By Dina Drogin ‘23, Commentary Writer

On January 6th, 2021, an image of white privilege was streamed on many televisions around the world. Thousands of Trump supporters tried to storm the Capitol, intending to stop the election certification of Joe Biden. Months previously, around the country, there had been “Black Lives Matter” protests, catalyzed by the death of George Floyd, a black man who was brutally murdered at the hands of police. Joe Biden said, in response to the Capitol breach, “No one can tell me that if it had been a group of Black Lives Matter protesting yesterday,…they wouldn’t have been treated very, very differently than the mob of thugs that stormed the Capitol. We all know that’s true, and it is unacceptable — totally unacceptable.” The hypocrisy and white supremacy shown during the riots are directly linked to the disease the United States continues to suffer from: racism. 

Donald Trump’s response to the Black Lives Matter protests in comparison to the Capitol riot was hypocritical. Ninety-three percent of Black Lives Matter protests were peaceful. Nevertheless, on May 29th, 2020, responding to the protests, Donald Trump announced: “When the looting starts, the shooting starts.” In contrast to the majority of the BLM protests, the breach of the Capitol was violent. Five people lost their lives. Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez publicly announced in a video that she was put in a situation where she feared for her life. However, Donald Trump’s response to the rioters, this time, was: “Go home. We love you. You’re very special… I know how you feel.” 

Donald Trump wasn’t the only one displaying clear messages of hypocrisy. In 2016, Colin Kaepernick decided to kneel during the national anthem before playing in a football game to raise awareness about police brutality and racial inequality. Many far right Republicans were furious at the gesture. They were prepared to stop watching football and to burn their Nike products because the brand featured Kaepernick in an ad campaign. How dare Kaepernick dishonor our country? But these same right wing extremists were photographed throwing the flag off the Capitol Building and replacing it with a Trump flag. 

Republicans were furious when Black Lives Matter protesters were speaking out against institutionalized racism in the police force. Trump called the protests a “symbol of hate.” Many people couldn’t imagine how protesters could disrespect the same cops that protect us everyday. But, again, these same people struck officers with hockey sticks, crutches, and flags. One officer was beaten to death by a fire hydrant. Another 58 were injured during the attack. What happened to Blue Lives Matter? Is it really “Back the Blue” meaning to support the police? Or is it just racism? 

Nevertheless, the police response to the storming of the Capitol was upsetting. During BLM protests, police officers were armed with tear gas and rubber bullets. They were prepared, and in many instances, used their weapons. During the riot, it was surprisingly and disgustingly easy for Trump supporters to get into the Capitol building. A couple of police officers did use tear gas; however, most police, as one officer stated, “let them do their thing.” There were pictures of an officer taking a selfie with a rioter. During the event, people had already breached the Capitol before the DC National Guard was activated. A tweet by Devonte Harris on Twitter said it best: “We are not asking for you to shoot them like you shoot us, we’re asking you to NOT shoot us, like you don’t shoot them.” Simply put, rioters were treated differently in regard to police response for the sole reason that they were white.  

On the surface level, the reason for the insurrection was Donald Trump. After all, he did tell his supporters to storm the Capitol and told them “he loved them” after the violence. However, on a deeper level, Trump is not the cause of hypocrisy in the country, but is a symptom of a greater malady the United States faces. Our country needs to do better.