Wednesday, January 6, I woke up celebrating that voters in Georgia snatched the coveted crown of leadership from Majority Leader (soon-to-be Minority Leader) Mitch McConnell by voting Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff into the United States Senate. It was a glorious day as we also awaited Congress certifying Joe Biden’s presidential win making him the 46th President of the United States. As Congress gathered to begin the certification process, Donald Trump thought the best way to stroke his ego was to give a speech to a large crowd of his cult-like followers that had gathered in D.C. to protest the certification process because, you know, nothing says ‘I love America’ more than trying to stop the certification of an election by the American people.
During his speech, Trump said, “We’re gonna walk down, and I will be there with you, to the Capitol and we’re gonna cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women, and we’re probably not going to be cheering so much for some of them because you’ll never take back our country with weakness.”
Of course, Trump was nowhere to be found as hundreds of his supporters marched to the Capitol with little to no law enforcement resistance and took it under siege. Legislators were told to shelter in place as rioters climbed the Capitol walls and stormed through the halls. One rioter sat at Nancy Pelosi’s desk, another stole the podium, windows were broken, offices ruined, and a woman that was an active participant in the riots was shot and killed. All of this happened while the police mainly sat by and did nothing. One officer was even caught taking selfies with the rioters. (That is another blog for another time; however, I believe there was little to no law enforcement resistance because law enforcement sides with the rioters.)
Immediately White people took to the news and social media to express their outrage, and I could practically smell the stench of their hypocrisy. Let the pearl-clutching begin.
Where have you been, White America? What world do you live in, White America?
You have got to be kidding me.
Black people have been telling this nation that this was coming. Black people have warned you that this day would be upon us. But let’s be real, you thought, it could never happen to you. You thought, “We are better than this.” No, in fact, White America, you are not better than this. THIS IS WHITE AMERICA! And if you believe the people storming the Capitol is about any other thing than White people fighting for racism, you are still missing it.
Black people have always understood what this is about. Black people understood what Trump’s win was about. It had NOTHING to do with America’s economy or love for America and everything to do with White supremacy. This man built his presidency on the slogan Make America Great Again! AGAIN? WHEN? When has America EVER been great for EVERYONE? That should have TOLD YOU HIS AGENDA RIGHT THERE!
But what did White America do? Ignore it. You ignored Trump when he demanded to see President Barack Obama’s birth certificate. You turned a blind eye and deaf ear when Trump disparaged Black women. You said nothing when he called countries in Africa shithole countries. You were silent when he talked negatively about U.S. Rep. John Lewis. You did nothing when he vilified Colin Kaepernick for taking a knee and trying to bring awareness to police brutality. You did nothing when he called people from Mexico rapists and locked kids in cages. You went along with it when he instituted a Muslim ban. You tried to rationalize it when he said there were very fine people on both sides when racists marched into Charlottesville and killed Heather Heyer. You tried to explain away his racism as him just being a political outsider.
And it doesn’t stop at ignoring Donald Trump.
White America didn’t even blink when a White man bombed an entire city block in Nashville. You were silent when Trump supporters stormed capitols in various cities. You said nothing when White people stepped into state capitols waving guns. You barely whispered when Trump supporters plotted to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
THE WRITING HAS BEEN ON THE WALL! IT IS WHITE AMERICA THAT REFUSED TO READ IT!
YOU FOOLISHLY CHOSE TO IGNORE IT BECAUSE IT WASN’T HAPPENING TO YOU!
So don’t pretend to be shocked now. Fuck clutching your pearls. What happened yesterday has been ALL AROUND YOU! YOU CHOSE TO IGNORE IT!
My advice to you is to ask yourself, what am I refusing to see? What am I refusing to come to terms with? And then go deeper and ask yourself, WHY DO I REFUSE TO SEE?
While Trump certainly stoked the flames for what happened, ultimately, what happened sits squarely at the feet of White people. You have ignored White supremacy long enough. If this teaches you anything, it should teach you that chickens ALWAYS come home to roost. And quite frankly, as a Black woman in America, I hope you enjoy the sounds of the clucking as you choke down your crow.