Off Center

In the aftermath of the... events in Washington, D.C. (and a couple of our own here in Washington State), yesterday a lot has been made of the idea that Black protesters would have been met with a much more organized and heavy-handed response than the Trumpistas who swarmed the Capitol building.

For many, it was simply more proof that the Administration, if not the entire System, is deeply and irretrievably racist. (Although perhaps "Racist" might be more to people's thinking. But as I thought about it, and the ever-present fears of "Middle America," it occurred to me that perhaps the problem is one of distance. And I suppose there are a number of ways in which the term "distance" is applicable, so explanations are in order.

Some time ago, I was talking to an old acquaintance of mine, who happens to be a Trump supporter, about the dueling protest movements afoot in the modern United States, and came to an interesting realization. In his eyes, even if the Proud Boys faction of the Trump movement were to win the day, and be able to remake the nation to its liking, I would not be much, if any worse off than I am now, despite not being White myself. On the other hand, he reasoned, were the forces of Black Lives Matter or Antifascism to win, he would find himself much worse off. Of course, I saw it nearly the opposite way, but what I realized from yesterday's news coverage was that perhaps the "center" of America lies closer to him, than to me.

I don't normally look to critics of something (or someone) when I want an accurate description, but how the protest movements spawned by the Left and the Right are viewed by their critics is telling. While many Right-wing activists are considered dupes of anti-democratic or anti-American interests in Russia, a common criticism of Left-wing activists is that they are knowing, active agents of that old hobgoblin, the international socialist/communist conspiracy. Likewise, while violence from the Right criticized as people allowing their anger to get the better of them, violent protest on the left if seen as the work of people who simply enjoy being violent, even if they're understood as not really being part of the broad protests in question.

And in the case of Black Lives Matter, there is the general current of fear that's always run somewhat beneath the surface. I don't think of myself as being a particularly threatening person, but I've learned that it's not good for me to suddenly be somewhere that I'm not expected to be, or just show up suddenly in someone's field of view.

To the degree that the "average American" perceives distance between their interests, and those of a given protest movement, they also see the protestors as being less American, and less... civilized than they otherwise might. And I think this results in more people understanding that there is room for them (and by extension, those they approve of) in the Perfect World of the "Right-Wing Protester" but they don't see a place for themselves in the Perfect World of the "Left-Wing Protester." This disconnect results in the greater impression of dangerous foreign influences and the impression that this is something that is directed at them, personally. And thusly, support for a harsher response to otherwise outwardly similar actions.

And while racism might factor into it, I suspect that it's more the bigotry of the person who sees difference as destiny, and is blind to the role of greater social forces in determining who is, and who is not, allowed to enter the club. If everything is the result of the choices of an individual, then looking at those results becomes a useful proxy for understanding a person's otherwise unseen behavior and character. In the end, I think that the difference is that Right-wing protesters ask less of society at large than Left-wing protestors do. There's less apology demanded, less contrition expected. Less of a price to paid. And so they are seen as less of a threat.