On January 6, 2021, only six days into the new year, Trump supporters attacked the capitol, stormed D.C. fighting cops, and marched with their “Trump 2020” flags. Sorry to break it to you, but Trump lost. Shouting “Stop the count!” and “Trump 2020!” won’t change the fact that Biden will be our president for the next four years. Whether you’re disappointed or happy about it, it’s not something we can change and it’s something everyone must accept. 

I think that what happened on Wednesday was very hypocritical. Before the result of the 2020 election, Republican politicians mentioned that if Biden won, “Biden supporters will riot when Biden loses.” However, now that Trump has lost, the Trump supporters are the ones rioting and destroying things while also causing an increase of covid cases/deaths since they refuse to wear masks. What the Trump supporters did yesterday got very out of hand and was embarrassing for both Trump supporters and America as a whole. People may say, “What about the riots that occurred during the BLM protests?” Rioting because you’re fighting for your life versus because you’re upset your candidate didn’t win are extremely different. 

The Trump worshippers from yesterday weren’t protestors. What happened yesterday wasn’t a protest. They were domestic terrorists, and it was an attempted coup. 

The way cops treat white people versus people of color yesterday was strikingly obvious. During the BLM protests a few months ago, PEACEFUL protestors were teargassed. However, when Trump supporters were breaking into the capitol, replacing the American flag with the Trump 2020 flag, destroying senators’ offices, etc., law enforcement barely tried to stop them, the rioters weren’t wearing masks even though we’re in a pandemic, and apparently “blue lives” don’t matter to them as long as they aren’t juxtaposed to Black lives. The white men assaulting the police in the Capitol only “back the blue” when the police are taking Black lives. 

Brittany Packnett, an American activist, said, “You boarded up your businesses and sent out your officers and your tear gas when all we said was ‘Black Lives Matter,’ but you stood back, unprepared and surprised when violent white terrorists showed up exactly as they told you they would and put us all in danger.” I find this comment very powerful. You can see the privilege whether you believe in it or not. It’s showing too clearly for you to not comprehend this inequality and injustice. 

The security at the capitol was terrible and lacking in so many ways. In fact, my school Chromebook has better security than the Capitol did.

In a clip I saw on the news, an African-American cop was blocking one side of the building trying to back out all the Trump supporters and all he had with him was a stick. There were over hundreds of Trump supporters pushing through the door while blatantly yelling racist comments to ONE Black cop trying to hold it all together.  

 This presidential election has divided us too much. We should be united and sticking together trying to get our lives back to normal. Remember, storming the Capitol because you’re upset about the way the election played out vs. protesting for police reformation and justice should NOT be compared.