By Carlito Rovira

Since the white supremacist rebellion on January 6, 2021, at the Capitol building there has been an exerted effort by the mass media, and other apologists, to describe the people who attended as “misled” by Trump’s rhetoric.

This narrative is not only hilarious and false but also patently dangerous.

The MAGA loyalists descended upon Washington, DC from every part of the United States days before the attempted coup to eagerly support and partake in Trump’s “wild” rally. Each of the participants were committed to support Trump, and others in the G.O.P, in a pathetic last stand of failure to suppress the voting rights of African Americans and all people of color.

Denying African Americans the right to vote has historically been a symbolic feature of white supremacy in the United States based on Black oppression.

Since the start of Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, when he made his infamous announcement at Trump Tower in New York City, his supporters were well aware of his white supremacist stance. They were quite comfortable with his derogatory attacks on Mexican people, slanderously calling them rapists and welfare cheats.

Needless to mention his hurtful and racist overtures towards Puerto Ricans when Hurricane Maria claimed nearly 5,000 lives; Trump was also quoted as saying that “Puerto Ricans are dirty and poor”. Let us also not forget that Trump referred to Haiti and African nations as “shithole” countries.

Trump supporters were not offended by the openly racist language that occurred with impunity. Implicitly and explicitly Trump called for violence against people of color. They have had ample time to figure out what his rhetoric represents and its potential deadly consequences for Black and Brown people.

Trump supporters were not lured, they have been grounded by white racist traditions and history which dates back to when African chattel slavery was first established in this country. Trump supporters have been his willing followers because of the ideology they all share – white supremacy.

One only needs to examine the attitudes of these Trump followers towards the police murders of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and the many Black and Brown people similarly killed by police. We can see how even the news media tended to lend sympathy for the fanatical Trumpster Ashli Babbitt, who was shot to death by Capitol Police.

The rage that was displayed by these insurrectionists is rooted in the historic backward traits deeply embedded in the customs, habits and traditions of white people, since African chattel slavery. These “patriots” were driven by the need to preserve their white privilege.

In every objective sense they are more than just Trump supporters, they are a social prop for a menacing fascist movement, which continues to grow in this country. Overtures for “national healing” being made by politicians, the media, liberal commentators and so on, serves to obscure who in this society has the onus to make amends — history proves that it is NOT Black and Brown people.

Traditional bourgeois representatives, in academia, journalism, the clergy and so on, will describe the vicious desires to eliminate Critical Race Theory, the right to vote, the right to abortion, same sex marriage, etc., as attempts to harm “our democracy”, when in actuality these are symptoms of a much larger problem.

There is a conscious effort by elements in the ruling class to foster the menace of fascism and do away with the mere semblances of democracy. This is why the January 6 Congressional Hearings were meaningless. The “investigative” character of these hearings was restricted to legally technical formalities, in an entertaining setting. The hearings ended up being nothing more than part of a battle among thieves.

The fascist attempted coup on January 6, 2021, was carried out by forces that also work to defend the capitalist system.

The billionaire class in this country is nervous about mass uprisings erupting due to uncertainties created by the capitalist economic crisis. Fascist forms are always kept in reserve and ready to be unleashed for unforeseen threats to the capitalist system. And that tremor of insecurity did exist for a brief period during the wave of Black Lives Matter demonstrations across the country.

The only solution to this rising fascist momentum is unity on a meaningful basis by all progressive sectors. How else will a militant people’s movement come about? It is needless to mention how the far-right forces diligently work on building their unity. And because this fascist movement is using as its narrative the “defense” of white privilege, it is imperative for white progressives and revolutionaries to adopt a John Brown disposition and raise the anti-racist banner as their very own.

BUILD AN ANTI-FASCIST, ANTI-CAPITALIST MOVEMENT!