Trumpist Mob Attempts to Subvert Democracy

Just saw a CNN report (I’m sure it’s everywhere) that a Trumpist mob in D.C. has stormed the Capitol Building to try to prevent Congressional acceptance of the electoral vote. This is appalling and should be dealt with in the harshest possible manner. I’m not a fan of violence in the ordinary course of things or in the course of protests. (I’m not one to embrace the idea that “violence is the language of the oppressed” or similar apologies.) But regardless of how you feel about violence in those contexts, this is about as bad as it gets. If you want to enjoy the benefits of law, you have to acquiesce to the political machinery that legitimizes it. For all the happy talk about “natural rights,” without law, there are no rights. There are just a series of opinions about who gets to do what to whom, the persuasive effect of which rests on the ability of the opinion-holder to deploy violence in support of that opinion.

We’ve had an election where, fevered and fantastic claims to the contrary, there is no doubt about the outcome. These people who have brought weapons to Capitol Hill are doing so in the hopes that they can prevent Congress from doing its duty and formalizing the transfer of power from one elected President to the next. These people stand for the principle that their personal preferences should take priority regardless of the election outcome. Not to put too fine a point on it, that’s fucking dangerous.

People who know better are endlessly shitting on the value of government. This is a logical consequence.