Where Are All The Cops?
- Emily O'Callaghan
- Jan 7, 2021
- 5 min read
Just Another Episode of Klannah Montana
2020, to put it simply, has been a shit-show. From a global pandemic that has been disastrously handled by Trump (and his blonde buddy Boris alike), to peaceful protestors being tortured with tear gas on the streets of Denver and Seattle, last year’s America was one filled with bigotry, conspiracy, and incompetence.
And although this has always been America’s socio-political lingua franca, who would have thought that 2021 would blow open the year’s red curtains with such an outrageous display of ignorance? The sad answer is that yesterday’s violent insurrection by pro-Trump white supremacists at the U.S. Capitol building is far from an unpredictable opening scene. As Obama wrote in a statement following the outrageous attack, “we’d be kidding ourselves if we treated it as a total surprise”.
On Wednesday the 6th of January, pro-Trump extremists stormed the U.S. Capitol in an attempted coup, after a Trump rally at the National Mall in Washington confirmed the President’s refusal to concede the 2020 election. Thousands of mask-less men and women barged their way into the building after breaking through police lines, forcing House members to take cover and evacuate as rioters attempted entry into the Chamber of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Clambering up the walls outside the building, filling the hallways of the Senate Chamber, and standing at the dais of the U.S. Senate floor yelling “Trump won!”, the scenes that dominated the screens of yesterday afternoon were chilling, to say the least. As the story unfolded, one question began to dominate the floor of online newsroom discussion:
“Where are all the cops?”
Now, did you ever ask where Miley was when Hannah was performing on stage? Then why are you asking where America’s so-called protective services are when pro-Trump white supremacists are storming the Capitol?
Almost instantly after news of the breach hit global headlines, commentators, predominantly those online, were quick to note the stark difference in police response towards rioters at the Capitol, and protestors supporting the Black Lives Matter movement.
One can only dread to think of the consequences of a person of colour engaging in any of the disgraceful acts performed by Trump’s violent mob. As Twitter user @MartyOropeza highlights, the presence at the Capitol during the BLM protests was one with unprecedented amounts of police and military officers, in stark contrast to the somewhat lacklustre response on January 6th.
Infographics creators @wereleavingearly on Instagram also noted the shocking double standards that were exposed during the Capitol breach. One post entitled ‘America’s Two Realities’ shows the difference between the forceful arrest of a black male during a peaceful BLM protest by officers in full riot gear, and a Trump supporter taking a selfie with a Capitol officer. And whilst of course, images are easy to edit and crop, evidence of the selfie-supporting officer, who even offers a supportive nod at the end of his snapshot, can be found on the Twitter page of Timothy Burke, @bubbaprog.
Whilst the majority of the BLM protests that occurred over the summer months were peaceful, as stated in a report by the U.S. Crisis Monitor, the violence and subjugation they endured was nothing compared to the pitiful response showed towards yesterday’s display of white supremacy. CNN commentator Van Jones’s comments share the angered sentiments of many; on Twitter, he speculated what would happen if thousands of black people were to lay siege to the seat of government in the middle of a joint session of Congress, asking us to “Just imagine the reaction”.
Twitter user @rebekahentralgo joins the discussion by revealing police treatment of other prejudiced groups in America, posting pictures of how Capitol police treated ADAPT (American Disabled for Attendant Programs Today) activists for peacefully protesting their right to healthcare. The photos she shares are disturbing, and wholly emblematic of how Trump’s America treats anyone who isn’t the quintessential white patriot.
Chicago based activist Kofi Ademola also speaks on the treatment of people of colour in America, stating “Black protesters here in D.C. and Chicago, we’re heavily policed, brutalized, for literally saying, 'Don’t kill us.' There was [sic] no planned insurrections. We were literally just advocating for our lives. It speaks volumes about the values of this country. It doesn’t care about our lives.”
And speaking of planned insurrections… Whilst we could assume that yesterday’s attempted coup emerged as an angered culmination of the ‘Save America’ rally’s conspiracy-peddling, the result of the Georgia Senate runoff election results, or Vice President Mike Pence’s announcement that he did not believe Trump had the power to block congressional certification of Biden’s electoral victory, emerging images from the Capitol breach provide some worrying evidence that suggests this was more than an impromptu kick-off.
Images found on the Twitter page of @DHWise007 show pro-Trump extremists adorning shirts that read: ‘MAGA, Civil War, January 6, 2021’, described by the Twitter user as an arrogant display of Trump supporter “scum” living out their “dangerous childhood fantasies”. Evidence of a premediated attack, outright, embellished with the unsettling smirks of people who do not care for democracy, and do not care about America.
Whilst one individual was shot, and 52 others were arrested by officers during the Capitol breach on Wednesday, the response from police forces in Washington was far from tough. Although tear gas eventually made its way onto the scene, many argue that the dispersal of rioters was far too little, far too late when compared to the shocking treatment of BLM protestors only months prior. After rioters were cleared of the building, six firearms, two pipe bombs, and a cooler of Molotov cocktails were recovered – an interesting detail that has managed to evade many American news reports.
If these crowds were filled with non-white faces, this pro-Trump insurrection would be an act of domestic terrorism, without question. But no, of course it isn’t. As FOX News journalist Bradford Betz writes, these are protestors, and they are protesting peacefully.
The same people who were screaming “Blue Lives Matter” a matter of months ago are now the same people tearing down inauguration scaffolding rails and throwing it at their beloved police officers. But instead of being met immediately with tear gas, bullets, and verbal denunciation, pro-Trump rioters were allowed a somewhat free pass at violence, predictably because white supremacist thought is embedded in both the mindset of the Trump supporter and the American police force as a whole.
As world leaders around the globe agree, the forced insurrection into the U.S. Capitol building by pro-Trump extremists is a direct attack on democracy, with supporters of fascism showing their true, MAGA-hat-wearing confederate-flag-waving faces. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani stated in a speech broadcast by state television on the 6th that the events at the Capitol signified the “fragility and vulnerability” of Western democracy. Pro-democracy activist Lee Cheuk-yan from Hong Kong expressed sadnesstowards the Capitol chaos; as a person who is “fighting for a democracy in which everyone has a right to vote”, to see the U.S.’s complacency towards “a subversion of the will of the people by violence” is disheartening, and heart-breaking.
Waking up on Thursday morning and reading that Trump has conceded defeat and agreed to an orderly transition to Joe Biden’s presidency is a glimmer of relief amidst emotions of rage, upset, and exhaustion. This is not your Capitol, Trump, nor is it your America. But the fight is far from over. As long as MAGA hats continue to be worn, and confederate flags continue to fly, the overwhelming power of white supremacy will continue to infiltrate every street and corner of the American socio-political landscape.
As January 20th approaches, one can hope that change is coming, slowly and steadily. But right now, arguably more than ever before, proves that America must undergo radical transformation. Biden, there’s a lot of work to be done.
In the charged aftermath of the pro-Trump extremist attack on the U.S. Capitol building, Emily O'Callaghan critically investigates the double standards of U.S. socio-politics, revealed by yesterday's shocking, yet sadly predictable, display of white supremacy.
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