The insurrectionist next door
From FORWARD KENTUCKY
Catherine Hill is a Louisville writer whose work has appeared in numerous publications, including Insider Louisville, Business First, Valeo Magazine and Humana Military Healthcare Services newsletters.
On January 6, the United States Capitol building was stormed by an angry mob of small business owners, white collar employees, realtors, military veterans, law enforcement officers, state and local officials, and students, among others. As described in the profiles of the Capitol insurrectionists who were arrested by the FBI, the rioters were in many ways just typical Americans – they could have been your neighbors or family members. So what made these seemingly average American folks vulnerable to being sucked into the rabbit holes of radicalism and persuaded to assault our nation’s seat of government?
A diverse group
As noted by NPR in their analysis of the rioters, “a group this large defies generalization.” Still, there are some shared commonalities.They were predominantly white and male, but not exclusively.
As a group, they were a bit older and more affluent than typical right-wing protestor stereotypes.
But, some had experienced serious financial problems in the past.
Some have a history of abuse of women.
A number of those arrested for their involvement with the January 6 insurrection already had rap sheets including assault and other crimes/misdemeanors.
At least 40 (17 percent of those arrested) had ties to extremist groups or conspiracy theories, although right-wing group membership was somewhat less than in prior anti-government protests.
And, fourteen percent of those charged had ties to the military or law enforcement.
What, then, motivated them, and what can we do about it?
So what are we to glean about those who made the trip to DC to participate in an attempt to overthrow the US government?As one scholar said, many had experienced “precarity” (a state of feeling precarious or uncertain) and were particularly vulnerable to messages from the president that something (the election) had been stolen from them.
Others seem to be inclined toward bullying, violence and/or flouting the law. There is definitely a common trait of toxic masculinity, as exemplified by Trump himself and displayed by the Proud Boys, the Three Percenters, the Oath Keepers and other right wing insurrectionist groups who participated. There is also a devotion to all things military, and an abiding desire (by men and women both) to appear to be a badass.
Still others, like the realtor featured in the Washington Post article and the University of Kentucky student, seemed to be swept along by the sheer novelty and excitement of breaking into the US Capitol, taking some selfies and maybe even stealing a sign to show your friends. As the student said, “idk what treason is.”
And of course, as many have already said, the president himself told them to be there. “It will be wild,” he said. And it was.
If we are to address domestic terrorism, we need to understand what propels our neighbors, colleagues, and family members to embrace and act on radical ideas. We cannot simply write off the insurrection as carried out by people different from us.
Instead, it is obvious that many Americans are predisposed toward following these pathways. We need to do more to discern why, and to figure out how to bring these people back into the shared community. Perhaps with greater understanding, we can prevent horrifying episodes like the Capitol invasion from happening again in the future.
Comments
We are all insurrectionists
depending on our circumstances. The potential always exists. Until people decide to lead with love instead of fear, we will always have alienated people.
"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11
The Quintessential American....
BTW, the only difference between Trump and the Flim-Flam Men on the other side of the house is the finesse at which they will bamboozle the proles.
There was a wonderful '60s movie
entitled "The Flim Flam Man", based on the 1965 novel "The Ballad of the Flim-Flam Man" by Guy Owen. The movie featured George C. Scott and a very young Michel Sarrazin- it is well worth seeking out. I still love the quotes from Mordecai Jones (Scott's character) about his educational achievements: "M.B.S., C.S., D.D. - Master of Back-Stabbing, Cork-Screwing and Dirty-Dealing!", and "Son, you'd be amazed at the hundreds of satisfied students I've matriculated over the last 50 years!"
Pretty much applies here, across the board.
Twice bitten, permanently shy.
Quint. A
Hate to say it, but Biden was not inserted into this role to help
the American people. Quite the contrary my dear.
Positioning a demented crook in the WH is easy when all of the
levers of power control media, thought, elections and anything that
used to represent democracy.
Seems the masses are slow on the uptake. Not so much here.
The writing was on the wall at the beginning of the primaries.
This shit has to stop somehow.
Wise words my friend
In fact I’ve tweeted them.
Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.
The only way
I could condone what those "insurectionists" did is if 330 million more of them rushed the halls of power.
Just sayin'.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
"Ties to extremist groups or conspiracy theories."
Because obviously, those things are interchangeable. Especially in a world where the phrase "conspiracy theory" can be applied to anything from little green aliens at Area 51 to NOT believing a magic bullet killed Jack Kennedy to saying that it's really damned suspicious when the President and the FBI both ignore warnings like "Bin Laden Determined to Strike Targets Within U.S." to wondering why our multi-billion-dollar entirely unencumbered by civil liberties security state gets caught with its pants down when confronted by the Proud Boys and Stop the Steal, even though they wouldn't have even needed to use their multi-billion-dollar surveillance system (currently determining what we say to our friends and whether we bought pork chops or lamb chops for dinner) to find out when they were coming and that they were in a militant mood, given that they were organizing on Twitter and didn't even bother to try to hide what they were doing, to demurring when others suggest that it was the security state's great respect for the Constitution that prevented them from sufficiently opposing the President that they could protect the capitol from armed rebels. Of course, given the constant revision of history in this country, probably the very fact that the security state has, rather than shown respect for the Constitution over the last twenty years, more torn it to shreds, burned it, pissed on the ashes and built a monument to cruelty where the law used to be is now also a conspiracy theory.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver