Residents of the globe witnessed an act of historic proportions when an unruly mob stormed Capitol Hill in Washington and smashed into the hallowed halls of democracy.
Such rabble-rousing action was never expected in Washington, the seat of the world’s largest democracy. That a sitting United States president would give his blessing and encourage the riot was also unthinkable, unimaginable, and unsettling.
Perhaps, the action should not have been surprising. America developed from a Tea Party tax revolt uprising. Vigilante justice has long been part of American history from the lynching and shooting of black people to slaughter of indigenous people and then their food supply, the buffalo, to frontier justice.
What may surprise is the extent to which the Washington riots were pre-planned. Evidence indicates organized white supremacist groups were planning to kidnap senior members of the Senate and Congress.
Investigators are certain riot organizers had inside help planning the siege, based on how fast —11 minutes — it took to find certain elected members’ offices in the maze of hallways in the House, and how an unmarked office was found so soon.
The incident showed how fragile democracy can be.
While the disgraced American president gets blamed for inciting the riot against democracy, the pressure to riot has been building for decades.
The election of a black president caused the white supremacists to froth at the mouth like rabid skunks.
Trump was the enabler, who gave the groups permission to come out of the closet when their president approved of racism.
The explosion of pent-up white supremacy will be felt for at least a generation. The worst scenario following this mess would be constant guerrilla war against society, planning and executing shooting and bombing actions across America. No matter how the FBI, CIA, Homeland Security or military reacts, this kind of war is almost impossible to stamp out.
Life in the United States may become as unsettled as Israel where regular, random attacks and killings occur.
Travellers to the United States expose themselves to this threat.
In Canada we may be smug and declare: “Not here!” Don't be smug about the American mess.
Canada has at least 130 active far-right organizations, says professor and hate crime expert, Dr. Barbara Perry.
Reported hate crimes increased 60 per cent between 2014 and 2017. A hate crime is reported every four hours in Canada. Dr. Perry estimates 80 per cent go unreported.
Hate crime and white supremacists are a hidden danger in Canada.
White supremacy groups in Canada date to the 1950s when a so-called investigator published an anti-Semitic white supremacist rag in Flesherton, Ontario.
In recent years organizations have grown with regular rallies attracting hundreds.
The Three Percenters have members with military training. Some of their armed forces members have been discharged or punished.
Proud Boys, an affiliate with the U.S. group, is being considered for inclusion on the federal list of terrorist organizations. One organization, Blood and Honour, has already been listed there with al-Qaeda.
Listing these organization raises a fine line between free speech and rights infringement — a weakness of democracy.
Ron Walter can be reached at ronjoy@sasktel.net
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the position of this publication.
