America Is Who America Has Always Been

Summary

The article argues that the recent storming of the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters is a manifestation of America's longstanding issues with white supremacy, racism, and systemic violence, rather than an aberration from its historical character.

Abstract

The author, L.A. Justice, asserts that the events of January 6, 2021, at the U.S. Capitol are indicative of America's enduring legacy of racism and white supremacy. Despite the nation's founding documents proclaiming ideals of equality and liberty, the author contends that these principles have never been fully extended to all citizens, particularly black people, who have historically faced genocide, slavery, and systemic discrimination. The article highlights the hypocrisy of America's patriotic declarations in light of its oppressive actions against Indigenous, African-American, Japanese-American, Latinx, and other communities of color. It criticizes the lack of accountability for racial injustices, including the lack of charges against police officers in the shootings of Jacob Blake and Tamir Rice, and the minimal response to the Capitol riot compared to the Black Lives Matter protests. The author calls for a complete overhaul of the racist structures in America, including the economy, law enforcement, and the justice system, to achieve true equality and restorative justice.

Opinions

The storming of the Capitol is seen as an act of domestic terrorism and a display of white privilege.
America's self-proclaimed ideals of freedom and justice are hypocritical, as they were not intended to include people of color.
The country's history is marred by violence against black lives, from lynchings to police brutality, and the internment of Japanese Americans and detention of Latinx children.
The presidency of Donald Trump has been characterized by the promotion of white supremacy and the dehumanization of black people.
The term "third world country" is considered derogatory and inappropriate to describe the U.S., given its own history of violence and oppression.
The lenient response to the Capitol riot, compared to the force used against Black Lives Matter protesters, exemplifies racial disparities in law enforcement.
The author advocates for the dismantling of systemic racism, including the capitalist economy that perpetuates racial inequality.
There is a need to move beyond symbolic gestures of diversity and inclusion to actual systemic change and anti-racist education.
The article suggests that America can strive to be better by actively working against racism and white supremacy, but acknowledges that it is currently aligned with its historical identity.

Alex Gakos / Shutterstock.com

The storming of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 by right-wing Trump supporters proved one thing — America is who America has always been, and most likely will continue to be. Recent events may be a new means by which extremist groups have chosen to implement their violence and privilege, but the fact remains that America has always been a violent, racist, white supremacist country, and this act was nothing more than domestic terrorism and white privilege at their finest.

Our founding documents, patriotic songs, and pledges make bold proclamations as to what this country stands for and what our rights are as citizens. The Declaration of Independence states that “all men are created equal” and we have “unalienable rights” to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” The U.S. Constitution was ordained to “establish justice” and “secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity.” We sing the national anthem proclaiming this country to be “the land of the free” and we pledge allegiance to our flag declaring “liberty and justice for all.”

All of these are nothing more than hypocritical sentiments that were never intended to be inclusive. They were simply meant to secure the rights and freedoms of white men. This country has engaged in the calculated genocide of Indigenous people and the chattel slavery of African-descended people. When the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights were written, black people were still in chains, not even considered fully human, with some of the authors of these documents owning many enslaved people themselves.

America has slaughtered Black lives via lynchings, bombings, police brutality, and other forms of state-sanctioned violence and racial terrorism. We have put Japanese Americans in internment camps, and Latinx children in cages. We have spouted that Mexicans are rapists and thugs, all to justify building a wall. And we have an outgoing president who has called domestic terrorists “very fine people,” and incited violence throughout his entire presidency, telling his supporters to “stand back and stand by,” subsequently leading to riots at the U.S. Capitol that resulted in five deaths, one being that of a U.S. Capitol police officer. At this point shouldn’t Donald Trump be charged with murder?

Yet all over social media people still want to claim that “America is better than this.” No America is not. America is who America has always been. We are not becoming a “third world country,” as others on social media have stated. First off, we must stop using such a derogatory term as a way to demean other countries, most of which are predominantly inhabited by black and brown people who live in extreme poverty. Secondly, the events that occurred are wholly characteristic of “first world” nations that are steeped in violence, colonialism, racism, oppression, and white supremacy. Read Howard Zinn’s book entitled A People’s History of the United States if you doubt this to be true.

These last four years in this country, which culminated in Wednesday’s cataclysmic events, have been about nothing more than America’s desperate attempt to preserve white supremacy and racism, while continuing to diminish the humanity of black people. Racism is the foundation of everyone’s lived experience in this country — whether it’s the foundation of how black people are oppressed or how white people are privileged, and this is what America seeks to maintain.

Racial disparities do not exist in this country to privilege black people or any other people of color. This truth was on full display during the riots at the nation’s capital. Trump’s supporters, mainly white men and women, were shown pushing and threatening police officers, scaling and destroying the Capitol building, rummaging through offices, stealing classified government correspondence, etc. This was allowed to go on for hours before police attempted to curtail the events. Their response was deliberately slow, not at all indicative of actions required to disrupt a domestic terrorist attack that threatened the security of this entire nation.

Racial disparities were made painfully obvious when rioters were not met with tear gas and rubber bullets the same way peaceful protesters were during Black Lives Matter protests. Racial disparities were made painfully obvious before the riots even began when it was announced that morning that the officer who shot Jacob Blake in front of his three children in the back seven times, paralyzing him from the waist down, will not face any charges. Racial disparities were made painfully obvious when a week prior it was announced that the officers who murdered 12-year old Tamir Rice, within two seconds of pulling up in a squad car, will not face any charges. And racial disparities were made painfully obvious when Breonna Taylor’s neighbor’s apartment walls were deemed to have more value than Breonna’s life. The list goes on.

Is America better than this? No. America is who America has always been. But we can strive to be better than this. It will require completely dismantling racially motivated generational poverty and oppression. It will require working not only for equality but also for restorative justice. It will require reforming our racist capitalist economy. It will require dismantling racist policies, procedures, and practices in the various systems and structures upon which this country is governed, especially in law enforcement and the justice system. It will require people to stop being complacent and complicit with racism, white supremacy, and their own white privilege. It will require us to raise our children to be anti-racist. It will require dismantling white supremacist hate groups. It will require us to move beyond mere symbolic gestures of diversity and inclusion, which is all we’ve been seeing since George Floyd’s murder. And it will require the participation of everyone in this country. Is America better than this? No. But we can be.

To read more from L.A. Justice, visit her Medium page