A Different Perspective on the Capitol Riot

I'm writing this for all of you who are feeling like I am - confused, shocked, and overwhelmed by all the information there is to process about the Capitol rioting on January 6, 2021. Here is what I do to help me see what is really happening. I start out by simplifying. Our Savior said, "By their fruits ye shall know them". This is where I start. I look just at the action, at what actually happened. The problem is that as a human being that is hard to do. I do have feelings, reactions, and past experiences which can so clutter my view and divert me onto other tracks that I can easily miss what the real issue is. 

Here is my thought process as I try to get a clearer view of what happened at the Capitol a few days ago (doesn't it seem longer!). I take Trump out of the picture. Yes, I know he was there and that is part of reality, but stay with me. Next, I thought of some Terrorist group and put them in the picture instead. The Al-Qaeda who attacked the twin towers in 9/11 was the group I chose. Now, I play the action and see what it looks like. This is what I saw. On some of it you will need to use a lot of imagination.

• The Al-Qaeda receives a permit to hold a rally close to our Nation's Capitol building. (I know this wouldn't happen. Would it?)
• The terrorist leader uses the social media to reach a vast group of the young, the gullible, those out of work, the discontented, and those eager to be a part of a "noble" cause, to invite them to a "history changing" rally.
• The persuasive and charismatic leader talks to his large group of followers for an hour telling them that they have a "just cause". (Actually, the terrorist leader, Osama bin Laden, did justify his actions saying that his supporters were involved in a "Holy War" to restore the "pure faith". He wanted to make the Muslim world "great again".)
• After this hour of preparing his followers for action, the terrorist leader gives them marching orders telling them to "fight like hell" at the U.S. Capitol building and "stop" the Congress from taking action which would thwart his goals.
• His followers, fired by a sense that they are "defending the right" and engaged in a "noble" cause, enthusiastically march over to the Capitol building. (or in the real case of the Al-Qaeda- they gave their lives to support "their cause" by crashing into the Twin Towers)
• The leader then retires to a safe area where he watches the action unfold. (In our case, our President, as some aides say "happily" watched the events from the safety and comfort of the White House. Of course the terrorist leaders never put themselves in any danger, but their followers' lives are of little concern to them. )
• At the Capitol building the terrorist group pushes past restraining gates and a few unarmed police to occupy the porches of the Capitol. (In our case, it was well known beforehand that several violent extremist groups would be in the crowd of supporters. These U.S. terrorist groups were also known to be using social media to direct their march on the Capitol.)
• After being allowed to remain on the Capitol porches for an hour, the terrorist group breaks into the Capitol building demanding to know the location of key leaders. (In our case they tried to find out the location of Vice President Pence for whom they had a gallows built, complete with noose, on the Capitol grounds. They also demanded to know the location of Speaker of the House Pelosi. Clubs, riot gear, and gas masks were used by the terrorist in their assault on our Capitol building. Bombs and guns were found nearby.)
• The few unarmed defending police and the Congressional leaders and staff flee. (In our case, though there were many supporters who just wanted to peacefully make their protest heard publicly, they still illegally went on Capitol building grounds and into the building, providing support and cover for the true terrorists. As one person who was there explained, she had done nothing wrong because she "just" walked onto the Capitol grounds because the gates "just happened" to be down and open. Another who went inside said that the door was open so he went inside where he enjoyed walking around for a while since he had never been in the Capitol building before. He soon got bored and left.)
• For three hours the terrorists are allowed to do whatever they want in our nation's Capitol building. They publicly post actions meant to humiliate and discredit our country. After they were finally forced out of the Capitol building, the damage is clear. They have "trashed" our nation's Capitol building. (In our case: "Rioters stormed the offices of Nancy Pelosi, flipping tables and ripping photos from walls; the office of the Senate Parliamentarian was ransacked; art was looted; and urine and feces were tracked into several hallways. Windows were smashed throughout the building, leaving the floor littered with glass and debris." see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_storming_of_the_United_States_Capitol  also laptops stolen )
• The leader did not tell his supporters, publicly at least, how to implement his call to "stop" the Congress, so he feels justified in saying that he has no responsibility for what this mob did for he had told them to avoid violence, and to be calm. He states that we "deserved" what happened because we are "evil" people. (In our case our President also justified this vandalizing of our Capitol and threat to the lives of our Congress people. It took me a while to see beyond his fiery rhetoric to figure out what he was really saying. In his tweets, he threatened that "These are the things and events that happen" when people (our "evil" Congress) do not do what he wants. What did he want? Our President wanted our Congress to "steal" the election from the majority of the voters and from the Electoral College and give the election to him.)

Well, I've had enough of this. This is a frightening view!