A Revolt for Denial
The insurrection at the Capitol was part of a larger fight against facts.
“Facts are stubborn things.” — John Adams (1735 to 1826)
“The current, best available science is not opinions — it’s facts.” — Greta Thunberg September 2019
The January 6 insurrection in Washington can be characterised several ways, for instance as an attempted self-coup and as an anti-democratic putsch.
It was also a revolt for denial—part of a larger, on-going conflict between those who take well-established facts seriously, and those who deny facts that don’t fit their narrative.
Like Donald J. Trump, the insurrectionists were in denial of Biden’s election victory, which had already been confirmed by the Electoral College and was about to be ratified by the Congress.
They were also in denial of the realities of raw power.
The insurrectionists were equipped with lynch-mob style weaponry (including a gallows), and plenty of emotion; and they were acting in the name of a President. Many of them had military experience.
Still, in a country with armed forces like America’s, an anti-democratic self-coup would not…
