‘ They’re all the same’ isn’t good enough

Wednesday’s assault on the U.S. Capitol was still underway when the responses started arriving to comment on history unfolding in front of us. The first round of letters to the editor were, without exception, outraged, but not in the way one might assume.

People who only tangentially follow politics might view the Trump-incited mob storming the seat of American government as a turning point, or at least an outlier. Others viewed it as almost inevitable. This is where the Trump era was always headed, and while not everyone predicted exactly how it would play out, there was nothing shocking about this development, which is not to say it wasn’t outrageous.

But that wasn’t what raised the ire of a particular band of die-hards who wanted to have their say even as elected officials were still bunkering in undisclosed locations. They were mad about the way the events were characterized by the news media.

They read like this: “This protest was referred to as violent and the protesters as a mob. I couldn’t help but recall how ‘protests’ just a couple of months ago were referred to as ‘mostly peaceful.’ They were not, even as businesses were looted and burned to the ground.” Also: “The protest in Washington is called a ‘riot’; not so in Portland or Seattle.”

There was a whole group of these.

It’s almost as if they were reading from the same playbook, and it’s striking for a few reasons. One is the question of importance. A Starbucks in Minneapolis that burns is not on the same level as an attack on the U.S. Capitol.

There’s also an indication of what Wednesday’s events mean going forward. Would Trump supporters now turn against him? There’s no indication of that.

Beyond that is the cause for which people are protesting (or rioting, if you prefer). The issue over the summer was police violence against Black Americans. That’s what people were angry about, and justifiably so.

The cause on Jan. 6 was different. These were people protesting what they believed was a stolen election. But here’s the problem — it wasn’t stolen. Joe Biden won, and it wasn’t close. To believe it was theft is to think Democrats were smart enough to organize a nationwide conspiracy but dumb enough not to throw a few more Senate races their way. Nothing about it makes sense.

Here’s where people will chime

Joe Biden won, and it wasn’t close. To believe it was theft is to think Democrats were smart enough to organize a nationwide conspiracy but dumb enough not to throw a few more Senate races their way.

in with examples of sworn testimony about missing ballots and a lack of observers and all the rest. But all this has been brought up in court. All of it has had its chance to be recognized. All of it was tossed out. The election wasn’t stolen, and it’s not an open question.

This isn’t just the view of impartial observers, either. “Nothing before us proves illegality anywhere near the massive scale, the massive scale that would have tipped the entire election. … If this election were overturned by mere allegations from the losing side, our democracy would enter a death spiral.” Those are the words of some radical leftist named Mitch McConnell, who deserves no credit for speaking the truth at the latest possible moment, but who is nonetheless correct in this instance.

Maybe this is all pointless. Trying to make sense of a situation where people feel they have the right to invade the U.S. Capitol is hopeless. But think for a minute what those “protesters” might have done with lawmakers had they not been brought to safety. This event was far from harmless, and it could have been much worse.

What no one should do is say they didn’t see it coming. This has been building for years. We still have people in this country who want to throw up their hands when it comes to politics and say that nothing matters, that all elected officials are the same. They’re not all the same.

Some are worse than others — far worse. And we’re paying an ongoing price for failing to recognize that fact.