Anger over the election masks the outpouring of racism in coup attempt

SCREEN CAPTURE

Jan. 6, 2021 -- a day of shame.

OPINION

Let's be frank. As much as it upsets people to talk about it, racism was a major motivation for the angry mobs who stormed the nation's Capitol Wednesday.

There was noose hanging on a makeshift gallows constructed outside the Capitol. There was the Confederate flag leading the insurgents into the hallowed hallways of Congress. There was the white supremacists flashing the "OK" hand sign co-opted by white power advocates. There were the mobs themselves, rummaging through offices, smashing glass doors. Mostly all of them were white.

At least one of the insurgents who made his way into the Capitol building was pictured wearing a "Camp Auschwitz" sweatshirt in reference to the Nazi Germany–death camp where more than 1 million Jews were killed during the Holocaust.

All that was missing was the "sieg heils" and white hoods.

“Today we witnessed nothing short of a terrorist attack on a sacred U.S. institution and our democracy," said Asian Americans Advancing Justice in a statement. "White power and white supremacy were on full display today."

The people who broke through the limpid police lines, roamed the hallways looking for the lawmakers, and vandalized offices and the hallowed chambers of the House of Representatives and Senate were not expressing moral outrage or trying to make a political point. 

Protesting the election results which their hero Donald Trump lost in a landslide to Joe Biden was just a mask for their racism.

Their motivation was a manifestation of their ignorance and xenophobia and a belief that they were losing their entitlement and privilege as a result of occupying the top of cultural, political and psychological ladder for so long.

Many of them were white supremacists, members of the racist comestic terrorist groups including the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers.

The rioters were egged on by a racist-in-chief who gave them permission to march over to the Capitol where Congress was confirming the vote count of the Presidential election of Nov. 3. The usually ceremonial process was slowed by challenges by Congress members forcing the House and Senate to "debate" the tally of individual states.

“The assault of the Capitol was the direct result of a Republican party that has been willing to indulge white supremacy and conspiracy theories throughout the Trump Presidency," said Rep. Judy Chu, D-CA, chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus.

SCREEN CAPTURE / MSNBC

A man carried the Confederate battle flag into the Capitol building.

Jan. 6, 2021 will be remembered for the unprecedented coup attempt where only 52 people were arrested.

Compared to law enforcement's response to peaceful Black Lives Matter demonstrators, Capitol police were remarkably restrained and unprepared for the large number of aggressive rioters. 

Curiously there was a video showing Capitol police removing a barrier allowing the insurrectionists access to the Capitol steps and smart phone photos of the insurrectionists taking selfies with police officers.

In the end, after the coup attempt failed and the traitors were cleared from the building, in the early morning hours of Thursday the electoral vote count was confirmed, making Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, respectively, the next President and Vice President of the United States.

African Americans and other People of Color have known for so long and talked about the racism that darkens every aspect of the nation's soul. Don't put the responsibility of healing the nation on us.

American democracy survived this attack but it can never recover from its wounds until American Whites admit that the sins of racism continues to divide our nation. Only after that admission, can we begin addressing ways all of us can overcome our prejudices.

EDITOR'S NOTE; A word of caution. This is an opinion piece. Readers should consult several sources of news to form their own opinion.