The violent events of Wednesday, January 6 at the US Capital has caused many former allies to turn away from Trump. The usual expression is “in the 11th hour,” but this is more like 30 minutes after midnight. How late is too late?
Life-long progressives have (understandably) gotten angrier over the past decade or so. Or perhaps we’re just seeing it better. It’s easy to oversimplify and conflate technological change with a change in people’s minds. When we see more people angry on social media, and wonder if they’ve always been there, or does social media somehow “cause” the anger, I’m inclined to say “yes.” I believe the technology has put more people in possession of facts and opinions that make them angry, sometimes with justification, sometimes not.
And the same, of course, can be said of the other side. I do not believe the breach of the Capital could have taken place without social media. But to my main point, those who oppose what took place (storming into the Capital) would like to place the blame on Trump, as well as numerous other elected officials.
First of all, opposing what happened January 6 is a reasonable position. One that I hope is shared by everyone who believes in democracy and the sovereignty of the US government. In a way, even the perpetuators of these violent actions demonstrate shame, in that they tried to blame others and pretend they didn’t do it.