Racism still alive at the Capitol riot

     As we start this week celebrating Martin Luther King as the non-violent civil rights hero and leading up to the inauguration we should remember that the racism that he fought against is still very much a cancer in the American fabric.  We may not have police with dogs and water cannons used against demonstrators like we saw in the 1960s but the symbols of racism were still very evident at the Capitol riot of January 6th.  The election of Obama brought the racism out under the cover of the Tea Party which used fiscal responsibility to hide its true racist beliefs.  The racists on the right have coalesced under their support for Trump, our racist president.  To understand today's racist symbols here is a description of each of the ones displayed on January 6th.

Noose and gallows

While a noose on its own is often used as a form of racial intimidation, the gallows were to suggest punishment for committing treason. It is suggesting that representatives and senators who vote to certify the election results, and possibly Vice President Pence, are committing treason and should be tried and hanged.

That treason rhetoric was seen on right-wing message boards in days leading up to the event.

Three Percenters flag

The Three Percenters (also known as III%ers, 3%ers or Threepers) are part of the militia movement in the United States and are anti-government extremists, according to the ADL.

Like others in the militia movement, Three Percenters view themselves as defending the American people against government tyranny.

"Because many adherents to the militia movement strongly support President Trump, in recent years, Three Percenters have not been as active in opposing the federal government, directing their ire at other perceived foes,including leftists/antifa, Muslims and immigrants," according to the ADL.

The group's name comes from an inaccurate claim that only three percent of the people in the colonies armed themselves and fought against the British during the Revolutionary War.

The flag seen above is their logo on the traditional Betsy Ross flag. Pitcavage says right-wing groups (mainstream or extreme), which think of themselves as patriotic, sometimes co-opt America's first flag.

"Release the Kraken" flag

The flag references former Trump lawyer Sidney Powell's comments that she was going to "release the Kraken." Powell falsely said she had evidence that would destroy the idea that Joe Biden won the presidency.

The "Kraken," a mammoth sea creature from Scandinavian folklore, has turned into a meme in circles that believe the election was stolen. The Kraken, they say, is a cache of evidence that there was widespread fraud. On social media, QAnon conspiracy and fringe sites #ReleaseTheKraken has been widely shared along with false theories of fraud.

The Oath Keepers and Three Percenters are two of the main right-wing militia groups in the US that were founded in the wake of Barack Obama’s 2008 election. “While [The Oath Keepers] claims only to be defending the Constitution, the entire organization is based on a set of baseless conspiracy theories about the federal government working to destroy the liberties of Americans,” according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.

The OK sign

The far right has co-opted the OK sign as a trolling gesture and, for some, as a symbol of white power. The ADLadded that symbol to its long-standing database of slogans and symbols used by extremists.

"Kekistan" flags

The green, white and black flag was created by some members of the 4chan online community to represent a made-up joke country named for "Kek," a fictional god they also created. It has long been present at right-wing and far-right rallies.

"The Kekistan flag is controversial because its design was partially derived from a Nazi-era flag; this was apparently done on purpose as a joke," Pitcavage explained. "Younger right-wingers coming from the 4chan subculture (both mainstream right and extreme right) often like to display the Kekistan flag at rallies and events."

Gadsden Flag

Flown by many protesters at the United States Capitol on January 6, the Gadsden flag has a design that is simple and graphic: a coiled rattlesnake on a yellow field with the text “Don’t Tread On Me”. But that simple design hides some important complexities, both historically and today, as it appears in rallies demanding US President Donald Trump be allowed to remain in office.

The flag originated well before the American Revolution, and in recent years it has been used by the tea party movement and, at times, members of the militia movement.

Confederate Battle Flag

During the American Civil War (1861–65), the Confederate States of America began to use its first flag, the Stars and Bars, on March 5, 1861. After the First Battle of Bull Run, when similarity between the Stars and Bars and the Union Stars and Stripes made it difficult for troops to distinguish friend from foe, Confederate commanders petitioned for a new flag. In November 1861 the first Confederate Battle Flags were issued. Although variations of the Battle Flag pattern were numerous and widespread, the most common design, known as the “Southern Cross,” featured a blue saltire (diagonal cross), trimmed with white, with 13 white stars—representing the 11 states of the Confederacy plus Missouri and Kentucky—on a field of red.

P.S.

       Martin Luther King "I have a Dream " speech