If you listen to the political commentators on Fox News they clearly condemned, in no uncertain terms, the violence, destruction and death threats that occurred on January 6, 2021 in our nation’s capitol. (However, many on Fox and other news outlets floated the idea that the actual vandals and extremists were Antifa disguised as Trump supporters.) LINK There is no evidence of this.
Setting that aside, what is most disturbing to me is how immediately, those on my side of the political aisle seemed to pivot directly to comparing what happened at the Capitol to the protests/riots that happened over the summer in the name of Black Lives Matter. For example, in Tucker Carlson’s opening monologue the day of the riots, he played clip after clip of the BLM riots over the summer in order to compare those to what happened at the Capitol. You can watch the monologue here.
Let me be clear: if the point being made is that the mainstream media is hypocritical and has a double standard in how they cover protests by people on the left vs. people on the right, then I agree. It is obvious that they call BLM marches where there is destruction of property “mostly peaceful”, but then when Trump supporters march they call it riots and insurrections. HOWEVER, there is a categorical difference between the BLM protests and what happened at the Capitol on January 6th.
The biggest difference is that the President of the United States has at his disposal the most advanced and powerful intelligence and law enforcement apparatus known to man. He planned a rally on the very day that the full congress would be gathered to certify the election results right outside the nation’s capitol and he didn’t think to ask the FBI if it was a good idea? He didn’t stop to ask them if there was any chatter online by violent extremists that they would show up at this rally? He didn’t stop to ask the top law enforcement officials that work for him, if the men and women of congress were secure? He knew that he was going to get on stage and tell this vast crowd to march on the capitol, right? Then shouldn’t he have made absolutely sure that the capitol and the men & women inside of it were safe?
Why is it that Trump supporters and those on the right cannot think through these issues rationally? Don’t get me wrong, I think the other side is wrong to accuse the President of wanting this to happen. I don’t see any evidence that Trump’s desire was to have his supporters break into the capitol. However, to me it doesn’t matter if that was his intention. What matters is that as the president he is responsible for the protection of our elected officials and he SHOULD HAVE KNOWN what unfolded on January 6 was a possibility, and he should have taken measures to protect the Capitol. Let’s not lay all the blame on the Capitol police. Trump by virtue of his office and authority could have ensured the protection of the capitol but he didn’t, and that is inexcusable negligence.
Do I think he should be removed from office? NO. Not because an argument can’t be made for it, but because taking that action now will only embolden, enflame and galvanize those extremists who are using this situation to escalate things. Would I vote for Trump again to run for President, NO I WOULD NOT.
And finally, is the censorship of big tech happening right now a very dangerous and worrying slippery slope for the first amendment in our land, YES IT IS!
Apologetics From the Attic 