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Comment by throwaway5959 | Hacker News Reader

Jan 6 says otherwise.

Okay, I'll bite. If Jan 6 really was an attempt at revolution to install a dictator, it should be seen as a laughable and emasculate event proving how anemic the movement is/was -- Alec Baldwin has successfully killed more people than an entire mob of Trump supporters so oft characterized as gun-toting lunatics.

The problem with citing incompetence as a reason not to worry about the Jan 6th insurrection is that there are such obvious examples in history of people who tried to overthrow a government, did it badly, got locked up, eventually got out, and then went on to.... actually overthrow the government! Like, it's quite difficult not to mention the Beer Hall Putsch. The lesson from one failed insurrection isn't "Haha! You guys failed this time". It's "Holy fuck those guys are actually going to try and line us all up against a wall given half a chance".

The movements that evolve into genuine threats are only obvious in hindsight. We know the Beer Hall Putsch because, well, it's Hitler. If we afford the same level of proactive scrutiny to every demonstration, riot, or other indication of intent to subvert the democratic process following the assumption that it will metamorphose out of control, Jan 6 would be one of a great, great many: https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/inauguration-2017/washingt...

Additionally, and this premise is somewhat debatable, the people there didn't think they were installing a dictator. They thought they were protecting democracy somehow. Insane, mistaken, stupid, laughable.. Lots of words better describe what happened there.

Mussolini held elections, too. People can believe that the will of the people was their party winning and never acknowledge that they actually lost fairly. It’s especially easy when you surround yourself with people who lie to you and assiduously avoid contradictory sources or critical thinking.

It's true that many of the people on Jan 6 didn't view themselves as extreme and didn't realize they were being fascist — they probably mostly truly did believe they were protecting democracy — however this does not preclude them being de-facto fascists.

So what do you see it as then? How would you characterize storming a government building with intent to maim (hang?) and being equipped to do so?

And specifically only finally stopping when someone finally got shot while they were trying to get into the house floor through a broken window where actual, elected representatives were, including many that had received death threats from these very people.

Or the "panic" buttons in many representatives offices being mysteriously disabled!

> with intent to maim (hang?)

This is the gallows that the mob erected: https://assets.culanth.org/content/_t1528/ruddy-roye-trump22...

Seen from this angle, it's obvious that it can't actually be used to hang anyone. It is little more than a stupid protest sign.

15% revolutionary LARP, 15% intent to cause damage/mayhem, 70% self-guided tour of Congress. If it were given the same benefit of the doubt as the BLM riots, it'd be classified as mostly people showing up to a rally because their idol told them to with bad actors leading the charge after he told them "go home".

The dollar-store gallows picture is still laughable.

Ok, so they’re incompetent fascists. ;)

Inigo Montoya would like a word, speaking of the cry wolf effect.

Trump tried to coerce several officials, including his vice president, to use illegal means and declare him winner of an election he lost. These people supported that, clearly. You can install a dictator without a single shot, your gatekeeping notwithstanding. And the comparison to Alec Baldwin is just disgusting.

Rioters literally sent a capitol guard to the hospital where he died due to injuries he sustained. But okay, sure

Four rioters died of various causes, and Officer Sicknick was pepper sprayed and died of thromboembolic strokes -- it was falsely reported for weeks that he was beaten to death with a fire extinguisher. Saying he died "due to his injuries" contradicts the medical examiner's report, court proceedings and general sense.

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