“Capital Breached”

That was the headline on Wednesday, along with the information that this was the first time since 1814 when a combined British/Canadian force ransacked Washington and breached the Capital in response to the burning of Fort York, later known as Toronto, by American forces. But this time it was Americans doing the breaching. An angry mob unleashed by a desperate President Trump trying to fend off his inevitable removal from office after his defeat by President Elect Joe Biden in November’s election.

And what a mob it was. A motley collection of deranged white men and women demanding the fiction of Donald Trump’s victory be recognized and the certification of the vote just then occurring in Congress be stopped; people whose reality is so distorted by the darkest corners of social media and the “respectable” right wing press that no amount of reason, no offering of fact, no countering of the obvious lies they have been fed will undermine their beliefs. And they are prepared to do anything to “stop the steal”. Except for many of them they have no idea what “anything” is as shown by their disarray once they entered the Capital. Should they rampage and plunder? Should they deface monuments or destroy artwork? Should they hunt down Democrats and Rinos and chase them from “their house”? The fact is, most of them had no idea so they wandered around looking smug and dazed as they contemplated the seat of American democracy.

And let’s not forget the Fools who turned the event into a kind of carnival of the absurd, first and foremost amongst them, the sham Shaman, you know the guy with the “war paint”, the faux horns, the faux fur and the bare chest covered with temporary tattoos. His name is Jake Agnelli. Although not as elaborate, there was also Aaron Mostofsky, the son of a Brooklyn Supreme Court judge, who dressed as a wannabe “Braveheart” although with the sensible precaution of a bullet proof vest labelled “police”. And so many others wearing their favourite fetishes, lifting Confederate flags and generally acting like spoiled children. I was reminded of “Lord of the Flies”.

Not to be forgotten, the crowd was ginned-up by an increasingly deranged President Trump and his court jester, Rudi Giuliani, both guilty in fact if not in law of suborning the mob to commit crimes against the American state, including a coup to overturn the legitimate result of a fair and free election. I’m not a lawyer but I hope appropriate charges will be considered against both of them and it will be made clear that no one, no one, can so outrageously attempt to disrupt the constitutional order without severe consequences.

Except for the deaths of five people, including a police officer trying to defend the Capital, and the desecration of the heart of American democracy, one might be tempted to dismiss this carnival as an outrageous prank that got out of hand. Those are huge exceptions but there’s more, much more. Along with the hysterics and the Fools, there were many American fascists, whether in the guise of “Proud Boys”, QAnon supporters, outright neo-nazis, supporters of the Ku Klux Klan and every other disgusting vermin that lurkes at the edges of American society. This was their moment and make no mistake about it, their intention was deadly both for their opponents and for democracy in America. These are “the deplorables” Hilary Clinton warned us about. And now here we are.

In his initial response to the assault, President Elect Joe Biden stated “this is not who we are”, a sentiment echoed by other mainstream American political leaders. But the simple truth is this is who many Americans are and the sooner America comes to terms with that simple fact, the sooner it can secure its now tenuous democracy. I’m not saying all seventy four million American who voted for Donald Trump are fascists but I am saying that millions of them are. And just to bolster this assertion, a survey released on Thursday morning showed that forty five percent of Republicans supported the attack on the Capital. Let that sink in. Forty five percent. Forty five percent who thought it was alright to trash the seat of American democracy and to overturn the results of a fair and free election.

America is no stranger to fascism. In the early part of the twentieth century leading up to the Second World War the “America Firsters” led by people like Charles Lindbergh pushed for closer ties with Nazi Germany and fought to keep America out of the war. They were joined by “The German American Bund” and any number of smaller groups across the land. And those deadly strains have not died. Is it any wonder some of the protesters on Wednesday wore T-shirts announcing “Camp Auschwitz” or “6 MWNE”? For those of you who haven’t heard of “6MWNE” it stands for “6 Million Was Not Enough”. Wednesday was not the culmination, the proverbial “breaking of the fever”. In the minds of these people it was the prelude.

Steeped in the vicious racism of its past, America has tended to turn a blind eye to white extremists, usually treating them as singular and as an anomaly, not something that needs a full scale response. Part of this, I believe, is that much of American leadership and law enforcement over the years has been populated by white men, at least some of whom still harbour the hideous prejudices of the extremists. It’s too early to say for sure, but the initial soft response of the Capital Police to the attack may be an example of this. There is little doubt had the invaders been black there would have been much blood on the floor of the building.

So America, wake up. You may not get many more chances to confront and defeat the cancers that are metasticizing in your midst. Believing these forces can be marshalled and controlled is not only wrong, it is treasonous. Ignoring them and hoping they will somehow go away is almost as bad because history tells us they will not and when you have no choice but to confront them it will be too late. Appeasment never works with fascists or, for that matter, most other extremists. They must be confronted, restricted, shut down and, where necessary, separated from society. If there is currently no legal framework for this, one must be created. The attack on The Capital was a declaration of war and America ignores it at its great peril.

Just sayin

G

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