking notes.
The invasion of the capitol basically proves law enforcement goes easy on the far right. That there was going to be a far right shit show in the capitol was no secret and everyone knew in advance but the law enforcement leaders
Literally prevented their people from making adequate preparations because they could not believe those “fine” people would ever do something bad. But when what surprised no one happened, it kinda forced their hand to respond. It’s the capitol and cops died, they don’t have a choice but go hard.
Maybe garland is changing things but it’s yet to be seen, all I know is up to Jan 6 white nationalists were kid gloved. White nationalist infiltration of law enforcement is a known issue.
There was incompetence and miscommunication at every level of the multi-agency, multi-layer bureaucracy in charge of protecting the Capitol. For example: "In at least once instance, USCP protective shields were locked in a bus during the riot so that a CDU platoon was unable to access them, and as a result, the platoon was required to respond to the crowd without the protection of their riot shields." Worse: "USCP officers, for example, were given defective riot shields that had been improperly stored and, as a result, shatter[ed] upon impact."
Planners thought the Jan. 6 rally would "be similar to the previous Million MAGA March rallies" in which participants stayed in the designated areas, and violence was only provoked by counter-protestors. Given attendees' vocal support for police and years of prior peaceful rally behavior, I understand their assumption. In hindsight they were clearly mistaken, and their lack of preparation for every contingency was inexcusable.
The report describes general incompetence, complacency, and failures of communication. It does not describe favoritism or cooperation with the far-right. It does not show that Trump or his subordinates obstructed the National Guard deployment. In fact, on Jan. 4 call with DC officials, acting Secretary of Defense Miller "suggested locking down D.C. to avoid potential violence; however, the idea was not pursued." The Guard was only requested to provide aid at the Capitol at the last minute.
One's opinion on this probably depends on identity and political views.
From what I understand, Trump blocked the National Guard from supporting officers during the Capitol insurrection, so it was supported by the President at the very least.
Preventing the certification of Biden is a more grave threat to our democracy than the BLM protestors in cities like Portland, IMO.
Mainly since White Americans are still the majority and by and large supporters of the right, I don't see movements like BLM gaining much power.
The Senate's comprehensive report on the Capitol attack [0], released earlier this month, appears to exonerate Trump in deployment of the National Guard. In fact, his acting Secretary of Defense (to whom deployment authorization was delegated) suggested locking down DC ahead of time, but city officials demurred.
>Mainly since White Americans are still the majority and by and large supporters of the right, I don't see movements like BLM gaining much power.
You'd be surprised. Most violent actors who call themselves antifa are white, especially in the Pacific Northwest [1]. During last summer's Portland courthouse siege, a white BLM/antifa rioter stabbed a black Trump supporter in the stomach [2]. This stabbing wasn't reported in outlets like NPR or the Washington Post, even as they praised rioters and criticized the police response.
In general, organized violence ends when 1) law enforcement takes decisive action to detain the perpetrators, and 2) organizers think the violence no longer serves their political goals. Both 1) and 2) were true of the Capitol insurrection, which was universally condemned and whose perpetrators were swiftly rounded up. Neither were especially true of the far-left anarchist uprisings, particularly in cities like Portland where permissive DAs let the same rioters out literally within hours of their arrest, while NPR and the Washington Post praised those who threw firebombs at courthouses and police stations. So, I expect less of the former and more of the latter.