What really happened in the United States on January 6, 2021?

A Biased Interpretation

In the first place, Wednesday January 6, 2021 started like any other ordinary day in January. It was cold. Capitol Hill was abuzz with election certification activity; something that had happened every four years from as far back as the beginning of the 19th Century. However, unlike all previous four-year periods, a very large crowd of people had come to Washington, DC to protest a stolen election. Only this election had not been stolen in real life.

Donald Trump, 45th President of the United States, held a rally on the White House ellipse. He spoke for over one hour and told people that their feelings were justified. An election that was supposed to have been theirs was stolen from them. Their election victory had illegitimately gone to another group – stolen in the dead of night. Trump had had his lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, and his son, Don, Jr on stage before him, and those two had riled up the crowd pretty well. And anyone that knows Trump knows that the brother can really drive a point home. In saying the right sort of things, Trump swayed the people in making their way to the U.S. Capitol. He told them a bald-faced lie: That his Vice President, Mike Pence had the wherewithal to change the election certification activity. And that Mike Pence was really going to do it. But if Mike Pence choked, then the people – the ones Trump spoke to in such passionate terms – had his permission to do something about it.

And the people did something about it. They marched down to the seat of the United States legislature. It did not take long enough for their feelings to dissipate. After all, it is less than two miles between the White House and the U.S. Capitol. With their large numbers – there were approximately 30,000 people – the good ole people of the United States took over their legislature by, first, gathering on every square inch of the buildings’ open areas. Then people started to get restless; they climbed things, broke things, walked through things, and basically did the sort of things mobs do when they have no place to go. The people took over the legislature at about the same time as their legislators were considering whether to approve Arizona’s electoral votes for Joseph R. Biden or Donald J. Trump. And with their numbers, all business on America’s legislative branch ground to a hold.

Technically speaking, not much was damaged. And there were no fires. Yes – there were scuffles and a lot of tension. Guns were drawn. Windows were broken. A woman and three other people died. And with the cameras catching every movement, the world saw how human the Americans were. But was that enough? Invariably, American pillars of democracy were put on display by people that did not fire a single bullet, or carry a single torch. All the people had with them was righteous indignation that an election was stolen from them, and that it was their responsibility to take their country back for their children. Only they – the people – could make their country great again.

If this interpretation sounds squeaky clean, or even too lackadaisical for you, it really is. Americans who are supposed to have information at their fingertips were duped into believing that something had happened. Some of those that feel marginalized – that others are getting more than them – bought airline tickets or drove to Washington, DC. They booked themselves into hotels and wore their warm clothes for a winter protest. They were prepared; with their Trump flags and accouchement. Most of all, they had passion. Someone who spoke their language and was their leader had been robbed. And so, they had been robbed of their stuff too. It was that simple. The March on the Capitol was their last chance to do something about the loss they felt.

The American people did something on January 6, 2021. They managed to expose the palpable weakness of American parliamentary security. They exposed the importance of being earnest. They showed who had courage and who had eloquence. Many people that had followed Trump’s logic were left with egg on their face. And Trump … Well, Trump was Trump. He sent out a tweet. He sent out a video. He got banned from social media. His people defended him. Things happened to him.

Overall, the American government swung back into action. By 8 p.m., the legislature was back to doing what it was supposed to do. By early Thursday morning, Biden had been certified as President-elect, with Trump finally admitting that he was not going to stay on as President. The pendulum had swung hard, and had hit Trump upside the head on the way to the other side.

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