How do we bring Americans together again?

[Hammy]

I hate to side with Fuzzy Bear here, but a coup typically refers to an attempt to seize control of the powers of the government. Merely stopping a single (albeit legitimate) function of government is not a coup, and it is regrettable that it was called that. The protesters never attempted a wholesale seizure of control of the Federal government, nor could a group of loosely organized civilians do that, nor could such a thing be done simply by storming a single building.

Their goal was to use violence to stop the vote from being certified with the intent of having it reversed, and thus keeping Trump in power. That would by definition be seizing power, and thus a coup attempt.

Other countries have seen what an actual coup looks like, please don't insult them by comparing what happened at the Capitol to that. A coup would be where they are tanks and APCs rolling down DC and suddenly all the cable channels and broadcasting the head of the JCS saying they have temporarily invoked emergency powers.

So because they failed or there are worse, more successful examples, we shouldn't use the same completely realistic term to describe it? Should we stop calling mass shooting such if five are killed just because there are ones with 20 killed? Same logic applies.

A coup attempt is a coup attempt, no matter how sloppy and poorly executed it was. Refusing to acknowledge this is either cowardice or deflection.


As to the question of bringing America together, it won't happen when we have people outright refusing to acknowledge reality.

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

It was not an attempted coup.  It was some fools trespassing and rioting, albeit with political motives.  

If you think breaking into the capitol with the expressed intent of murdering Pence and members of Congress for the purpose of stopping the election certification is "not an attempted coup" then you are too far gone to be taken seriously.

You have my pity, and I hope you can let go of this obsessive hate you constantly express for the marginalized, as you were once a good (if disagreeable) poster.

I hate to side with Fuzzy Bear here, but a coup typically refers to an attempt to seize control of the powers of the government. Merely stopping a single (albeit legitimate) function of government is not a coup, and it is regrettable that it was called that. The protesters never attempted a wholesale seizure of control of the Federal government, nor could a group of loosely organized civilians do that, nor could such a thing be done simply by storming a single building.

Other countries have seen what an actual coup looks like, please don't insult them by comparing what happened at the Capitol to that. A coup would be where they are tanks and APCs rolling down DC and suddenly all the cable channels and broadcasting the head of the JCS saying they have temporarily invoked emergency powers.

Um, the "single function" they attempted to stop (in a very inept but brutal fashion) was the democratic transition of power from one administration to the next. That's like calling a heart attack a "single organ problem". While technically true, it conceals the reality that it can easily be lethal.

Had the attack succeeded, there would be a President who was in office illegitimately, solely due to armed thugs threatening Congress.  (And given the Republican Party's reluctance to confront a failed coup, that they would have at least implicitly endorsed a successful one seems obvious.)

It Was an Attempted Coup: The Cline Center’s Coup D’état Project Categorizes the January 6, 2021 Assault on the US Capitol

Using the Cline Center’s Coup D’état Project definitions, the storming of the US Capitol Building on January 6, 2021 was an attempted coup d’état: an organized, illegal attempt to intervene in the presidential transition by displacing the power of the Congress to certify the election. Specifically, at the time of this writing, we classify it as an attempted dissident coup.

 

January 27, 2021

 

The Cline Center’s Coup D’état Project has categorized the storming of the US Capitol Building on January 6, 2021  as an attempted coup.

[Beet]

It was not an attempted coup.  It was some fools trespassing and rioting, albeit with political motives.  

If you think breaking into the capitol with the expressed intent of murdering Pence and members of Congress for the purpose of stopping the election certification is "not an attempted coup" then you are too far gone to be taken seriously.

You have my pity, and I hope you can let go of this obsessive hate you constantly express for the marginalized, as you were once a good (if disagreeable) poster.

I hate to side with Fuzzy Bear here, but a coup typically refers to an attempt to seize control of the powers of the government. Merely stopping a single (albeit legitimate) function of government is not a coup, and it is regrettable that it was called that. The protesters never attempted a wholesale seizure of control of the Federal government, nor could a group of loosely organized civilians do that, nor could such a thing be done simply by storming a single building.

Other countries have seen what an actual coup looks like, please don't insult them by comparing what happened at the Capitol to that. A coup would be where they are tanks and APCs rolling down DC and suddenly all the cable channels and broadcasting the head of the JCS saying they have temporarily invoked emergency powers.

Um, the "single function" they attempted to stop (in a very inept but brutal fashion) was the democratic transition of power from one administration to the next. That's like calling a heart attack a "single organ problem". While technically true, it conceals the reality that it can easily be lethal.

Had the attack succeeded, there would be a President who was in office illegitimately, solely due to armed thugs threatening Congress.  (And given the Republican Party's reluctance to confront a failed coup, that they would have at least implicitly endorsed a successful one seems obvious.)

Had they succeeded, Congress would have simply reconvened somewhere else and brought about the same outcome.

There was no serious plan to permanently kidnap all of Congress or indefinitely occupy the building or anything like that. They would have faced military action. It was an incoherent riot by people who undoubtedly truly wanted Trump to stay on, but by no means a real attempt to overthrow or seize control of the government, or even keep Trump in power.

[Hermit For Peace]

Tweets and the Internet. That's how we come together.

We also act like people and go out and help others in our personal orbit. (Which I'm sure most of us do in some way.)

Just tweet others with respect and let the Internet do our talking. This gives people time to ponder the information before reacting to it.

Stop listening to media sources that only want to tear each other down. Poison.

[ProudModerate2]

Had they succeeded, Congress would have simply reconvened somewhere else and brought about the same outcome.

There was no serious plan to permanently kidnap all of Congress or indefinitely occupy the building or anything like that. They would have faced military action. It was an incoherent riot by people who undoubtedly truly wanted Trump to stay on, but by no means a real attempt to overthrow or seize control of the government, or even keep Trump in power.

Ummmm ... "Had they succeeded" they weren't going to "kidnap," but instead KILL the Speaker, members of Congress  and the vice president. How could they have "reconvened somewhere else," when they are all six feet underground?
(Are you keeping up with current events on what happened during the Jan 6 Insurrection, and what the trump bastards were screaming for hours on that day?)

[Crumpets]

Other countries have seen what an actual coup looks like, please don't insult them by comparing what happened at the Capitol to that. A coup would be where they are tanks and APCs rolling down DC and suddenly all the cable channels and broadcasting the head of the JCS saying they have temporarily invoked emergency powers.

Funny you should claim that when a Turkish friend of mine who lived in Istanbul during the 2016 coup attempt and now lives in DC messaged some friends and I the morning of January 6th to say "This is exactly what a coup looks like." Maybe consider talking to some people in other countries that have experienced coups before you invoke them to make your point.

[Fuzzy Bear]

Most of people's anger is justifiably towards the elites and powerful in our society. It wouldn't be overnight but reigning in the powerful and materially improving the lives of people would make the goal much easier.

I certainly agree with this.

Just what "elite" and "powerful" in our society are you talking about?  Solving this problem involves naming names.

[WD]

Most of people's anger is justifiably towards the elites and powerful in our society. It wouldn't be overnight but reigning in the powerful and materially improving the lives of people would make the goal much easier.

I certainly agree with this.

Just what "elite" and "powerful" in our society are you talking about?  Solving this problem involves naming names.

The financial elite for one. Wall Street, the major banks (Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, etc). The people who’s recklessness got us into a financial crisis that destroyed the livelihoods of millions while they escaped more or less unscathed. The people who have seen their incomes grow even further, while many ordinary people have still yet to recover from the recession.

[Antonio the Sixth]

The only way modern America can be pacified is with the total destruction of the Republican Party.

[Chunk Yogurt for President!]

How about we stop with the "every political position I disagree with is code for racism" talk?  That should help with bringing people back together.

[7,052,770]

How about we stop with the "every political position I disagree with is code for racism" talk?  That should help with bringing people back together.

How about we stop with the "racism is a hoax and dogwhistles don't exist" talk? That should help with bringing people back together.

[Chunk Yogurt for President!]

How about we stop with the "every political position I disagree with is code for racism" talk?  That should help with bringing people back together.

How about we stop with the "racism is a hoax and dogwhistles don't exist" talk? That should help with bringing people back together.

Sure.

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

https://twitter.com/ElieNYC/status/1362599648981094407

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

We treat each other like human beings and try to be nicer to each other day-to-day (ex: offering to shovel your neighbor’s driveway for free, not cutting folks off in traffic, etc) and stop treating politics like a sports rivalry.

[Ferguson97]

Truthfully? We can't. Millions of people's minds have been broken beyond repair.

[Hermit For Peace]

The only way modern America can be pacified is with the total destruction of the Republican Party.

That's not a good idea. I think that the Dems and Republicans need each other to balance out the weaknesses of each other. But it sure would be nice if we had real leaders in office who were public servants who wanted to do what is best for the country. We need to bring back respect. Act that way and treat others that way.

[Antonio the Sixth]

I think that the Dems and Republicans need each other to balance out the weaknesses of each other.

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha, sure Jan.

Imagine actually believing that. This is your brain on both-sidesism.

[Hermit For Peace]

I think that the Dems and Republicans need each other to balance out the weaknesses of each other.

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha, sure Jan.

Imagine actually believing that. This is your brain on both-sidesism.

I believe what I said. A one party country is like incestual. Two viable parties keeps people more honest and striving to make things better. More than two parties we haven't been able to deal with successfully yet.

[Antonio the Sixth]

I think that the Dems and Republicans need each other to balance out the weaknesses of each other.

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha, sure Jan.

Imagine actually believing that. This is your brain on both-sidesism.

I believe what I said. A one party country is like incestual. Two viable parties keeps people more honest and striving to make things better. More than two parties we haven't been able to deal with successfully yet.

Who said anything about a one party country?

And the last sentence is so nonsensical I don't have the energy to disentangle it right now, but it's also besides the point. Getting rid of the GOP doesn't mean we won't still have a two party system of some kind or other.

[Alcibiades]

In the short term? Very little. Polarisation has been driven by long-term social, economic and political trends which can only be reversed by equally complex and powerful counter-trends.

The most realistic scenario I see in the medium term is the Republican Party spending a couple of decades as a minority, and, combined with generational change, being forced to moderate to survive. But I’m not getting my hopes up.

[Damocles]

"Capitulate to the demands of the Republican Party and their enablers" is not one of them.

[TiltsAreUnderrated]

"Capitulate to the demands of the Republican Party and their enablers" is not one of them.

That depends on how the demands are interpreted.

[LtNOWIS]

No president can ever be a truly "unifying" figure, as they are borne out of our divisive, bifurcated system of electoral politics.

To really bring Americans together, we need a head of state that stays out of partisan politics. A universally respected constitutional monarch. Hence my signature block.

[Hermit For Peace]

I think that the Dems and Republicans need each other to balance out the weaknesses of each other.

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha, sure Jan.

Imagine actually believing that. This is your brain on both-sidesism.

I believe what I said. A one party country is like incestual. Two viable parties keeps people more honest and striving to make things better. More than two parties we haven't been able to deal with successfully yet.

Who said anything about a one party country?

And the last sentence is so nonsensical I don't have the energy to disentangle it right now, but it's also besides the point. Getting rid of the GOP doesn't mean we won't still have a two party system of some kind or other.

I don't think that will happen in my lifetime. Doesn't make sense to me that the GOP will die. We need something new and as I said, our country has not been able to figure out how to make that happen yet. Until then, I still say the GOP and Dems balance each other and need each other.

[certified hummus supporter 🇵🇸🤝🇺🇸🤝🇺🇦]

No president can ever be a truly "unifying" figure, as they are borne out of our divisive, bifurcated system of electoral politics.

To really bring Americans together, we need a head of state that stays out of partisan politics. A universally respected constitutional monarch. Hence my signature block.

Are there any descendants of Emperor Norton still around?