It’s obvious Trump was his worst version last week, which is why his voters should follow the mission – not the man. And, it’s obvious several hundred Stop The Steal rally-goers were the worst versions of themselves, because only fools would “hear” a call to arms in THAT muckraking speech. I know two facts about last Wednesday: (1) the rally hosted thousands of kindred souls, and (2) those moved to confront Congress numbered several hundred. They’re the MAGA outliers.
All political movements have headline-grabbing “early actors” who are behavioral outliers. Take the extreme behavior of a Buddhist monk in 1963, who set himself ablaze in Saigon to protest Diem’s corrupt government. Poor chap, the US anti-war movement did not adopt protest by self-immolation, and the US propped up Diem and his successors for another ten years. It just goes to show grabbing a headline doesn’t ensure followers or change the course of nations.
Forget your idea of “America” and do the outlier math. MAGA is the main American political movement, with far greater numbers than #MeToo and Black Lives Matter. This is true, but 74,000,000 Trump voters begat only a few thousand Stop The Steal rally-goers and a few hundred rioters. Even when 89% of the GOP didn’t believe Biden won fair and square (source: Gallup), only .00027% turned deplorable. Thus the conservative emotion felt last Wednesday should’ve been pathos.
In a civilized nation, it’s pitiful when middling whites hide behind the constitution after wiping excrement on the walls of Congress and posing as Confederate wannabes. In a nation of laws, we cannot confuse bad outliers (the fool with his feet on Speaker Pelosi’s desk) with good outliers (Dr. King). However, an open and honest examination of the Trump era must include the entire record of partisan disregard for civil and legal boundaries.
Right now, the mad-liberal narrative is Republican enablers aided and abetted a far-right insurrection. Really? Trump was no less civil Wednesday than Maxine Waters in 2017: “get up in their face and tell them they aren’t welcome.” And, how were the anti-Kavanaugh riots more lawful than the anti-Biden riots? The truth of the matter is this much fear and loathing is going to end very badly for we the people, including Democrats.
What provoked Wednesday’s anti-Biden hordes? Hard to say for sure, but the guess here is pride – as in I’m proud to be an American, where at least I know I’m free. Such pride helped beat Russia to the moon, but also turned US politics into blood sport. C. S. Lewis noted, “a proud man is always looking down [on] people.” While that view might be OK for winning a trade war against Red China, it constrains bipartisan governance.
I’m not against pride; just noting its power and nuance. Mine are the words of a southern white man, who feels no particular pride in that fact. However, millions do, which is why south-slapping, white-shaming “liberals” need to knock it off. Wherever they went to university didn’t teach them how to read minds or know for sure the efficacy of the Paris Accord or Iran Nuclear Treaty. So, perhaps it was just charlatan fatigue that sent a few hundred over the edge.
I looked at the oddly attired rioters and thought they don’t give a damn (as in Thelma, Louise, and Guy Fawkes crazy) because they don’t trust the people who set the rules. Little-guy logic goes like this: if Congress can send me to war to prevent Saddam Hussein from controlling Arab oil, then I can storm Congress to prevent Joe Biden from increasing taxes and regulations. That won’t hold up in court, which is why I felt pathos watching Wednesday go down.