White terrorism – the enemy within must be dismantled

By Dr. Barbara Reynolds
TriceEdneyWire.com Columnist

The mob in the streets, the Republican mob in the Senate, and assorted police are partners in the coup at the Capitol.

The glue holding this band of brothers together is Black disenfranchisement and a pledge to white Supremacy. Remember Tulsa, the Black Wall Street massacre of 1921. Police deputized white thugs to destroy this Black town, burn and lynch hundreds of Black people because they were gaining economic and political security. The courts never punished them for their crimes. In the 1960s, civil rights activists knew they were fighting the Klan, who often took their sheets off and donned police uniforms.

In like manner, the white terrorists who took part in the insurrection at the Capitol were almost treated like they had been invited to a tea party. Thousands of angry Trumpers were gathering and marching toward the Capitol. No large platoons of police were present, but when much smaller groups of Black Lives Matter protested peacefully well-armed police were everywhere. Moreover, there were scores of detailed plans on the Internet flaunting the mobs’ anger at those who would not go along with the Big Lie of Trump winning the presidency.

Inside the Capitol with the terrorists chanting slogans about murdering Vice President Pence and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and with scores of legislators cornered, massive numbers of police were missing in action. The protestors showed no fear of the police during or after the assault, even though no similar assault on the Capitol had occurred since the British burned it in 1812. While some overpowered Capitol police fought valiantly, there were also reports of some taking selfies with the rioters.

So, we are supposed to believe that Washington, the home of the world’s most powerful governmental body and the most powerful military presence could not have prevented the assault nor arrested the rioters on the spot. One FBI official said his hands were tied in monitoring the mobs’ actions because legislatively they were not considered “terrorists.” Yet reports show the FBI had no problems playing a role in neutralizing and killing scores of Black Panthers, as well as playing a role in the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

When the smoke of this disgrace clears, the same old demons will be found. Trump, the mob and the GOP Trumpers are fighting to maintain white privilege and supremacy. They understand that in the recent elections Black voters rescued America from a corrupt, evil empire, where Black and brown people are rising in influence and representation. So, the bloody war is on, where five people, including a capitol police officer were murdered, joining the hundreds of Black people who have been killed by white cops and protected by white legislators.

Unless this band of brotherhood is broken, much more bloodshed will follow. Security, no doubt will be efficiently organized to protect President Biden and Vice President Harris. But will the police be there if the white terrorists, who the President called “patriots,” turn their attention to Black voters, churches, and their communities. It is time white America look in the mirror and see what is rising in their backgrounds.

This article originally published in the January 18, 2021 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.