UNITED STATES—I am so over this, I am over people acting like January 6, 2021, did not transpire. This was a day that is etched in history, not to the degree of September 11, 2001, but the attack on the U.S. Capitol did transpire. That is a fact, not an opinion people. It feels like there are some people who want to forget that it ever happened or want to rewrite history as if the events of that day did not fully transpire.

It was all over the news people, it was what everyone was talking about the day after, it was plastered all over the newspapers, the radio stations talked about it and you will remember where you were when chaos erupted in a place that as an American you thought might be the most secure place in the country. I was actually working when the events on the U.S. Capitol unfolded. I saw a glimpse on the TV screen and then as I saw this mob head towards the Capitol Building I was glued to the screen.

I could not believe what I was witnessed, what seemed like protest of Donald Trump not being re-elected to the Presidency turned into a riot. Yes, it was a riot people and anyone who says otherwise has to take a hard look in the mirror. Security personal and Capitol officers were being attacked, windows were being broken, lives were being threatened, yes, people chanted wanting to hang Vice President Mike Pence, and the floor in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives were stormed by these insurgents, rioters, protestors, whatever you want to call them.

Could I speak for the members of Congress and what they were feeling and enduring at this time? No. I’m sure some might have been scared wondering what was going on and why they were being ushered to a save spot in the building which was under attack. When you have people just storm a building wearing memorabilia and looking to cause harm you cannot call that a peaceful protest, especially when windows are broken, cops are being assaulted and people died as a result.

Yes, several officers were killed as a result of what transpired on January 6 and I recall seeing multiple news outlets tout that woman who was a supporter of former President Donald Trump who was fatally shot, as if she was innocent. You broke into a U.S. Capitol building how could people not think something unexpected like shootings would not transpire. I mean people were found with zip ties! Who needs zip ties if it’s a peaceful protest? That is a sign something was planned people; harm was expected to transpire.

If you partake in a protest, it is very possible things will get violent cause you always have bad apples in the bunch and all it takes is one people. Long gone are the days of the 1960s where the focus was on civilized protest aimed at pushing non-violence led by the great Martin Luther King Jr. We don’t have that anymore. There are going to be people chatting about the Black Lives Matter movements, and guess what there was plenty of violence on that front and destruction of landmarks that transpired that should NOT have occurred and people should be held accountable for that as well. You don’t fight violence with violence and you can’t fight an outcome that you don’t like with violence. You never win that way America, it never happens.

You cannot just go do stupid stuff and think there will NOT be consequences for your actions. Rather you’re trying to make a political statement or not, if you commit a crime you have to be punished that is the law, no matter what political side of the rope you stand on. We live in a world where we like to pick and choose what we consider right and what we consider wrong. The world does not function that way people! Right is right, wrong is wrong. When you see something wrong transpire, you need to call it out.

Written By Zoe Mitchell