"'There were crosses, 'Jesus Saves' signs and 'Jesus 2020' flags that mimicked the design of the Trump flags. . . .
Comfortably intermingled with Christian rhetoric and these Christian icons were explicit symbols of white supremacy.'" /2
"This is Trump’s Republican Party. It is also the party for and of evangelical Christians, whose worldview, Jones writes, is intertwined with racism. 'This seditious mob was motivated not just by loyalty to Trump, but by an unholy amalgamation of white supremacy'" /3
"'and Christianity that has plagued our nation since its inception and is still with us today. As I show in my book "White Too Long: The Legacy of White Supremacy in American Christianity," there remains a disturbingly strong link between holding racist attitudes'" /4
"Trump’s white, so-called 'Christian' supporters did nothing to challenge, let alone condemn, his lies about the 2020 presidential election. " /1 baptistnews.com/article/its-pa…
"Robert Jeffress, Jack Graham, Franklin Graham, Paula White, Richard Land, Albert Mohler, Kenneth Copeland and Mike Huckabee did not call on Trump to stop lying. They were conspicuously silent while Trump incited his supporters to threaten politicians who refused to go along" /2
"with his false claims about the 2020 presidential election.
These self-proclaimed 'Christians' have not been condemned by their congregations or their so-called 'evangelical' peers. Albert Mohler wants to become the next leader of the Southern Baptist Convention." /3
"Such violence always erupts when there is the greatest possibility for change. Throughout history, Native and Indigenous people have seen this kind of mob violence. Black people have seen it. Women have seen it. Asians have seen it." /1 poorpeoplescampaign.org/january-6th-st…
"Latino farm workers have seen it. Workers standing for labor rights have seen it. What we saw this week is not the dream of America, but it has too often been the practice of America." /2
"This violence is a reaction to record turnout of people of every race, income, region, sexuality, creed & conviction who voted for candidates that pledged to expand health care, raise wages, address systemic racism & poverty, in the general election and the Georgia run-off." /3
To understand not only what took place last week in DC, but the response of many Americans and the Republican party to it, it's absolutely essential to understand the role a certain kind of religion plays in US culture and politics. /1 #capitolsiegereligion
This kind of religion is most accentuated in its evangelical iteration, but is to be found in a lot of other sectors of religion in the US since, as Kristin Kobes du Mez shows in her book Jesus and John Wayne, evangelicalism has extended its influence all through US religion. /2
Some key reasons — rooted in a kind of religion that is deeply embedded in US culture and politics — many Americans and Republicans will keep lying boldly about what we can all see on the videos from last Wednesday: /3
"Post-truth is pre-fascism, and Trump has been our post-truth president. When we give up on truth, we concede power to those with the wealth and charisma to create spectacle in its place. " /1 nytimes.com/2021/01/09/mag…
"Trump’s coup attempt of 2020-21, like other failed coup attempts, is a warning for those who care about the rule of law and a lesson for those who do not. His pre-fascism revealed a possibility for American politics." /2
"For a coup to work in 2024, the breakers will require something that Trump never quite had: an angry minority, organized for nationwide violence, ready to add intimidation to an election. Four years of amplifying a big lie just might get them this." /3
"Let’s not resort to euphemisms about what happened. There were no 'very fine people' among these rioters. They are trash. They trashed the people’s house so they could feel right at home. They are heartless and brain-dead." /1 nymag.com/intelligencer/…
"They laughed and preened and took selfies as they smashed windows, threatened the lives of public servants, vandalized Congressional offices, and made a mockery of a building and a flag that stand for the idea of America the Beautiful, unrealized as that idea too often is." /2
"Another thing about them, by the way: They were almost exclusively white.
Also largely white: the docile police who facilitated their entry into the Capitol, who failed to curb their criminal behavior until way too much damage had been done, and who, in some cases," /3
"This nationally coordinated coup attempt revealed highly organized networks of white supremacist organizations, extending beyond the Capitol and into statehouses around the U.S. that have been the target of protests." /1 splcenter.org/news/2021/01/0…
"Unsurprisingly, statehouses in the South – a region with high populations of communities of color – have been particularly targeted." /2
"These hate groups, emboldened by the president, pose a direct threat to the lives of millions of Black and Indigenous people, as well as other people of color around the country. They will not go away after President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration." /3