Worlds Apart: BLM Movement and the Capitol Insurrection
Laura Moshier
COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA—I have lost count of the amount of times I have heard someone say that since the Black Lives Matter members rioted after the death of George Floyd, the “liberal snowflakes” should not be upset about Trump supporters rioting at the U.S. Capitol. Even the discussions I have had with more politically educated individuals have been based around the notion that both groups’ “riots” were plainly wrong. I am not here to discuss the morality of either sides’ uprisings. There is, however, absolutely no comparing the direct attack on American democracy with the fight for fundamental human rights.
To state the obvious, the cause of both groups’ riots could not have been further from each other: the Black Lives Matter Movement has existed for years but became the center of attention last summer due to increased video-captured evidence of racial injustice. Originating in Minneapolis and quickly spreading across the United States, protesting and looting became the focus of many news outlets. As people started wondering why this skewed viewing in multimedia is occurring, several answers became quite clear: for some, this was the only way their voices could be heard. They were fighting for equality. They came together with love to fight against hundreds of years of racism, oppression, and prejudice. The protesting and looting is indeed separate from the peaceful BLM protesters.
On the complete opposite end of the spectrum, Trump supporters joined together because they were upset that President Trump did not get reelected. While the BLM movement protests fought to elevate marginalized voices, the domestic terrorists at the capitol not only diminished the lives of others but democracy itself. In particular, protesters such as Kevin and Hunter Seefried, father and son, brought a Confederate flag into the Capitol’s halls for the first time in U.S. history. This flagrant symbol of white supremacy was wickedly waved throughout the Capitol. Sadly, this was not the only instance of hate and racial inequality demonstrated during the attack. The Nazi party was also involved with the raiding, along with many other white supremacist groups. Articles of clothing with phrases like “Camp Auschwitz” and “6MWE” (six million weren’t enough) could be seen paraded around the Capitol grounds and Swastika flags were horrifyingly commonplace. These disgusting hate signs just reassures the idea that these Trump supporters invaded U.S. property for the sole intention of spreading hate.
Furthermore, the policing response from the Black Lives Matter Movement protests was significantly more brutal than the consequences faced by the Trump supporters from the police. While the peaceful BLM protesters were called “thugs” and “looters” by Trump, his tone shifted dramatically when the capital was being stormed by domestic terrorists; he even praised them on national television: “We love you. You’re very special”. Before the invasion, he also told his supporters to “fight like hell.” With a quick internet search, the pictures of these two different events appear: On one hand, law enforcement engaged in picture-taking with Capitol insurrectionists, while on the other, numerous members of BLM were met with rifles and tear gas from National Guard troops. The rebuttal I have frequently encountered is one similar to this: “At the capitol a few people died, including a woman who was shot and killed by a police officer. This just proves that the police were just as aggressive with the capitol rioters as they were with the people at the Black Lives Matter protests.” However, let’s compare this to the numerous deaths at the hands of the police force, particularly of African Americans, that occurred after BLM protests. From the two weeks after George Floyd’s death, at least nineteen confirmed deaths transpired, with many due to police shootings. These numbers speak for themselves.
Ultimately, by comparing the storming of the Capitol and the Black Lives Matter protests, it becomes clear just how different these two events really are. Just because they both involved widespread protest does not put them in the same category.
In reality, they are truly worlds apart.