It feels invasive when your property is vandalized, stolen from, desecrated, destroyed, robbed, etc. On January 6, 2021, a day for the history books of national tragedies, a mob of white nationalist domestic terrorists stormed the United States Capitol, incited by years of irresponsible rhetoric, coddling and fanning the flames of white supremacists, and again in incitement, the days leading up to and the day of, by the President of the United States. Such sadness and horror, seeing the terror in a symbolic space of democracy, seeing the confederate flag fly inside where it never has before. Such a day will never be forgotten, and never unwoven from Trump’s incitement and complicity, not to mention his sycophants and enablers. It was so painful to see, and I can’t imagine how much more painful for those who know oppression, racism, and the suffering of their ancestors upon witnessing an unsurprising but appalling event. The evening this occurred, I got on to Facebook and made a statement:
On the one hand, you have a violent coup attempt at the US capitol. On the other hand, you have a “soft” coup attempt, if you will, inside the US capitol, by elected house and senate GOP officials. While upon appearance you see stark differences, make no mistake about how these are connected. An actual insurgence at the US capitol occurred today. It is white nationalist domestic terrorism. The biggest threat to the USA. At the same time, too many Republican leaders are repeating conspiracies and supporting the destruction of democracy by having tried to block the state certified votes and the will of the people and an election win by a large majority. It is cowardice. And do not forget that what occurred today was the epitome of whiteness. Do not forget the overblown militaristic presence in preparation for BLM protests, and the drastic opposite in what unfolded this day. People have said in response to today’s ambush of the capitol and to the GOP attempted coup, “This is not America!”
Yes it is.
This is the long accumulation of generations of excused white supremacy, silence in the face of oppression, emboldened by Trump, no doubt, and diseased by another pandemic called “Trumpism” which rides on the back of the sin of racism that is woven throughout the very existence of this land. It carries on, and is being used to gain power by the traitorous GOP officials who objected to the EC votes today. This is who we are.
Furthermore, any excuse to adhere this to authentic Christianity is blasphemous. To see people wrapped in Trump flags bowed at crosses and “Jesus saves” flags accompanying violence and hatred is evil, both blatantly, and with an undercurrent of complicity by many others (in elected positions, and in churches widespread). For 45 to tweet “love and peace” to his white supremacist supporters and call them “patriots” and “special” is despicable, and sacrilegious. His pretend attempt to quell the violence in the video release began with a lie, unsurprisingly, as his entire sociopathic endeavor to destroy America is lived out by such. Will this be enough?! Warnings and red flags have been waving in our faces for far too long. And too often those red flags have been waved in the name of Jesus fueled by the cult of destructive white evangelicalism in what you see today. The ruin occurring in congress, and by the terrorist attack today is authoritarian, toxic, and has no business calling itself Christian. What total dishonor. For all those who treasure what is true, garner the courage to speak up! Trump should have never been elected, and he most certainly should have been removed long ago, and he undoubtedly should be removed now. But this is about so much more than him…
We knew this was coming. We knew the volatile, irresponsible words of Trump and those who aided him would create this kind of rise out of the woodworks, and this kind of attack, even though we were told we were being dramatic. In the midst of processing this national tragedy, and the continuing deaths of 4,000 people a day from the pandemic (for which POTUS is also responsible for mishandling at the detriment of human life and well being), I am sick to my stomach. I think about Capitol Officer Eugene Goodman, a Black man outnumbered by a mob of racists, who had the courage to think quickly, and literally save lives and a possible hostage situation. I think about the many reporters who put their lives on the line to cover the event and reveal the truth, surviving assault and watching their expensive equipment smashed. My gut turned when rioters body slammed an officer over a wall to the ground. I think about Rep. Jason Crow, among many others, who took heroic action and compassion for their colleagues. In the wake of this national disaster, I’m once again, appalled, but not surprised, with the attempts to soften this, excuse this, deny the severity of this, use “whataboutism” and “both-side-ism”, etc. When whiteness is at the center of terrorism, look at the denial perpetuating white supremacy. Compare the response to other national tragedies…As this all continues to unfold, we see more and more the evil at hand, and how dangerous and significant this was and is…And yet.
And yet, the denial, division, and cognitive dissonance persists. That is white supremacy. And for some who try to deny it with calls for unity, or using gaslighting by saying those of us who are fighting for justice are only being “divisive”, remember these words by writer, Austin Channing Brown: “There is nothing noble about unity for its own sake. I won’t be unified with injustice. I won’t be unified with white supremacy. I won’t be unified with overturning a legitimate election. I won’t be unified with hypocrisy, lies, and harm. If that is what unity requires of me, consider us forever divided.” We must be prepared by remembering that while Trump tapped into holding on to white power, and emboldened it, he didn’t create it. It is part of American identity, and we need the light to be shined on this truth, face it, and deal with it. And let us not forget how easy it is for “good” and “normal” people to be swept up into this. It’s not just identified, out white nationalists, it’s a business colleague, a neighbor, a sports fan, it’s someone who we think would “never” participate in something like this…
The same day this awful event occurred, was also the day Christians celebrate Epiphany, the manifestation which concludes the Christmas season. Such glory revealed in Jesus is proclaimed for all people. All. Like the light of the star that guided the Magi to Jesus, the light of Christ reveals who we are. Beloved Children of God. (But who else are we?) We are sent out to be the Light, sharing the Good News of Love. As we reflect on the reality of a full blown, violent insurrection, I wonder what epiphanies we may have. I wonder what else the Light needs to reveal about us. Those Wise Ones had their “come to Jesus” moment; will we? Will that day of Epiphany on 1.6.21 be the juncture in the road where we find the courage to eradicate the denial which only blocks our ability to change and grow? Will we shine the light upon ourselves so we can be honest about who we are- acknowledging the worst, so that we can highlight what is also good about us, so we can then be on the path to truly be our best? That day of celebration in the Christian Faith, juxtaposed with that day of terror in the United States, I came across Jan Richardson’s Epiphany Poem, “Blessed are You Who Bear the Light” and an excerpt stood out to me:
“Blessed are you who bear the light in unbearable times, who testify to its endurance amid the unendurable…”
Quite fitting on 2021’s Epiphany Day. And it is where my hope lies, because there are also so many of us, far more, I believe, who are fighting for justice, doing the work to eradicate white supremacy, and speaking out in prophetic ways. And also because if we face what we really are as America, then we can use that light to shine on what we also are, and what we want America to be, and who God created us to be. Let your emotions come. Feel your feelings. Seek support. Rest, and do the work. “Testify to its endurance amid the unendurable.”
Testify.
—
I feel like there is so much more to write. And there is. I’m grateful for so many voices, pastors, journalists, who are speaking up powerfully and eloquently about this. I included a few of my favorite thus far:
https://calvarydenver.org/news/2021/01/07/message-pastor-anne
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/01/denial-heartbeat-america/617631/
Signed along in spirit, Rev. Brenda J. Goodman: https://sojo.net/about-us/news/called-be-peacemakers?fbclid=IwAR2FLMM8lKFeURiywW5LrItADDGV3eJYuB1jEaEo9BKaqLziiSlFVJJRxGY
https://www.hulu.com/watch/89a49f22-f8b1-4133-bfcb-a47dcbdf8b6f
https://www.npr.org/2021/01/10/955392813/the-lies-we-tell-ourselves-about-race
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Regardful Reverend 
Brenda, this is so good. Your writing helps my anger. It helps me know that I am not alone; that someone else is in pain. Thank you,
Christine
“When the song of the angels is stilled, when the star in the sky is gone, when the kings and princes are home, when the shepherds are back with their flock, that is when the work of Christmas begins: to find the lost, to heal the broken, to feed then hungry, to release the prisoner, to rebuild the nations, to make peace among people, to make music in the heart.” Howard Thurman
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