‘This is not who we are’: Actually, the Capitol riot was quintessentially American

… There’s no disputing that the assault was remarkable. But “un-American” is the wrong adjective. A better way to make sense of the news of the past few days — not only the violent occupation in Washington but also the historic Senate victories by Democrats in Georgia — is as a long-run contest between two competing American traditions: one committed to preserving the status quo racial hierarchy and one fighting to advance equality.

From this perspective, the insurrection by a group of mostly White men opposing the legitimacy of a free and fair multiethnic election is quintessentially American. At the same time, the success of a candidate like Sen.-elect Raphael Warnock (Ga.), a Black Democrat, can be seen as a continuation of the other American commitment to equality. This is a far more useful framework for interpreting recent events than embracing the fiction that anti-democratic violence only happens in other countries. CONTINUED

Omar Wasow (Princeton), Washington Post


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