Trump leaving dangerous legacy

Like many of you, I watched in horror and disgust the violent protest and insurrection that occurred at the United States Capitol yesterday. Three things stand out as I continue to process the events of the afternoon. 

1) I find it inconceivable that the police did not make arrests. Compare this protest and insurrection to the protests against racial injustice. If the angry mob had been black or brown instead of white, would the outcome have been the same? How many would have been arrested or shot? 

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2) The rhetoric of Donald Trump and his encouragement of his Proud Boys/militia/MAGA supporters has led to this sorry state. While I am shocked to see the Confederate flags, flags that represent traitors to our Constitution, being carried through the Capitol buildings, at the same time I am sad to say I am not at all surprised. This is the culmination of years of lies, misinformation and stoking the fires of political and racial division in our United States.

3) In Rep. Lauren Boebert’s very first speech on floor of the House of Representatives yesterday, immediately before the angry white mob stormed the House and Senate buildings, she stated that “her constituents outside” demanded that she object to the results of the free and fair election of President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris. Boebert very plainly identified her constituents as the group of insurrectionists and seditionists — not the residents of Colorado District 3. Nothing she can say now, no amount of mealy-mouthed, half-hearted Twitter statements, can erase the damage that her statements have done by contributing to the division and encouraging the armed violent uprising.

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I am not naive enough to believe that this nightmare will end on Jan. 20. While Trump may have to be dragged kicking and screaming from the White House, he is leaving behind a dangerous legacy of insurrection. It will take our beloved country years to heal.

Laurie Lawrence

Rifle