Scared Crooked

“Fear is the path to the Dark Side. Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering.”
–Yoda

“The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.”
–Nelson Mandela

On October 16, 1995 hundreds of thousands of Black men and boys came to DC for what was billed by organizers as a “Million Man March.” The event was the idea of Louis Farrakhan, leader of the Nation of Islam, and “aimed to convey to the world a vastly different picture of the Black male.” Moreover, a wide array of speakers were lined up to present different viewpoints concerning challenges unique to African-Americans, particularly men.

So many attended the march, which enjoyed the blessing of beautiful fall weather, that estimating crowd size became a daunting and contentious challenge. The National Park Service put the number at 400,000, which organizers vigorously disputed, claiming attendance was much higher. After much back and forth, a Boston University group of researchers pegged the number at 837,000, with a 20% margin of error. Regardless, the Million Man March was one awesome display of humanity, a historical mass gathering of people.

Looking out from the steps of the US Capitol where speakers gathered, the throng appeared to extend indefinitely, literally a pulsing sea of life as far as the eye could see. There was no space at all not occupied from the Capitol to the Monument. Just to take in the scene was enough to make one feel a bit claustrophobic.

It would not be until Barack Obama’s first inauguration that another DC happening would compare. Indeed, Obama’s swearing-in actually exceeded The March to become the new standard for awe-inspiring collective trampling of the Mall’s grounds. Each occasion had more than simply crowd size in common, they were celebrations where attendees shared the satisfaction that comes with noble purpose, genuine outpourings of the good will produced by optimism for a better future. Unfortunately, however, there existed a darker thread that tied the two gatherings together: millions throughout white America witnessed each with abject fear and derision, certain they were witnessing grave threats to their immediate safety and overall way of life.

Fear is at once the most vital and counterproductive human emotion. While necessary to alert us to threats we must elude to survive, it more often than not inhibits our development and progress, creating obstacles that, although not comporting with reality, nonetheless freeze our initiative, or even worse set us on the wrong course. Fear can beguile us into believing real dangers are actually solutions, and those we should oppose are beneficial allies. Left unaddressed, our imaginings can imprison us in a world created by anxiety, not actual events. All of which is to say choosing our fears wisely is a critical human obligation. Recognizing actual danger while confronting ghosts that lack substance, is really just an addendum to telling right from wrong.

As crews repair the damage inflicted on the US Capitol Wednesday, heads are already beginning to roll. How could such a nefarious mob meet so little resistance is the primary question. The Capitol Police force, primarily responsible for protecting US democracy’s most enduring symbol, is 2000 officers strong. Where the hell were they? Why do we see image after image of woefully outnumbered groups futilely attempting to hold back jackal-like hordes of rioters? Asked to account, Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund, who was forced to resign hours later, provided a short answer that spoke volumes. A “robust plan” had been prepared, declared Sund, however it was only meant to address a run-of-the-mill demonstration, not “criminal riotous behavior.”

Really? And what possibly could have supported that assumption? Certainly not the President, who was constantly tweeting the 6th would be “wild” and “we’re going to take our country back.” Definitely not so much as a cursory survey of the Internet and Fox/AM news sources, who were all trumpeting a “defining showdown” for American patriots. And no way even a momentary glance at social media platforms could have reinforced such nonchalance, as the full array of MAGA creeps and violent white extremist groups talked openly about the “marching orders” they had received from their victim-in-chief.

So what was it that provided reassurance for a geared down approach? After all, anyone who remembered the armed encampment DC became for BLM protests over the summer recess, complete with construction of a border wall-like monstrosity around the White House, and an army of Capitol Hill protectors, had to wonder why a fully-attended joint session of Congress wouldn’t necessitate at least something in, if not the same neighborhood, at least the same time zone. Better safe than sorry, right? Indeed.

Fox/AM, the MAGA monster’s creator, is responsible for so many outrageous lies and inane tropes it’s hard to point to one group as more vile than another; it’s like picking a particularly rotten apple among those fallen from the tree. Yet and still, the ridiculous contention that civil unrest is the exclusive domain of blacks and Antifa is particularly disgusting. “Hard working” whites -Josh Hawley’s favorite dog whistle – can only be victims of riots, or armed avengers protecting communities under siege the story goes, even as one image after another documents camo-wearing, AR-15 toting deplorables menacing state houses, or foul-mouthed anti-maskers berating health providers or “poll watchers” terrorizing election workers. Even as the FBI has made clear white extremists represent the greatest threat of domestic terrorism America faces, and an actual plot to kidnap Michigan’s Governor was recently foiled, the Carlsons and Hannitys end every rant with BLM or Antifa.

In fact, just before daddy took the stage Wednesday, Don Jr. was warming up the crowd. Before he began hissing about “coming after” RINOs who weren’t servile enough members of “Trump’s Republican Party,” he ironically quipped about nothing being burned down, a reference to what a comparable gathering of “leftists” surely would have done if dissed the way Trump patriots have been. Two hours later, after Trump Sr. had sufficiently worked them into a violent froth before sending them on their way down Pennsylvania Ave., the wretched core showed a sickened nation just how bad a mob can really get. The now former Capitol Police Chief Sund learned the hard way that, yes, God-fearing, grievance-laden white “patriots” are capable of far worse than demonstrations.

Four years ago, as the first African-American President, who had been inspired toward the end of the last century by near a million Black men gathered to affirm a commitment to their families and communities, approached the end of two honorable terms in office, irrational fear reared its ugly hair-woven head and this nation veered perilously off course. Wednesday we came to the inevitable end of that lost journey. That we appear to have survived intact seems miraculous given the array of disastrous possibilities we were fully vulnerable to experiencing. However, we still have to find our way back to the right road, get back on track in the right direction. Meanwhile, way too many remain scared witless by where we once were going. They still don’t think we’re lost, even after the wreck we just got into. If we don’t figure out what to do with them we’re going to crash again, and don’t bet we’ll be so lucky the next time around. We’ve got about two years… the clock is ticking. BC