We Shouldn't Be Surprised By The Attack On The Capitol

by Ryana Sarcar

Whether it’s the sight of the Confederate being flown inside the Capitol for the first time or unsettling images of the “Viking guy” parading through its halls, the events of January 6th, 2021 will forever be etched into our collective memory. Emotions ran rampant as the horrific scene unfolded before our eyes that afternoon. For many of us, myself included, the primary reaction was one of disgust. Disgust that our democracy was trampled on in the light of day. Disgusted that armed white supremacists can smile for the camera in the Senate chamber while Black people are killed in their homes, in their sleep. Tiredness, fear, and a looming dread surfaced as the day progressed. The only reaction I could not relate to was that of surprise.

Simply put, the terror attack on the Capitol was an attempt to silence American voices. But hasn’t that been the norm for the last four years? Wasn't deploying the National Guard against peaceful protestors silencing American voices? Isn’t sending defenseless children’s parents back to countries they fled silencing American voices? I found I wasn’t alone in viewing the Capitol attacks as yet another atrocity on a very long list. “It was completely predictable given the previous actions of the Trump administration and its supporters,” a fellow high school student says. So what makes the Capitol attacks so different? What about it caused so many Trump supporters to finally break their allegiance to the former president?

While patriotism is a unifying sentiment, many who supported Trump were attracted to something more dangerous: hypernationalism. From the border wall to the Muslim ban, the core of all of Trump’s policies was “(White) America first”. The US Capitol is arguably one of the most recognized symbols of democracy in the world; a symbol of American pride in its government. An attack on the Capitol was an attack on the nation itself. The same “America first” mentality that led some people to support Trump caused them to condemn his incitation of the Capitol attacks. The disturbing part is that it took the destruction of a symbol that they identified with—a direct threat to their American identity—for them to feel the same way about Trump as countless people have felt since he first announced his bid for the presidency. This notion is exemplified by many Republican Congresspeople who, after backing Trump’s actions for the last four years, suddenly withdrew their support from him after having to don gas masks and barricade themselves inside offices. The way that long-time Trump loyalists like Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell stood up to the former president should not be celebrated or glorified. The fact they only spoke out when the end of the Trump presidency became inevitable speaks volumes. By backing every one of Trump’s policies since he took office, they became the very people that enabled Trump and his supporters to think it was okay to even consider the idea of interfering with the democratic process.

Throughout this chaos, leaders and the media repeated one statement over and over again: “This not America”. I cannot agree with this statement, but I can’t fully disagree with it either. The sad truth is that America is, and has always been, tilted in the direction of white supremacy at the expense of everyone else from the start. To deny this would be naïve. However, this is also the America where a group of Black women was able to mobilize the people of Georgia to elect a Black man and a Jewish man to power on the morning of January 6th. This is the America that won’t stop fighting the America that hates, excludes, and oppresses. To deny the existence of this America is to invalidate the people who have made it their life’s mission to work towards a vision of equity. There is only one solution here: acknowledge the reality of both Americas. Side with the right one and don't stop fighting until it truly is “one nation”. Systemic injustice did not start with Trump and will not end with him. We must continue to speak out, work towards, and hold the Biden administration accountable for an America that we can feel proud to identify with.