The Retcon Brigade

     I'm still getting a few comments from people who claim the events at the U. S. Capitol building on January 6, 2021 could not possibly have been an attempted coup or insurrection because "they had no weapons."

     This assertion is risible.  January 6 rioters using clubs (both actual club-type clubs and stout posts from protest signs) and pepper spray can be seen in video of the day, along with improvised weapons that include police helmets and shields and sections of barricade fencing.  A number of rioters were credibly charged with bringing firearms onto Capitol grounds, and reported non-gun weapons included bats, crutches, flagpoles, skateboards and fire extinguishers.

     Aside from all that, a force of roughly 10,000 people is a weapon in and of itself.  At least 2000 made it inside the building, significantly outnumbering law enforcement.  Around 150 of the defenders were injured; I guess you could go argue the semantics of riot vs. insurrection vs. attempted coup with them, but your prospects will not be improved by claiming it was a "day of love" or a "peaceful protest."

     We came very close to losing elected officials to mob violence that day; pretending otherwise is like a cat trying to cover up a mess on a bare tile floor.

     I do not and will not whitewash political violence by any individual or group.  I try to sort out plain old regular protest, as American as apple pie, from "direct action" violence or riots, and from looting.  They're different things.  An enraged, shouting crowd -- like the people listening to then-President Trump and others earlier on January 6 who did not proceed to storm the Capitol, or a pissed-off BLM gathering marching up Meridian Street here in Indianapolis -- is not the same as rioters trashing government offices; nor is either of those two the same as opportunistic looters emptying a store amidst political unrest.  Conflating them is sloppy thinking; pretending the ones whose notions you more-or-less agree with are ever-pure blameless angels and those whose opinion you dislike are entirely malign destroyers is disingenuous doublethink.  Actions matter more than intentions or what banner the perpetrators wave.

     I am sick and tired of smarmy partisan bullshit.  I'm not going to publish it in comments and I'm not going to pretend it has any intellectual standing.  Straining at gnats and swallowing camels whole isn't a good habit to take up, even when a lot of the other kids are doing it.