"For"
by Steven Isaacson
History teaches us that concessions are only won by workers when we stand up and demand them. What occurred at the Capitol on Jan. 6th was not an error in tactics – it’s an error in politics and program. Nazis should never be allowed to spread hate and fear, but their action against the election results is telling. The media has been able to control the narrative around this attack and pave the way for the Biden administration to further outlaw dissent, based on accounts of ‘extremism.’ As social workers we should be helping to build the movement against racism and capitalism, and for universal healthcare alongside our clients, friends, and family. But we are past the time when voting should be the only means by which we advocate for justice. This country was founded on white supremacy and colonialism. It’s ironic that the Trump supporters who stormed Washington say they want to take back control of the buildings they believe are theirs. They’re right, partially. Those buildings are historical symbols of global capitalism and Western domination. For system change to occur, we must scrap those racist symbols of oppression. Tearing down Confederate monuments is a start. It would be a sight to behold to have a united working-class movement seize power of Congress and demand police accountability, housing and environmental justice, and criminal justice reform. And we would do it with our masks on.
"Against"
by Anna Britton
While I agree that we must protect our ability to dissent and protest, the way to achieve the kind of change we need is not through terror. Many of us understand that the electoral college—the results of which were being approved that day—is an anti-democratic institution that, more than once in our country’s history, has enabled the election of a President that did not win the popular vote. Just before the occupation halted the certification process, Senator Pat Toomey said, in an attitude of dark foreshadowing, that if we abolish the electoral college “the nation will be governed by a handful of big blue states and regions that drum up very large numbers.” Isn’t that the way democracy is supposed to work? However, I cannot see a new, truly democratic government being built through the violence we saw that day. Listening to firsthand accounts of legislators crouching under their chairs in gas masks or making contingency plans with their staff on how to weaponize items in the office, a law enforcement officer pleading with the mob as they debate whether to shoot him with his own gun, and journalists watching media equipment being piled up and burned, we get a glimpse into the disturbing anger and hatred that fueled this attack. When we decide that worthy goals justify any type of action, we lose some of our fundamental humanity. There is no clear path that takes those threatening the current leadership with a noose to leading a newly formed government that listens and governs fairly. Any system built on violence and fear will eventually crumble back to the foundations from which it came.
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