DC Unrest Megathread

[Red Velvet]

The entire DC Metropolitan Police force should have been there. What the HELL is going on??? Why aren’t they opening fire???

Some of the police tends to be right-wing and probably isn’t against the coup attempt by force.

[Red Velvet]

I genuinely don't understand how the Pentagon can deny a request to bring in the national guard.  I mean they've been brought into protests as precautionary measures and now there are armed men in the Capitol.  Is there any possible reason not to approve the request?

The notion that the pentagon is pro-democracy lmaooo

[Red Velvet]

As a voter, seeing Biden speaking like these fascists are just rambunctious middle schoolers makes him extremely unfit for this moment which is so depressing.

Well, but that was a choice of democrats, right? Conciliation and finding a middle ground as a goal, not a tough radical fighter.

[Red Velvet]

Venezuela’s government also issued an statement condemning the political polarization in the US and the violence displayed in Washington DC.

Did any other Latin American country issued a solidarity statement or was it just Maduro? I am worried that if Brazil says anything it will be the opposite of Venezuela, with Bolsonaro’s support for the coup attempt. Só I would rather have him keeping his mouth shut.

https://www.twitter.com/traumann/status/1346946571590463488

[Red Velvet]

Meanwhile in LA...

https://twitter.com/atzxu/status/1346946001848791041?s=20

If there's one thing history has shown, it's don't mess with the LAPD. I suppose MAGA-stans are learning that the hard way.

Forgive me if I'm not as optimistic are you about the LAPD

Police is always right-wing everywhere, with some fascist leanings. The treatment given to left-wing and black people is extremely different than the one given to right-wing and white ones. The latter demands are usually aligned with their interests.

[Red Velvet]

OAS when sh**t goes down in the US: Repudiation note, pls respect democracy pls 

OAS when sh**t goes down in Latin America: Cancel the elections and do exactly what I say  

[Red Velvet]

Trump has been band by Facebook indefinitely. I imagine Twitter will follow their lead.

https://twitter.com/Kantrowitz/status/1347209358531198979?s=20

Zuckerberg can eat sh**t. NOW is the time that it got too dangerous for democracy?

What about other countries where these strategies (some even worse) are constantly used by far-right leaders? Are they gonna do something about this too or is the special treatment just with US when they’re about to have a rupture with democracy?

Honestly, go f*** yourself Zucky. It’s not one miserable account that needs to be blocked, but YOUR entire sh**tty social media, which has been by far the worst of all when it comes to dealing with the spread of fake news and political radicalization. End Facebook immediately.

[Red Velvet]

BREAKING: Bolsonaro justifies the terrorist attacks on the US capitol, says US election was a party in which people voted three, four times and even dead people were allowed to vote. Defends same discourse from Trump.

He also threatens Brazilian democracy: “If we have electronic voting in 2022, a similar thing will happen here. Electoral fraud exists.”

He wants a similar coup here and knows Brazilian electronic system is too safe, which is why he is bullying to a paper vote and using these threats. Because it’s easier to suppress the vote and control people’s choice that way.

Thing is, US voting isn’t electronic so his argument makes no sense since he is insisting US presidential elections were a fraud lmao. And they have the voting system he defends. These extremists and fascists are a joke.

https://www.twitter.com/cjf39/status/1347233158916399104
https://www.twitter.com/JeffEKahn/status/1347217636388712449

[Red Velvet]

Hispanics down in Florida must have hated watching another radical socialist attack unfold.

there is a long and proud tradition in Latin America of responding to the election of a vaguely center-left president with a reactionary coup

Sure, with the usual support of US government for these reactionary groups though. Radical anticommunism leading to people going full Nazis isn’t a exclusive phenomenon of Latin America.

These people don’t care whether the adversaries are communists, socialists, social democrats, liberals or moderate conservatives. There is no distinction between all these in the fascist narrative because they’re all adversaries, so their discourse is designed to make them all “radical communists” in order to incite fear within the population and push them to their side. What feeds fascism is always fear and political ignorance. You can be a moderate conservative or a radical socialist, you will get put inside the same box.

This is present in most places and if in US you already get this type of discourse when it’s basically a center-right (Democrats) vs a right/far-right (Republicans), imagine how much worse it would be if US actually had a center-left with more power like in LatAm and other places. It’s certainly not only Hispanics in US who propagate this type of fascist discourse.

[Red Velvet]

I am crying and praying for President Trump right now.

It’s kinda of a hilarious end to his presidency, you gotta admit it.  

He always stimulated fear of other people, now people are all scared of him. He could’ve accepted defeat earlier and maybe even win in 2024 Republican primary, now even if he escapes from the legal consequences of this, he will be publicly lynched on the streets in the best case scenario.

He will have to live in hiding even if he gets to escape justice, so he will never really be free again. And he will have to hear people treat him and his job as a pariah for the rest of his days. It’s a very sudden disgraced ending for him, especially considering he still had a lot of political power.

[Red Velvet]

Liberals would do well to reflect on this quote by Martin Luther King, there is a lot of truth to it with regard to how many Americans feel.

A riot is the language of the unheard - Martin Luther King

What policy they stand for that people are ignoring though? They had a limited set of demands and I think those were pretty much heard by everyone, which is why they’re getting backlash lmao

I agree that there’s a lot of economic anxiety behind a lot of the crisis of representation, people don’t feel either side represents the working class people.

However, that is NOT the main talking point of these groups even if it’s something that definitely led to their radicalization. Their voiced political demands were:

- Ignore the results of the election, have Donald Trump installed as new dictator
- Hang Mike Pence, kidnap politicians
- Bring back confederacy, I guess? Based on the flag at least
- ?

Like, if they did the same thing and invaded the capitol to demand actual policies like economic justice (ex: universal healthcare) or another democratic political demand, without the murdering politicians chants and racist flags, they would probably have been taken way more seriously as activists instead of coupers, even if there would still be a looot of attacks and imprisonments. But at least they would have the narrative in their favor and be considered political prisoners by some instead of unanimously seen as criminals.

To be a political prisoner you actually need to have politics and these people, sadly, are mostly apolitical actors being used as free mass of maneuver by a dictator wannabe who radicalized them based on personality-cultism instead of policies. I do feel sorry for some of them (the non-fascists ones) because it’s quite sad to go to jail or die for the sake of defending the honor of Donald Trump simply because you lack critical thinking and need to emotionally attach yourself to the narrative of a cult to feel you matter and is part of something bigger than your existence. To feel less alone. No different than other types of cults designed to create that emotional urgency, such as religious ones and others.

There were millionaires laughing at these people in the capitol and talking about how this was supposed to be the greatest day of their lives. That is just disgusting to me. But it’s also the sad reality. Government works for the top 1% and everyone else is invisible. Yet they decide to compete against themselves instead of uniting against the top 1%. Better education, universal healthcare, access to affordable housing are all investments for a less unequal society that would stimulate a culture that people are stronger together. When you help your neighbors, help will come back to you when you need it.

[Red Velvet]

Trump vs. the tech conglomerates has always been a "whoever loses, we win" situation, so it's beautiful to see him losing office with both of them inflicting genuine, potentially serious damage on each other. The pardons thing and the Alamo thing are much more concerning, though.

Trump is already destroyed and is leaving office, so I’m definitely rooting for him on this lol

Tech companies allowed the spread of fascism when it benefited their financial interests (they still do it outside the US), now they want to be aligned with the democrats after they won all spheres of power.

This should be an issue that unites left and right. Break up Big Tech immediately. If Parler should be boycotted for being a platform that enables fascism, so should these big tech companies with way more damaging reach and impact.

My fear is if democrats get in bed with big tech now that they’re sending signals they will be aligned with the interests of the party. Maybe even, who knows, repress left-wing organizations critical of them.

Democrats need to understand that if a fascist ever gets in power again, or anyone else close, big tech will adapt to not be against them either and use their destructive ideology for the sake of their own profit. That’s only what’s at stake for them, no civic responsability with the interests of the countries and their people.

This is something BERNIE and WARREN advocated for. It will be very interesting to see if they will maintain a leadership position on this and push democrats away from a position that can lead to the increasing moral decadence of Western society.

[Red Velvet]

https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/1349492130578919425
Too little, too late. Trump appears genuinely chastised for the first time in his Presidency.

Ah, the regular mistake where the politicians think the anti-politics movement surrounding them is about them.

Wouldn’t be surprised if Trumpers called him a coward cuck for that statement, as he sided with the establishment in fear lol

The danger of joining antipolitics movements is that they can even stan a loser like Trump if he is committed to the cause of triggering the establishment and give them the strong anti-politics rhetoric they want. But they can easily spit you like trash if do the opposite of that stuff. And then they will look for new leaders that will be more fit for their purposes.

These people know Trump lost, but they want him to be a strongman that never compromises or accept defeat. They want a dictatorship because that’s a system where they can assure the progressive opposition they hate has no voice. And that’s what the movement is more about, it’s not about constructing anything, it’s about destroying it. I know how these people work.

What I predict is:

1. USA will move past Trump. I really think he is over and politically dead now that he is throwing these people on the fire in order to disassociate himself from them.

2. The MAGA populist movement will keep strengthening as new leaders emerge from within and rebrand themselves as a new Trump-free opposition, only with the same tactics, discourse and positions. Could possibly lead to an alternative worse than Trump in the future.

Evidence is how there are many people, including elected representatives, asking for the Joe Biden impeachment even before he assumes office.

https://www.twitter.com/RyanLizza/status/1349512738465320962
The spread of globalization is really quite something to see. A lot of what I see in the USA 2020-2021 kinda reminds me of Brazil 2014-2015.

It was also an extremely polarized election in which the losing side did not accept defeat and immediately after the election results were announced they preached for impeachment. Before the elected leader even started their term, showing their contempt for democracy.

Naturally it was under a different context, so I don’t think Biden’s fate will be the same as Dilma’s even if the level of craziness and evil from their political opponents is scarily similar. Significam differences:

- Biden has a majority in both congress and senate for at least his first two years. Who knows what will be in 2023? In Brazil no one ever has full majority of congress.

- If economy crashes it will be way more blamed on COVID-19 than on the administration. Biden benefits from being a “new guy” whereas Dilma had been re-elected and had inherited considerable baggage.

- The US establishment is very much against the movement so they will contain it inside the bubble they were, while the Brazilian media powers validated the questionable methods and the angry rhetoric of Brazil ones because they liked the purpose of ousting PT. Typical “Ends justify the means” bs.

[Red Velvet]

Many left-wing twitter users are saying it's the real face of America.
They consider it as the worst country ever in the history of mankind.
Their solution is f America to be dismantled, forgotten, erased forever.

https://twitter.com/Tinashe/status/1346945438939680770

Some leftifts’ hatred for the country is distressing

This is a perfect encapsulation of the threat this country is facing. It is coming from both the left and the right and I hope reasonable people on both sides (like 80% of us) will recognize that. Let's crack down on all these freaks and end this sad episode of American history.

This enlightened centrism of “both sides” is always hilarious to see because people just want to include the side they dislike even when they have nothing to do with the occasion lmao

I don’t see the left threatening to kill politicians they dislike OR refusing to accept election results they lost but ok.