Dear Gossips, 

Like many of you with friends and family, Duana and I were exchanging texts last night, horrified by what was happening in Washington, DC. This is one of Duana’s messages to me: 

“It was seeing the news crews’ equipment destroyed that really got me. Those clamshells and lights and monitors…they must have been so scared.”

 

And yet, they stayed for the story. To do the work. Because journalism serves democracy, especially when democracy is under attack – and, in these times, accurate information is under attack. Here is Robert Moore’s widely praised report from the chaos. He and his team, for sure, are showing their work, although I wish he’d have used the word “terrorists” in that one instance instead of “protestors” because that’s what we saw yesterday – acts of domestic terrorism in America incited by an epic loser.

 

But how did they even get that far? As many, many, many others have pointed out, white privilege had a big moment yesterday: 

Joy-Ann Reid is the one who did the best work in just two minutes telling you all you need to know: 

 

No fear. The rioters yesterday had no fear of law enforcement – it wasn’t a protest, it was a f-cking parade, because the experience, for most of them, probably didn’t feel much different than what happens when their home team wins the Super Bowl.

As for what Joy was referring to when she said that the cops were “walking them down the steps to make sure they’re not hurt”, here’s an example if you haven’t seen it:

 

And you know that dude with this shirt off with the horns and his face painted? I know you know who I’m talking about, I’m not posting his f-cking picture on this site. Despite the fact that he was all over the TV yesterday during the chaos, DURING THE ATTEMPTED COUP, right in the thick of it all, they didn’t have him on the ground with a knee on his back. In fact, according to The Globe and Mail’s Adrian Morrow:

I mean if that guy’s still running around free to show up at whatever chaos these assholes are planning next, what are the chances that there will be any consequences for Donald Trump? 

Yours in gossip,

Lainey