Justice for J6

If Your Argument is “Ashli Babbitt Did Nothing Wrong,” Then Why Don’t You Assault the Capitol as She Did?

Why not put your money where your mouth is?

Justice for J6 Rally, Washington D.C.

Yeah, I was there for this sad mess.

I think it’s clear I’m not a Trump supporter. I can identify a horrible person very quickly, regardless of political affiliation. I can also determine when someone is horrible at a job or position; listing all of what makes Trump a garbage, shitbag president (or shitbag person) would rob us of life.

From this understanding, I hope folks could appreciate me when I show up to document these times we live in. I hope folks appreciate my self-discipline not to engage these politically bankrupt people. After all, it would be a shame if I showed up as a counter-protester, only to be ejected from the scene, which is the standard operating procedure of Metro PD (Washington D.C. Police) when counter-protesters show up and things might get hostile. And yes, it would get hostile if I shared words with a bunch of Trump-cult members in my city. They want to kill me because I’m desecrating their man-god in the most intellectually aggressive manner you can imagine.

Ashli Babbitt is No Martyr

With that being said, one of the prime arguments shouted at this small asinine event was the notion that Ashli Babbitt did nothing wrong. Ashli Babbitt was innocent.

Part of fascism in America is comedy because these assertions are hilarious.

Before we begin, I want to note the white privilege (entitlement) this notion is soaked in. Can you imagine the white supremacist entitlement it requires to argue that Ashli Babbitt got shot for no reason? Imagine if these white conservatives showed up on the west side of the U.S. Capitol for Botham Jean, Sandra Bland, George Floyd, or Breonna Taylor. Can you sense the white supremacist entitlement concerning law enforcement in America when you find that these people didn’t have a voice for justice when police killed Breonna Taylor in her sleep? These Whiteness Rangers will make excuses for cops when they murder Black people sleeping in a car or beds minding their own business. They have thrown more money at murderous cops’ Gofundme accounts when they kill Black people than they spend on their own children’s Christmas.

But Ashli Babbitt was innocent.

Just imagine how racist — how white supremacist — you have to be to say Ashli Babbitt was innocent when she was shot in the commission of a crime that literally put hundreds of federal lawmakers in danger, all while accepting, allowing, and supporting the police murders of unarmed Black people across America, across time.

Speaking of stark contrast and conservative hypocrisy, let’s also look at the shooter. Lt. Michael Byrd is the Capitol Police Officer who shot Ashli Babbitt. Imagine how deep your white supremacist standpoint has to be to argue that Capitol Police Lt. Michael Byrd was in the wrong in shooting a literal insurrection mob participant who certainly would have murdered congresspersons, and argue that Kyle Rittenhouse did nothing wrong murdering TWO PEOPLE while being devoid of any police authority.

How does being a white boy with a gun possess valid police authority over an actual policeman professionally trained and commissioned to defend a government facility?

Back the blue becomes back the white when white conservatives are harmed by police use of force. Smells like this back the blue might have been a white supremacist code for validating the state-sanctioned murders of random Black people in America. Fascism is never an honest ideology.

Back the blue becomes back the white when white conservatives are harmed by police use of force.

About that Claim

Since we covered the white supremacist/fascism parts, let’s get to the question that’s been bugging me: If your argument is “Ashli Babbitt did nothing wrong,” then why not assault the Capitol as she did?

I mean, look — a person’s behaviors are guided by their beliefs. For example, if I believe there’s nothing wrong with shooting street photography, I’m going to do it, and as a matter of fact, that’s literally what I do. Another example is the fact that I’m omnivorous because I believe there’s “nothing wrong” with eating meat, in contrast to my vegan friends, who have deep reservations about eating meat because they believe eating meat is wrong.

Hell, if I thought there was nothing wrong with being a heroin kingpin, I’d fucking do it. But because I believe there’s something wrong with being a heroin kingpin, I’m not one. In fact, I’m not even going to try. Our behaviors of what we do and do not do are guided by our beliefs of right and wrong, correct or incorrect, moral or immoral, ethical or unethical, lawful or unlawful.

If your argument is “Ashli Babbitt did nothing wrong,” then why not assault the Capitol as she did?

So what’s stopping Look Ahead America as an organization and the rest of these conservatives from running into the Capitol, like their dead hero, Ashli Babbitt?

What’s good for the goose is good for the gander; If there’s nothing wrong with what Babbitt did, then they too would not be in the wrong in doing precisely what Babbitt did.

If Ashli Babbitt was innocent in her participation of assaulting the U.S. Capitol, then they too, would be innocent if they assaulted the Capitol on the 18th of September, 2020.

But they didn’t do it. Time came, and went by. All they did was talk shit and lied to themselves.

It was another Church of Trump event, pretty much.

When I walked among the small crowd that day with this nagging question in my head, I didn’t want to start any trouble. The question may be observed as an instigating question. I don’t show up to events to make things happen, and ultimately I prefer it when no one is doing anything wrong at these political events.

I’m just saying — I’m just super saiyan’ — If that’s your argument, then why not put your money where your mouth is?

Conclusion

Overall, none of these conservative folk wanted that heat, and in light of that fact, they KNOW Ashli Babbitt was wrong. They know her death was a righteous kill by police, and they know the police were correct in shooting her down. They also know the U.S. Capitol Police would have been correct to shoot them all down.

How do I know this?

Because they didn’t do the same shit she did. That’s how.

White supremacists like these lie to themselves all the time. This event was just another moment to lie to themselves, preventing the traumatic experience of realizing how much they dedicated their life to a particular political evil.

Johnny Silvercloud is a U.S. Army vet turned civil rights/conflict photographer and anti-racism/sexism writer. Not a fan of intentional stupidity or passive-aggressive racism supporters, which tends to overlap. You can subscribe to Johnny here, and get his street photography, here. Twitter, here. Instagram, here. Facebook fan page, here. His publication of like-minded educational activists, here