top of page
  • Writer's picturejacob mohr

This Is America - A Reflection on the Capitol Riots

I want to preface this article with the notion that you probably won't enjoy reading this. That being said, this is entirely my opinion, but I feel as though it needs to be written. There’s a stark and incredibly evident popular opinion and requisite bias in Winfield’s student body, and more often than not I see no one to challenge it. Very rarely will I see someone come forward to speak out about things, at least on a scale such as this.


If you know me, you’ll know I often make an effort to speak up about things, maybe more than I should, so let me do that one more time. I'm not here to discuss the incredibly evident racism, homophobia, or general bigotry that I see daily, that’s for another time. I'm writing this to use my platform and to share my opinion in hopes of giving a louder voice to those who may agree with me.



That said, I would like to address the disgraceful events at the Capitol this week. I see it as an uprising and an insurrection fueled by a President who only has himself in mind. A domestic terror attack on the U.S. government that is unlike anything I’ve been alive to witness before, caused by the direct actions of the President of the United States, Donald Trump.


2020 was a horrible year. In 12 months we saw America brought to its knees by a sweeping pandemic, racial division and outrage, and a leader whom we the people elected to protect and defend us crumble under the weight of a year that showed no mercy. 2020 was a wake-up call for America and a large and relentless spotlight for the entire world to look at us and see how far we’ve fallen. Not only as a nation or a people but as a democracy.


As 2020 came to a close, and a nasty election drew near, the people chose someone new. Joe Biden had won the Presidency. This was a sign of the coming changes, and a clear victory showed that a new chapter of the American government was beginning to open, but unfortunately, the current chapter wouldn't be closing very easily.


After Biden's clear victory in early December of 2020, word began that President Trump not only strongly detested claims that he had lost, but he resented that fact and began peddling a false narrative to his ever impressionable and incredibly willing to listen followers. When Trump decided he wouldn't be conceding to President-elect Biden, Trump’s leagues of supporters made up their minds just as their leader had, that the election was “stolen,” “was not over,” and had been “a landslide victory.” Are you kidding me?


This blatant lie would grow amongst many republicans for almost a month, with over 30 lawsuits attempting to prove voter fraud being thrown out by judges, and even Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani was unable to prove any voter fraud to any judges. It was clear that Biden had won since the beginning, but it was even more apparent that Trump and his supporters would not be accepting that.


Fast forward to Wednesday. Congress is performing the formal count of the Electoral College results to finally and ultimately confirm Joe Biden as President-elect. As they discuss, President Trump holds a rally where he riles up a crowd to march on the Capitol, urging them to “give the weak Republicans the pride and boldness they need to take back the country” saying “We’re gonna walk down Pennsylvania Avenue, I’ll be there with you and go down to the Capitol.”


Unsurprisingly, Trump was not with them as rioters stormed the Capitol, scaling the walls, climbing fences and barricades wielding Trump 2020 flags, “don't tread on me” flags, and many illegally openly carrying weapons in front of and on the Capitol stairs. Even being so bold as to remove American flags from flagpoles and replace them with Trump 2020 flags.


The police, National Guard, Capitol security, and the FBI were all present at the Capitol on Wednesday, yet somehow hundreds of people were able to get into the Capitol, easily penetrating the defensive borders set by law enforcement.


This riot was manufactured by a childish coward. The people participating in this riot are exhibiting arguably even more childish behavior by waging war on the democratic process and I believe that anyone who is in support of them, the President, or the actions that took place on Wednesday is blatantly spitting in the face of the founding principles of this nation.


During the summer of this past year, we got to see what real protesting looked like. The world watched as George Floyd was murdered in the street. A police officer knelt on his neck for eight minutes and 46 seconds as bystanders and Floyd himself plead to be moved or turned over repeating “I can’t breathe.” We watched as the shooting of Breonna Taylor became a global headline, and the American people assembled peacefully to make their voices heard.


The Black Lives Matter protests of this past summer were a beautiful demonstration that sadly and unfortunately had a lot of moments that regressed into violence. The violence was only caused by the few who stole the message of protest and turned it into something that was never intended. Violence and destruction.


These were protests born from the anger and despair of a group of people who have not only been systematically discriminated against, marginalized, belittled, and treated as less than equal citizens under a mantra of “all men are created equal,” but a group of people who time and time again have had to watch one of their own die at the hands of someone whose sole purpose is to serve and protect them.


The Black Lives Matter protests are a shining example of what happens when people can not and will not continue without having their voice heard. The riots on Wednesday were the total opposite. Not only were they created for the exclusive purpose to disrupt and discontinue the democratic process, but they also served as a “look at me” moment for one of the most despicable groups of people who've garnered public attention in recent years.


The people who've committed these acts of domestic terrorism on the Capitol are not only a disgrace to our country but a stain on the history of democracy. A group so wildly insecure and immature and locked in their ways being led by a hateful and cynical coward to enact terror and destruction on a congressional proceeding is abhorrently upsetting.


It is my firm belief that if the riots that occurred on Wednesday had been a motion set forth by Black Lives Matter protests, the reaction from law enforcement and the federal government would have been so incredibly different, I feel there would have been piles of bodies in the streets of D.C.


These riots at the Capitol not only serve as an embarrassing spotlight on the double standard that people of color, African Americans especially, face daily but an explosive demonstration of white privilege at work in America. These men and women were allowed to storm a federal building during a constitutionally allotted congressional hearing, allowed to enter the building, derail the democratic process, and receive encouragement from the leader of the free world.


In my eyes, Donald Trump deserves to be not only removed from office effective immediately under the 25th amendment but put on trial as well. I believe that he is responsible for not only the injuries and deaths sustained at the hands of his supporters but also inciting a riot and an insurgency on the country and the democracy he is in charge of.


I think Americans today are getting a really good look at each other. We watched over the summer as the left protested and showed the world what they look like when they are brought to the front lines of the public setting. We watched as they made their point known to the world. Now we watch as a group of hateful and spiteful people from the right storm the United States government at the command of a racist, narcissistic, fascist, and cowardly traitor, whose message to the rioters was that he “loves them, appreciates them, and knows how they feel.”


Not only has Trump made an absolute fool of himself and finally taken the final measure to prove once and for all what kind of man he really is, but Republican senators who assisted in cementing this insurrection have also shown themselves to be immense cowards as they ran and hid from the rioters who were only there to support them and their horrible judgment.


Senators like Marsha Blackburn from Tennessee, Ron Johnson from Wisconsin, John Kennedy from Louisiana, Ted Cruz from Texas, and most ashamedly, Josh Hawley from Missouri. These people have not only lost my respect, but I feel as though they are just as responsible as President Trump for manufacturing the tensions that caused Wednesday’s riots, and no one who’s aided and abetted these actions should be allowed to serve in a democracy they so clearly detest.


Donald Trump's presidency has been full of awful moments filled with poor judgment and deplorable behavior, and it’s my opinion that this is now the worst thing that has happened under his administration, and even worse it was incited by him, for him. These last few years have been polarizing and eye-opening. The events of the last 48 hours only further prove the point that something is wrong in Washington. I only hope it’s sorted out soon so I can once again be proud of the people elected to serve me.


As I watch these events unfold, I only have contempt for the people who’ve allowed it and encouraged it, and fear for the future of “the greatest country in the world.” Fear, aggression, and violence are the building blocks of political ignorance, and the current political landscape is a breeding ground for fear-mongering politicians to hijack the system designed to protect and serve its citizens.


My final questions to the Trump supporters, I have to ask you, are we “great again” yet? Because I'm really looking forward to the fulfillment of that baseless and ignorant promise of one of the most disgusting public figures of the last 100 years.


205 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All
bottom of page