Anything from hopes, fears, expectations, predictions, etc. What are your thoughts on the events that transpired today, and what do you think comes next?
I personally, was initially shocked. Not mortified, not surprised, but shocked in a human way, as a reaction to the initial footage of people getting in to the Capital building. I wasn't one of the people thinking that Trump was going to cross the rubicon any time soon.
Then I started feeling other emotions. I was pissed, for one, as this shit was being demonized super fucking quick and had immediate national guard response as opposed to the months of burning, looting, rape, murder, and carnage of the George Floyd riots. I was full of patriotism and pride, as this was Americans fighting back. It may be futile, it may be for nothing in the grand scheme of things, but I was happy to see people actually do something like this for their country and the ideas its built upon.
What happened today is something that, quite frankly, needs to happen, and needed to happen for a while now. Our government and politicians have failed to represent us for many years, it was only a matter of time before people pushed back. Politicians need a reminder of who is actually in charge of this country.
Maybe I'm being hopeful. Maybe the adrenaline of today is still kicking in my veins. But honestly, at the end of the day, I am proud that there are still people left who aren't afraid to stand up, even if there aren't enough, there are still those who care about the country I've called home my whole life.
The moment Pence announced that he was treating his role as purely ceremonial, it was clear that the process was going to be a formality. Possibly a long and drawn out formality, but still a formality.
Would it have been better to wait until the vote on the Arizona electors? Probably. Would there have been any point in waiting until after Biden got confirmed as president-elect? I don't think so. It happened a bit too soon, but frankly not by much.
Should they have gone home when asked, or should they have stayed as an occupying force? Well, nobody brought guns because violence wasn't the intent (and all the actual deaths were among the protesters). They might have been able to hold the Capitol through sheer weight of numbers, but I don't think there was ever an articulated intention to do so.
Was this planned? Well, they certainly got in suspiciously easily, and we know there were AntiFa members mixed in. Apparently they stayed behind when everyone else left and got beat up by the cops. But from stories of people on the ground, the actual push toward the Capitol happened organically.
Even if this was caused by AntiFa or other agitators, at this point I think we should own it. We don't control the narrative anyway. "Yeah we did it, next time come and join us" seems like a better message than "it wasn't us, honest!" or "they made us do it!".
As for what happens next ... I know a lot of people are prepared to take this all the way. That might happen on the 20th, or it might happen sooner. Maybe Trump is going to pull something out that stuns us all as Lin Wood is suggesting, but either way I don't think things are going to end here.