My Pastoral Reflections on January 6, 2021

 “Let me be very clear: the scenes of chaos at the Capitol do not represent who we are. What we are seeing is a small number of extremists dedicated to lawlessness. This is not dissent, it’s disorder. It borders on sedition, and must end. Now.”

 This is a quote from President-Elect Biden’s speech was tweeted out on Wednesday, January 6, 2021. Disappointingly, Biden used carefully chosen and guarded words to ease the conscience and calm the fears of white America. America will only heal when her sins are confessed and repented and her ways are transformed.

First, chaos is not an accurate description of the “scenes”. The scenes were of violence, destruction, power and privilege. The behavior of the insurrectionists was neither random, unorganized nor unpredictable.

I have only been tuned-in to the presence of anarchists since 2014. During the Ferguson uprising I witnessed with my own eyes—even physically chased away—white men and women who came to the protest ready for combatting the police. They would hide behind Black bodies while they assaulted the police with their weapons. I also saw them give these weapons to our young adults—urging them to join the assault.

The groups are well organized and well-funded. They have sleeper cells that spend time building their strength and they strike when opportunity rises. They recruit through causes that matter to our community—like ending mass incarceration. They are opportunistic predators who lie-in-wait showing up at times of community distress. They exploit our pain and passion for their purpose—overthrowing the American government. When the police begin their assault, it is our young people who have the first contact with the pepper spray, clubs and tear gas. As our children are being terrorized, the white people move to the sidelines with their cameras and phones recording the assaults and then use this media for their propaganda.

Over the past four years the presence of the destructionists have grown—more recently coming to the front of the lines themselves. The uprising of the lawless is not new—they have been stirred and emboldened by the words of the terrorist-in-chief.

There was nothing random about Wednesday, January 6, 2020. It was only chaos to those who have been sleep-walking.

 Biden said that this doesn’t represent who we are—except that it does. Violent, lawless, entitled, privileged, seekers of power and supremacy is exactly who white Americans have been since before there was an America. This is exactly how America came into being and has been her story from that day ‘til this. Perhaps what Biden really meant is that we—the cultured upper class—are not people who openly displays our hatred, racism and superiority complexes—except we actually do. This is all on display through policies that are made and left unmade—like qualified immunity. Maybe he meant that his class of Americans do not use physical violence and property destruction to flex their power and seize control—except they do. Gentrification is violent property destruction, for example.

 No, Mr. Biden, this is exactly who America has always been and continues being. Every class of white American has their way of demonstrating their propensity toward being violent, lawless, entitled, privileged, seekers of power and supremacy.

 It is correct that the estimated thirty thousand bodies are a small number of extremists—they are the ones who had the money and time to get on charter busses, rent hotel rooms and airbnb’s, eat out for a few days, buy supplies—in other words, they were of the elite class—his class. Sure a few of them were funded—which only means that for every one who was funded there were others paying the bills—one physical body could be equal to ten donors. Those donors are back in their home states strategizing their next move while going about their lives disguised as teachers, preachers, mothers, grandparents, doctors, law-enforcers, judges and the like.

 Highlighting that this was a “small number” was not at all encouraging—it is terrifying and highlights the increased need for us to be vigilant for our own safety and well-being.

This small group is not dedicated to lawlessness—they are dedicated to white supremacy and they are willing to be lawless to protect their sacred institution. The insurrection was not about keeping Donald J Trump in office—it was about protecting the comfort they have enjoyed over the past four years. For the past four years they have been able to say and do just about whatever struck their fancy with impunity. The assault on the Capitol was against the lawmakers who are actually trying to make America more equitable and just.

The insurrectionists are not at all lawless—they just want to be the ones making and enforcing the laws.

Biden went on to say that what we witnessed was not dissent (expressing opinions) it was disorder (disrupting the systematic functioning). No, this was not a mere expression of opinions, however it also was not a disruption of the system. It was, however, a disruption of an illusion many hold as truth—we are not in a post-racial American and white supremacy did not go away with the Civil Rights Movement.

In fact, the terrorists have no intention of disrupting the systematic functioning of America. No, they seek to strengthen America’s racist systems.

Biden said that the insurrection “borders” on sedition. I disagree, again. We witnessed men and women carrying out the instructions of the Seditionist-in-Chief. This was sedition and it needs to be said and dealt with as such.

As good as Joe Biden wants to be, white supremacy is engrained. It is taught and reinforced through the “carrot and stick”. Biden has been well rewarded for his place within the system and for fulfilling his role of upholding its ideals. However, just as we white people learn to be white, white people can unlearn and unbecome (which is a life-long process, to be sure) through same type of carrot and stick teaching methods.

A new political season is upon us and the winds of change are blowing.

While white supremacy continues to pollute our winds, we have good news—they are pollution, not the wind. We are not people without hope. In this season ‘they’ will see that our hope is not wrapped up in who they want us to believe them to be—our hope is in who God has created, purposed and summoned us to be in this season. We do not have to support ‘them’ just because they are the best of bad options. We have our own options, and our options are rising to prominence.

That violent insurrection in the Capitol is exactly who ‘they’ have been historically until now. While the sinful, shameful past will always be part of America’s history, it does not have to be her perpetual story. This is a dark time, indeed, but that’s okay—the darker the night, the brighter the light. This is our season—we are the light of the world and I am so excited to see all the ways and all the places where our light is shining bright!

Why so downcast, oh my soul? Put your trust in Light!