A critic of this blog recently suggested in response to a post I made that I was equating the events of 1/6 to 9/11. I feel the need to respond to him publicly with another post setting the record straight for those who might believe the same thing as my critic.
For the record …
I never have suggested that that Jan. 6 insurrection/riot rose to the level of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack on this nation. 9/11 will stand alone as a heinous and horrific attack that killed thousands of innocent people from all walks of life, from many nations; they were young and old. We went to war against the terrorists who planned the attack and have killed many of the villains along the way — including the mastermind Osama bin Laden.
The 1/6 attack on our democracy was an attack of an entirely different type. It was an act of what I consider to be domestic terrorism. It was provoked by the then president of the United States, who encouraged the angry mob to “take back our government.” From whom remains a mystery.
The mob smashed into our Capitol Building; some of the mobsters were carrying “Hang Mike Pence!” signs in a direct threat to the vice president of the United States. VP Pence was presiding at that moment over a congressional certification of the 2020 Electoral College vote count that produced a victory for Joe Biden over Donald Trump.
Trump would have none of it. He continues to this very moment to foment The Big Lie about a phony rash of “widespread vote fraud” that produced a victory for President Biden.
My aforementioned critic doesn’t like that I refer to the riot on that day as “1/6,” suggesting that doing so elevates that event to the same degree of violence as 9/11.
It does nothing of the sort!
My reference to 1/6 only establishes that event as a singular and dastardly attack on our system of government.
Furthermore, I will continue to refer to it in that fashion for as long as I damn well feel like it.