The Audacity of Caucasity
By now we’ve all been made aware of the armed siege of our nation’s capitol. Violent terrorists pushed past security, well the ones who weren’t allowed to walk by freely, and broke into the capitol building.
Only one woman was killed, three died of complications related to the terroristic acts, and a few were injured with a grand total of 52 arrests at the time of composing this piece.
While I’m sure police feel very good about those numbers, I, on the other hand, am offended. Black Lives Matter protests have been met with tear gas, rubber bullets, barricades of officers and soldiers, and more. Where was this response yesterday? Where was the outrage?
The fact that white American citizens can do almost anything in this country without the slightest repercussion is disgusting, yet unsurprising. This country was built on anarchy, racism, capitalism, and euro-centric whiteness. Men were not created equal and we do not have the same unalienable rights. So while news stations and pundits across the nation will try to call this a riot of unsettled and unhappy citizens, they will not be acknowledged for what they are: terrorists. Our history books will not call January 6th what it was, a siege with the goal of carrying out a full government coup.
I mean, they stole federal property, hunted VP Pence, destroyed offices, and threatened to return with deadly force…as they were peacefully allowed to leave. Only white men, and the white women who follow them blindly, can attempt such insurrection without fear of reprimand.
Sure, it’s all over the news now. But one thing the consistent murder of Black men and women has taught me is that none of those ‘rioters’ will face justice. None of them will see a jail cell. None of them will be fined. None of them will receive punishment. And they WILL return. They WILL make good on their threats. They WILL continue their efforts to destabilize America and disrupt our lives like the thugs and villains they wish to be.
I write this with shaking hands and a rage-filled heart. I’m not angry because the capital was attacked, that place was built by slaves and should be burned down forthwith. No, I’m angry because this is perhaps the most blatant example of the double-standard that exists in America. The unmitigated gall it takes to attempt a coup in any country, much less the world’s leading ‘superpower’ can’t be stressed enough. To be frank, this shit is crazy.
I was once stopped by shotgun-toting Alabama police for speeding. Whereas shotgun-toting white conservatives were damn near escorted into our nation’s capitol building. The difference in treatment is unacceptable and tantamount to a declaration that only White Lives Matter. The only thing that makes a cop think before shooting is the whiteness of the skin at the end of the barrel.
I’m not asking for some sweeping campaign to arrest and arraign those terrorists because let’s be honest, it just won’t happen. To quote one of my favorite comedians, Leslie Jones, “We’re not asking you to shoot them like you shoot us, we’re asking you NOT to shoot us like you DON’T shoot them!”
In summary, white American citizens have the audacity to commit federal crimes and the only people who will pay, the only people who have ever paid, will be Black Americans and the poor. We are left to clean up the messes left by our conservative counterparts who have no problem watching from the sidelines.
So remain vigilant my friends. This is not over. The revolution will indeed be televised. It will be live-streamed. It will be Tweeted, Instagrammed, and Facebooked. It will be blatant. And it will be adorned in Confederate flags, elk skins and bulletproof vests. The bell has been rung, and you can’t unring it.
*I do not own the photos shown in this article
