It was quite a spectacle, seldom – if ever – seen since 1776. A large, roiling
crowd of self-proclaimed “patriots” converging on the U.S. Capitol pushing past the Capitol security force and surging into the Capitol building virtually without opposition or restraint. Inside, senators and congressmen were locked cowering under desks in a room by security for their own protection because it seemed like the mob of “patriots” was intent on doing them bodily harm, especially to Nancy Pelosi and Vice-President Pence. By taking over the Capitol these “patriots” thought they could take over the country.
Perhaps the most extraordinary – and unthinkable – aspect of this whole event is that it was set in motion by Donald Trump himself, the President of the United States, a first in American history. There has never been an American president that ever incited a murderous mob such as this one. To storm the Capitol building, the citadel of American democratic government; when it was over, five people had died. Donald Trump has all the instincts of a Mafia mob boss and it still seems inconceivable that he could ever have been elected president, with a minority vote yet. If ever the existence of the electoral college could show itself to be an undemocratic, out-dated, anti-American, even dangerous institution the election Donald Trump brought that truth into sharp relief. Trump as president is a clear and present danger not only to America but also to the world-at-large, the one man who could launch nuclear missiles at a declared enemy such as Iran. Clearly there must be more established constraints around the presidential office; there is too much potentially destructive power in the hands of one man.
A fascinating aspect of the whole matter is that, while the Capitol police showed themselves to be totally incompetent, ineffectual, and fearful against this raging mob, one man, a black security officer inside the Capitol, stood his ground and managed to lead the advance guard of the mob up the stairs and away from Senators and Congressmen behind locked doors cowering beneath tables. That man should be celebrated all across America. Which brings up another point: the mob was maybe 500 strong and there were no more than two black faces to be detected in it. The racial animus that has simmered among a critical mass of white people for at least 60 years was on full display; these people seemed intent on starting another civil war. This white mob attack on the Citadel of the country does not bode well for America, with all its outsized wealth and power. We haven’t seen lynch mobs in America since the mid-20th century but what we saw on January 6th was, in effect, a lynch mob.
There was something Hitlerian about this whole thing with the fascist-leaning provocateur Donald Trump sending out the modern equivalent of Nazi brown-shirts to take the government by a storm. The man should be in jail and no mistake; he is a traitor and a criminal. Craven Republicans cannot do what is necessary, their loyalty to their party and to the President “trumping” (pun intended) their loyalty to the country. The matter is not finished, with state capitols all over America surrounding themselves with armed protection in the expectation of similar attacks against them. There was a Ft. Sumter mentality among those mad men and the rest of us must get ready for what is to come.
Charles S. Finch, III
January 18, 2021