‘American Abyss‘ by Yale historian of extremist violence Dr. Timothy Snyder, wrote a must-read article contextualizing the January putsch attempt by Trump and the white supremacists who led the seditious attack on Congress. This article was written in large part BEFORE January 6th, as Dr. Snyder clearly saw what was coming. You can and should read or listen to the entire article on the New York Times website.
Democracy Now! spent half their broadcast today, January 13th, 2021, speaking with Dr. Snyder about the January putsch, his article, and the historical context of the on-going political violence we are experiencing, starting about 22 minutes into the broadcast. The chilling take-away of the article and conversation are that this coup attempt has been on-going for months, if not years, and it’s not nearly over.
One key point to keep in mind through the coming violence is that white supremacists do not view Joe Biden’s election as legitimate because he won it with minority voters, therefore the election was stolen. They do not believe that the election was truly unfair or rigged, those claims are merely a coded dog-whistle for the racist proposition that black Americans and other minority voters are simply not legitimate voters.
It really is as simple and racist as this: Trump supporting racists feel justified in using violence to try to overturn the result of the election and resisting the legitimate and democratically elected government of Joe Biden because he did not win the majority of white votes. They believe the white race is losing control of the government and that justifies violence and terrorism to keep control.
Dr. Snyder warns us all that the violent subversion of our government didn’t start on, nor did it end on, January 6th. We must defend ourselves and our legitimate governments against these terrorists.
January 6th will be recorded in our history as the day the Republican Party died of the very disease it was created to fight. I am heart-broken that a great American political party that was born in idealistic opposition to slavery and fought against white supremacy should have died of the very cancers it sought to cut from the body politic. It is a bitter and tragic irony that I do not savor, only mourn.
The New York Times reports, “Federal authorities warn that the Capitol breach will be a ‘significant driver of violence.’”, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/13/us/politics/capitol-breach-driver-of-violence.html
The deadly breach at the Capitol last week will be a “significant driver of violence” for armed militia groups and racist extremists who are targeting the presidential inauguration next week, according to a joint intelligence bulletin issued by federal authorities.
The “boogaloo,” a movement that seeks to start a second civil war, and extremists aiming to trigger a race war “may exploit the aftermath of the Capitol breach by conducting attacks to destabilize and force a climactic conflict in the United States,” according to the bulletin issued by the National Counterterrorism Center and the Justice and Homeland Security Departments, which was disseminated widely to law enforcement agencies across the country.
The bulletin, obtained by The New York Times, is labeled “Domestic Violent Extremists Emboldened in Aftermath of Capitol Breach, Elevated Domestic Terrorism Threat of Violence Likely Amid Political Transitions and Beyond.” Antigovernment militias and racists extremists “very likely pose the greatest domestic terrorism threats in 2021,” the agencies said.
The federal officials wrote that extremist groups have viewed the breach of the Capitol as a success and have been galvanized by the death of Ashli Babbitt, a QAnon follower who was shot by the police as she tried to enter the heavily protected Speaker’s Lobby, just outside the House chamber. The extremists could perceive that death as “an act of martyrdom,” according to the bulletin.
The extremists’ “violent online rhetoric” toward the presidential inauguration has increased, according to the bulletin, with some calling for “justice” for Ms. Babbitt’s death.
The Capitol breach, as well as conspiracy theories from QAnon, will likely inspire such extremists “to engage in more sporadic, lone-actor or small-cell violence against common” violent extremist “targets, including racial, ethnic, or religious minorities and institutions, law enforcement, and government officials and buildings,” according to the bulletin, dated January 13.
The federal officials also wrote that “the shared false narrative of a ‘stolen’ election,” the false claim perpetuated by President Trump, “may lead some individuals to adopt the belief that there is no political solution to address their grievances and violent action is necessary.”
Trump’s govt stopped investigating white Supremacists.
.I agree with the story. A non White vote doesn’t count and the violence will continue