January 6th Whataboutism
BLM Protests & Insurrection Aren’t the Same
“This is how election results are disputed in a banana republic…I am appalled by the reckless behavior of some political leaders since the election and by the lack of respect shown today for our institutions, our traditions, and our law enforcement.”
~ George W. Bush
In the aftermath of the January 6th attack, leaders from both parties initially condemned the insurrection. However, that quickly changed as it came time to start investigating the attack and hold people accountable. As the weeks and months passed, we heard a growing chorus of whataboutism from the right. When the subject of the insurrection is brought up, politicians, pundits, and their supporters immediate ask “what about” the Black Lives Matter protests.
Even during the initial congressional investigation into Trump’s role in inciting the insurrection, several Republicans in Congress were quick to make the comparison. A new party line emerged to accuse Democrats of being hypocrites for supporting racial equality but not a coup attempt. The false equivalence between the attack on the Capitol and the Black Lives Matter protests of the previous summer has only continued and gotten louder in light of recent indictments.
Completely Different Agendas
The Black Lives Matter protests were part of the social justice movement that was sparked by the death of George Floyd and so many others. The goal of the protests was to bring attention to the over policing in communities of color and uneven treatment between white and black suspects in police encounters. The protests were diverse groups of people getting together to demand change and justice.
While there were incidents during some protests, the vast majority of protests were peaceful. At no time did the protesters enter government buildings armed with nooses and looking to kill members of Congress. The Black Lives Matter movement has been mischaracterized and maligned by those with an agenda.
The attack on the Capitol happened after nearly two months of Donald Trump and his most loyal supporters spreading lies about the election. Throughout this time, the defeated president was making false claims about fraud, pressuring election officials to overturn the will of the people, filing lawsuits, and having them thrown out of court. His constant tweets about the election loss and inviting his supporters to the protest set the whole thing in motion. The organizers of the January 6th rally were all paid by the Trump campaign.
On the day, the crowd that assembled in DC at the president’s request was riled up by various speakers. Rudy Giuliani warmed up the crowd with a speech in which he said, “Let’s have trial by combat!” Trump finished getting them going in an hour long speech that was filled with lies, incendiary remarks, and fear filled rhetoric about his supporters needing to be strong or “you won’t have a country.” You can read the full transcript of his speech here.
After whipping them up into a frenzy with lies about the election being stolen by people who want to destroy the country, he sent them to the Capitol. When they got there, they broke through barriers, smashed doors and windows, and unlawfully entered the building. Once inside, they smeared feces in the rotunda, broke into offices, and the floor of the House and Senate. Meanwhile, aides and government officials were pleading with Trump to send in the National Guard, which he ignored. The Washington Post has a full timeline of the attack.
An Entirely Different Response
The response from law enforcement and elected officials was also completely different. Peaceful protests during the summer of 2020 were met with extreme force from local and federal law enforcement. On January 6, the insurrectionists were allowed to leave and had to be tracked down later. The question isn’t even the false equivalence so much as why so many of our elected officials are willing to give right wing extremist groups a pass?
If they are trying to draw a comparison, where is their response? They came down hard on the Black Lives Matters protesters, even mischaracterizing them as all violent and exaggerating the damage done by the protests. They hailed Trump for sending law enforcement to use rubber bullets, tear gas, and pepper spray on protesters before posing with a Bible. Those were peaceful protestors.
What do we see with the insurrectionists? Plenty of excuses from right wing politicians. Rep. Ron Johnson was among the first to spread disinformation that the attack was really antifa and not Trump supporters. Lately, they’ve been calling it a peaceful protest or comparing it to a normal Capitol tour. Others, such as Rep. Bob Good of Virginia is pretending that Democrats just want to attack conservatives.
If these elected officials truly believe that the two are equivalent, why are they so eager to blow off the Capitol attack and let them go? It’s interesting that Rep. Good, Johnson, McCarthy, Greene, and so many others are insisting that any investigation is an attack on conservatives. Why do they identify with the insurrectionists? These are questions that may be answered in pending criminal trials.
