Although the year 2021 has just begun, we have already experienced enough to last us all twelve months, especially because of the presidential election. The presidential election between Donald Trump, the forty-fifth president of the United States, and Joe Biden, the newly elected forty-sixth president of the United States, has been one of the United States’ most controversial elections yet. Between the COVID-19 pandemic, the protests for racial justice, and the controversy of the presidential candidates’ Twitter accounts, these days we are drawn to political media more than ever before. Young adults and teenagers, who normally wouldn’t care about politics, regardless of who was running, are now being more vocal and aware of today’s political climate. This heightened awareness and media usage from the people throughout the United States has brought light to the different political opinions of people around the country.
After George Floyd, a Black man, was murdered in May, 2020 by the white Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who knelt on Floyd’s neck for eight minutes and 46 seconds, widespread anger spread throughout the country and the world for his unjust killing. His murder caused the mainstream to bring light to the Black Lives Matter movement. Established in 2013, Black Lives Matter is an organization dedicated to fighting against police brutality and the unjust criminal justice system in the United States disproportionately affecting black people.. Floyd’s death and the stories of countless other victims of racial injustice, such as Breonna Taylor, Elijah McClain, and Jacob Blake, have ignited protests throughout the country. These Black Lives Matter protests have had large traction, support, and attendance mainly from the left. Many people, from both the left and right, have developed their own opinions on these protests and their effect on the United States.
Although some people may either demonize or uplift the protests, they might have a completely separate opinion on the Capitol siege that occurred early this year. The Capitol siege was an attack against the 117th United States Congress at the U.S. Capitol, where thousands of ultra right-wingers breached the established police perimeters and stormed the building in an attempt to protest former President Donald Trump’s election loss. Out of the thousands of people who attended the riot, roughly 400 people have been identified by the FBI and 135 people have been arrested and charged with violent crimes. Some well-known scenes from the siege include a man holding the confederate flag in the Capitol building, a man wearing a hoodie with the words “Camp Auschwitz” on it, and a man appearing with a painted face, fur hat, and horns while carrying a “Q sent me” banner, short for the conspiracy group QAnon. So what were the reactions of the protests and riots from each side?
The American Spectator is a notable conservative news source used by millions of conservative Americans. In an article titled “Fuhgeddaboudism,” the author, Daniel J. Flynn, writes:
“Any invocation of double standards regarding the Capitol Hill riot elicits calls of whataboutism, kind of a tu quoque for people who flunked Latin, from the New York Times and other redoubts of fuhgeddaboudism. This latter phenomenon seems more relevant to the current situation. Fuhgeddaboudism, a kind of Jedi Mind Trick for people who did not watch Star Wars, demands that we collectively erase context and develop amnesia for not only history but for what happened every night last summer.”
Flynn excuses the rioters’ actions due to the belief that they did the same things the protesters did last summer. He believes the protesters fighting against racial injustice are comparable to the rioters who infiltrated the capital because their presidential candidate lost, despite the Black Lives Matter protests having a 7% violence rate. He believes that if people view the protests as less violent or more worthwhile, they are biased because both sides fought for what they believe in.
Another new source, The Huffington Post, a far-left new source, had a different opinion on the protests. An article about the protests stated:
“It could not be clearer that there are different rules for domestic terrorists who are white and Black Lives Matter activists and their allies. Even the regular rules that apply to ordinary activists and advocates like me were swept aside. There has been no clear rebuke of the president’s role in inciting this insurrection and the deaths it caused, no sanction for shaking our democracy to its core.”
The author of the article, Jamie Davis Smith, felt very strongly about there being unfair treatment towards the Black Lives Matter protesters that the majority white crowd of rioters didn’t experience. She not only demonized the rioters, but the country as well, stating, “On Jan. 6, there was a choice not to be prepared, to go easy on the white domestic terrorists who infiltrated the Capitol. There can be no clearer sign of who we are as a nation.” Her article was written from a first-person perspective, basing it off on an interaction she had with the Capitol Police at a protest, where she believes that her treatment and the treatment of other protesters was more violent than what the rioters faced.
Although I lean more towards Smith’s opinion and her article, I enjoyed seeing Flynn’s perspective and opinion, because it allowed me to see the opinion of others through a lens that is not my own. After reading his article, my opinion about the Capitol Siege and the Black Lives Matter Protests hasn’t changed; however, my perception of others and their opinions have. No matter how unjustifiable or confusing I may think his opinion is, I could see his point of view and his justification for his opinion, which was interesting. I believe that the media that I intake every day has impacted my opinion on the protests and on the riot. Would I maybe think that his opinion was more valid if I consumed more conservative or right-leaning media? Regardless, the treatment of the Black Live Matter protesters, solely because of their race, was unjust, no matter what point of view you have. How do you personally think the media you intake has affected your political opinions, as a young adult? Political opinions have everything to do with your life experience, no matter what.
Citations
Jamie Davis Smith. “I’ve Experienced U.S. Capitol Security Firsthand — and It Was Nothing like the Rioters Saw.” HuffPost, HuffPost, 12 Jan. 2021, www.huffpost.com/entry/capitol-riot-trump-supporters_n_5ffc70ebc5b691806c4b11df. Accessed 10 Feb. 2021.
Flynn, Daniel J. “Fuhgeddaboudism.” The American Spectator | USA News and Politics, Spectator, 15 Jan. 2021, spectator.org/capitol-riot-fuhgeddaboudism/. Accessed 10 Feb. 2021.
BBC News. “Capitol Riots: Who Has the FBI Arrested so Far?” BBC News, BBC News, 27 Jan. 2021, www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-55626148. Accessed 10 Feb. 2021.
Sanya Mansoor. “93% of Black Lives Matter Protests Have Been Peaceful, New Report Finds.” Time, Time, 5 Sept. 2020, time.com/5886348/report-peaceful-protests/. Accessed 10 Feb. 2021.
