Thread by @hfdavis

I take one day off from being #onhere to get ready for the semester and miss almost the entire act of domestic terrorism happening in D.C.

The discourse about this whole thing is something else to say the least. The comparisons to other countries wreaks of unoriginal exceptionalism that ought to be entirely illegitimate by now.

Not to mention the feigning outrage of “how could this happen?!” Like the Capitol has not, since its inception, housed white supremacy and white supremacists enacting violence on the Nation for two centuries.

I saw a post that was like “Yes, that is a Confederate flag outside Senate Chambers!” like it was the first time that’s ever happened. Like, fam, how you got that much historical amnesia? The nostalgia of some pristine, just democracy is tew much.

On the low, we been a banana republic, one wholly unstable to govern justly for its people and dependent upon the labor exploitation of racialized underclasses that sustain entire economies despite America producing relatively nothing of material value (except WMDs).

And this Iran chatter. Again, why the shock and appall? 45 casually killed a whole, standing Iranian general and it was understood that an attack on U.S. in the near-to-distant future would be all but imminent as a response to a clear act of war by the U.S. empire. I’m sleep tho.

All of this to say, as Malcolm did already, is yet another instance of American white supremacist capitalist patriarchal empire’s chickens coming home to roost.

So, my concern is, and always has been with these things, is how it will disproportionately affected Black folks already subject to random acts of state and state-sanctioned violence, including legislative acts that further limit our freedom of movement and right to assemble.

What is more, what this signals to numerous white supremacist groups in other parts of the country. That is, if the Capitol can be taken by force, anything can be (and therefore should be). This includes other government buildings, but also to people, our people.

If I’ve said it once I’ve said it a hundred times in recent years, our right to self-defense as Black people in this political moment not debatable, but necessary to secure our safety and that of our families from those who seek to do us harm.

I just got off the phone with my folks and hadn’t realized until they mentioned it that Trump told these fools to all but take the Capitol at his little rally. How he’s not been detained for treason is beyond me, but even more so should he not be indicted after leaving office.

Wait. They found bombs at both the RNC and the DNC?! I really missed one hell of an episode of America today.

These terrorists pulled out all the stops at the direct behest of 45’s complete signal to disregard any civility or decorum and instead to enact material violence.

Wild thing is, let Trumpers tell it, they’re justified despite the reality it is those of us who “peacefully” protest who are most justified but have not yet tried. We know the consequences simply by assembly might include serious bodily injury or death from police.

@threadreaderapp unroll please

Reminder that, even if you did wanna take a Capitol building somewhere, this ain’t how it’s done. In 2013, the courageous young people we know as @Dreamdefenders successfully occupied the Florida Capitol for 31 days and 30 nights following the Zimmerman acquittal. #takeoverfl