About the January 6 Coup on the Capitol and Why We Should Be Very Alarmed

A coup happened yesterday. It wasn’t FULLY successful, but it was a success. Why? Because these terrorists (yes, that is what they are) now know they will be allowed to breach federal government grounds, without consequence. That was a test. How far will they be allowed to go and still walk away unscathed? VERY far. Too far.

History gives us a map but we’re so willfully obtuse and arrogant, we think we don’t need to read it because surely, that can’t be us. We continue to underestimate the people who are on the other side and that’s one of our biggest problems. It can be us. It might already be us.

We need to be studying history, particularly the rise of Adolf Hitler to power, as we are in these Trump times. I call Donald Trump “Habanero Hitler” and it’s because he might not know how to read good (yes I said good), but he has clearly studied some of Hitler’s tactics.

Green Bay Press-Gazette in Wisconsin (Newspapers.com)

When we compare Trump to Hitler, people tell us to stop exaggerating. But do you think people ended up in gas chambers the day after peace and prosperity? Evil is not some overnight thing. Fascism is planned out over a series of escalating steps. It can take years for fascism to rear all of its ugly heads – where do you think we would be right now if Trump had won another 4 years as president?

Things have not been fine in this country EVER, but the alarms have been going off loudly for years. What we seem to be gifted at is toxic positivity, apathy, and turning a blind eye to what is happening. Hitler was convicted of treason and in 1924, spent 5 months in a jail that was basically his writer’s residence cuz that’s where he wrote Mein Kampf. He seized power 9 years later.

We continue to underestimate people and that’s a major problem.

In 2015, when Trump announced his run, and I freaked out and posted that this is disastrous, so many people commented on my threads saying they found it funny cause it was so ridiculous. FB memories reminded me of it and I kept going “the things you don’t see coming tend to happen.” While these last 4 years have been ridiculous, we do not have room for another 4 years of this fuck shit.

Jeff Tiedrich | @itsJeffTiedrich

So, why do we continue to underestimate our enemies? And yes, they are our enemies. There is no “uniting” here and there is no “reaching across the aisles.” When the other side is waiting with chainsaws as you extend a gloved hand, you reaching over is senseless and frankly, daft.

There was a coup. In the United States Capitol building. Almost a week and a half later, we’re sitting here, still having to make intellectual arguments about a matter that is past emergency, truly embodying this GIF. Because America’s audacity won’t let us act on what is now a past crisis.

Here’s the thing: Donald Trump is a raving dumbass. And he still managed to do this much damage. He was PERMITTED to do this much damage to this country, in all his stupidity.

The next fascist to rise up will be much smarter and polished than him. What will we do then?

(Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead)

He should have been impeached and removed from office by Congress on THURSDAY. But people in this forsaken country keep underestimating him. Historians and political scientists keep saying what typically comes after a failed coup is a successful one.

This chaos doesn’t end on January 20th.

Also, I wonder how much trauma the last 4 years have REALLY put upon us and I tend to think that we are actually all floating above it right now. I don’t think we’ve processed much of it. Because of the fact that memes about Wednesday make us laugh.

We cope how we can. It’s okay.

But yeah. This is beyond crisis. Things are not fine.