Thread by @RaheemKassam

I walked Capitol Hill ➡️ Downtown ➡️ Capitol Hill yesterday. 20,000+ steps.

I walked through the crowds. Normal and happy and kind and optimistic people.

Media hyping a few minutes where a handful of troubleseekers broke into a govt building is wildly irresponsible. Not news.

I’ve seen friends posting “omg is it safe to be in DC?”

It was totally safe and remains so.

All the “action” was in one tiny area, fomented by bad actors, bad policing, and entryists.

The whole thing reminds me of what Jefferson said about rebellions.

He said “I hold it that a little rebellion now and then is a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical” *but* he also warned...

“Unsuccessful rebellions indeed generally establish the incroachments on the rights of the people which have produced them.”

Someone wanted yesterday to be and look “unsuccessful”. Many did. And the cameras and media coverage today will reflect that.

Turn it off. Calm down.

PS: Am I letting folks who performed criminal acts off the hook? No. People act stupid sometimes. That’s Planet Earth. They’ll be charged.

But who was it posing for pics in the Capitol? Oh yeh it was Neo Nazis. Infiltrators who have been rejected by both sides. Losers.

PPS: Do I understand the desperation and frustration of real Trump supporters who rushed into the building alongside the troublemakers? Yep. Compassion and understanding each other are what’s missing today. But was this instigated by ordinary Trump folks? Doesn’t seem so.