It Didn’t End with January 6th
January 6th is burned into the memories of billions of people around the world where thousands of angry white guys, enraged by bullshit fed them by the president of the United States and his cronies, violently stormed the US Capitol with the intent of halting the certification of an election, the result of which they didn’t like. They stormed both chambers of Congress with the intent of making “citizens’ arrests” of duly elected representatives who they also didn’t like.
Win Mcnamee/Getty Images
The notion of vigilantes “arresting” people they don’t like or disagree with is not just silly fantasy; it’s an extremely dangerous behavior, coddled in many states like Texas, Georgia, and Arizona where gun nuts and goofballs control the politics. Said gun nuts and goofballs, fed a continuous stream of nonsense about their “rights” on rightwing social media and television, actually believe they are somehow deputized to enforce non-existent laws they unilaterally have decided violate their absolute right to do what they want. Law enforcement and elected officials have let them get away with it, and that’s how you get dozens of “militias” marching into cities to “provide security” during racist demonstrations and brainwashed extremists storming the Capitol with zip tie handcuffs to “arrest” elected officials.
It happened again last week when a father and two of his friends showed up at an elementary school in Arizona brandishing zip tie handcuffs to “arrest” the principal for “breaking the law”. The supposed law she broke was asking the father to quarantine his son after he was exposed to a COVID positive classmate at the school. The brainwashed father was outraged by public health policy established to protect citizens, and in his libertarian fever dream believed he had the authority to stop that public policy by “arresting” the principal. Lord knows what would have happened to her had they accomplished their self appointed task. The principal stood up to them and when they refused to leave, called police. The man had one of his friends stream the confrontation on Instagram, stupidly incriminating himself and his pals. He was later arrested, and charges were being prepared for the other two goons.
This latest episode of brainwashed extremists acting as vigilantes is yet another example of the danger of disinformation and cynical use of propaganda to achieve political success. Republicans in Congress are actually attempting to conceal the conspiracy with Trump to overturn the election, and others are using non-existent voter fraud, disinformation about public health policy, and the divisive abortion issue to keep the base in a froth and as an excuse to enact cruel public policy to serve their own political ends.
I keep waiting for the political pendulum to begin swinging back the other way, but it keeps its inexorable climb on the far right end of the arc towards more insanity and cruelty. Short of a complete collapse of the GOP, I fear this won’t end well as violence seems to be the default response to sane public policy.
Fear is the mind killer – and the Republican Party’s top recruiting tool.
1I’m betting my gasoline allowance for the week that none of these nut jobs can identify a picture of George Washington. Good for the principal and her defiance in the face of stupidity.
2RepubAnon–exactly.
3The GOP has been acting like an abuser, grooming their brainless base. Now the base is doing what the GOP wanted, is anyone surprised? Texas passed a guns for all policy, I’m sure principals would prefer angry nut job parents show up with zip ties!
4Most of the Jan. 6 insurrectionists I’ve seen in the videos have been able bodied. I haven’t seen pictures of the zip tie dad yet, but even if he is isn’t your run of the mill brute, he brought along two guys for backup. Folks who take action against an oppressive evil empire have to be at least a little bit capable of beatin the shit outta somebody, amiright?
But not with our new baby-savin law. No sirree.
Anybody can get in on the action. Doesn’t matter how big or strong they are. They don’t need to know King Fu or carry a spiked club. Or zip ties. Hell, they don’t even have to be willing or able to get up from in front of their computer.
Anybody can get that empowered feeling.
And 10,000 bucks too!
Anybody think that’s just a disgusting coincidence?
5The 19 in Covid-19 is representative of the collective QOP IQ. Delta variant, or the next Mu, aside, the intransigent stupidity of those refusing a vaccine and being maskholes is not unlike the current US Senate. Call it a logjam, stalemate or select another term, but we are stalled at stupid and sliding backward. The prognosis for 2022 is not good. Midterm elections are generally an expression of voter ennui.
Ideas for generating voter enthusiasm? To most of us it is a choice between democracy and fascism aimed at our heads. How do we explain the obvious to the disinterested?
6Thank you El Jefe, I’ve been watching this horror unfold for the last 18 years and hoping the day never happens but knowing full well that it can. The bright side is ‘you can’t fix a problem correctly until you know what the problem is.’
7We are now seeing clearly it is extreme self centered, bigoted Hate that is the problem. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.
Texas just made vigilantism legal with the new abortion law. And the Supreme Court went along with it.
8Police departments are starting to tolerate if not encourage the development of a Freikorps mentality in America.
9Republicans in Congress need to remind their fringiest voters:
“We are a nation of laws.”
10Unless Republican Senators & Representatives believe otherwise. And then they should say so, and explain what they are doing in a body whose purpose is to make laws.
I am old enough to remember that right-wing conservatives in California were all for gun rights until the Black Panthers armed themselves and began showing up at the Statehouse to protest whatever bat shit crazy legislation conservatives were looking to pass. Suddenly, it was illegal to open carry on public property.
Today’s conservative politicians are inflaming their base and removing restrictions on where they can carry weapons. Eventually, their brownshirts will provoke an armed confrontation with some group of protestors which is the flashpoint they are looking for to create a civil war. It is all just going to escalate
11I’m looking forward to reading about the actual application of the new Texas law — as much as can be applied now while several courts have enjoined the use of the law against Planned Parenthood employees and volunteers, various other organization’s members or employees, and any actions by those affiliated with Texas Right to Life.
The novel approach has sparked some novel responses — such as Jennifer Rubin’s citation of one segment of federal code which blocks denial of rights found in the Constitution, allowing civil enforcement of those acting AND those who created the “cover of law” allowing it. Or the Satanists saying enforcement will be violations under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. And of course the Supreme Court has not “really” ruled on the act — just refused to grant an emergency injunction when there is no clear person or office to enjoin [yep, I can type that with a straight face].
12I think we will continue to have indications about where the pendulum is swinging:
* with the ongoing prosecution of the January 6 insurrectionists. 40+ guilty pleas, and all sentencing agreements I’ve read about have some prison time explicitly mentioned. Empty Wheel continues to follow the details, and discerns some interesting patterns;
* with the mid-September DC demonstration for the “political prisoners.” Seeing how many show up, what they wind up doing, and what sort of unofficial and official responses occur will clarify how willing the RWNJs are to double down on their opposition to the Biden Administration; and
* with the October federal civil trial of Charlottesville’s injured plaintiffs versus the various neo-Nazis, pro-Confederates, White Nationalists, and believers in “Replacement Theory” who organized and sponsored violence against property and people.
There may yet be a resurgence of power for the rule of law, the rise of traditional and progressive politics, and accountability for incitement of violence.
13^^^^^What YELLOWSTONE said ^^^^^
14Dem guns is for me, not thee!
I do not blame my kids for deciding not to have children.
Vigilantes. Neo Nazis. Permitless carry. All faster than you can say, “Sieg Heil”. Or “Taliban”.
15One of the vigilantes who plotted to kidnap the governor of Michigan and put her on “trial” just got sentenced to six years. This needs to happen to all the January 6 insurrectionists and anyone else who uses or promotes violence. Nothing else gets through to them.
16YELLOWSTONE @11
17I’m old enough to remember that too. Governor Ronald Reagan was on the Capitol lawn when the armed Black Panthers showed up to protest. He supported and signed the bipartisan Mulford Act outlawing the open carry of loaded weapons. The NRA also supported the bill.
Speaking of being old enough to remember: remember when Lyndon LaRouche’s lemmings used to stand around on street corners waving signs and prattling about how environmental rules and regulations were concocted by elites in order to control world population? LaRouche ran for office many times as a Democrat. Eventually, his lemmings wised up and realized that the NSGOP was much more fertile (I started to write fetid – maybe that’s the better word) ground for their ideas. I suspect that what we’re seeing is LaRouche’s ideas finally bearing fruit.
I occasionally joke about how the NSGOP’s response to COVID is really part of their secret plan to depopulate the earth because they’re closet environmentalists. It’s no joke, though. They really don’t care whether people who look different from them live or not, and make no mistake: the dirt-poor gun nuts and meth heads are expendable because they look different from them.
18