Dear ones,
I wanted McConnell to have a bad day yesterday. I regret that. My spiritual practice reminds me that we are all harmed by harm done, a lesson that I fervently hope we can impart to white supremacists. That’s the last time I wish a bad day on anyone. Today’s post is going to be a little different.
First, I will note that for days, I’d been obsessively checking Choose Democracy’s website for their take on what would go down. And there was nothing. In spite of all the evidence to the contrary, I allowed myself to believe that it would just be a long, bad day at the capitol that I should just ignore. (Note: Last night, Choose Democracy finally posted.)
I was having a great day yesterday before the attempted coup began. I went for a walk through the park, celebrating the good news out of Georgia with my oldest friend. With the election in hand, I could finally concentrate enough to plan my lesson for my newest student, a teenager to whom I am teaching English. Then, I had a meeting with the dynamic quartet that is launching the Kensington Windsor Terrace free fridge (it is happening!). And then I taught for an hour. A friend innocently texted, “hope you are calm,” which prompted me to look at the news, of which she was unaware!
No doubt, your day went off the rails as well. I am not alone in feeling fear and fury that an armed mob of mostly white men was able to storm the capitol. When the National Guard was finally on the scene, Kayleigh McEnany lied and said that the President called them out. A statement from the Pentagon, written entirely in the passive voice, told another story:
The D.C. Guard has been mobilized to provide support to federal law enforcement in the District. Acting Secretary Miller has been in contact with Congressional leadership, and Secretary McCarthy has been working with the D.C. government. The law enforcement response will be led by the Department of Justice.
Later, it became clear that Pence had called them out. (Note on sources: I followed live feeds from the Times, The Guardian, and CNN and I quoted the statement above in a text from one of those).
And then I took a break to clear my head. When I checked the news an hour later, order had been restored; thirteen rioters had been arrested, five firearms confiscated, two explosive devices defused, and one woman was dead. The curfew was underway. I sat down to plan for tomorrow’s discussion, for the library patrons who attend the Thursday English Conversation group. As I prepared my vocabulary list, using my favorite online dictionary, the day’s events came into super-sharp focus:
coup (d’etat) - n - the sudden overthrow of a government by a usually small group of persons in or previously in positions of authority
impeachment - n - the presentation of charges against a public official by the House of Representatives, followed by a trial in the Senate
incite - v - to initiate or bring about, instigate, provoke
mob - n - a large and often disorderly crowd; the mass of common people
riot - n - a wild disturbance created by a large number of people; legal: a violent disturbance of the public peace by at least three people assembled for a common purpose
sedition - conduct or language inciting rebellion against the authority of a state
treason - the betrayal of allegiance toward one's own country, especially by committing hostile acts against it or aiding its enemies in committing such acts
Representative Cori Bush, who knows how to make an impression in her first week at a new job, is planning to introduce a resolution in the House “calling for the expulsion of Republicans who have ‘incited this domestic terror attack through their attempts to overturn the election’” (The Guardian). Top of the list should be Mo Brooks, described last night by Times correspondent Catie Edmondson:
Representative Mo Brooks, Republican of Alabama, who is leading this effort over in the House, is giving a speech riddled with falsehoods about election fraud that gives no impression he is reversing course following today’s unrest.
Please contact your Congressional Representative and ask them to support Congresswoman Bush’s resolution and Congresswoman Ilhan Omar’s articles of impeachment.
The M4BL has issued this call to action:
Call your Senators and Representative (202-224-3121) and leave messages demanding the following things:
The certification of the presidential election results; (Note from Lynn: that happened early this morning.)
Each member of Congress must not only condemn the acts of Donald J. Trump, they must call for immediate impeachment. The Senate must convict and remove him from office immediately;
Censure each member of Congress who has fanned the flames of white supremacist violence and has participated in the effort to stop the certification of the electoral college;
Elected officials both at the federal level and state level must publicly renounce this white supremacist attempted coup as well as the accompanying attempts to retroactively disenfranchise the votes of millions by overturning the democratic results of this election.
Abolish the Electoral College
Right now, we’re calling for our people to stay home, stay safe, and stay vigilant.
with love,
L