Poll of the Day > One thing I don't understand about the Jan 6 "Attack/Event" is

(+) Yeah! (+)

Why didn't they just open fire on them? They were, as a group, attacking a government building, an important one at that.

Honestly, I don't understand why the guards didn't open fire on them all. I believe thats what any other country would have done in that situation.

Staged event was staged.

Not enough ammo

Yeah. It almost seemed like they were waving them in or something.

people don't even like cops shooting armed suspects, they would throw a fit over that

hypnox posted...

Why didn't they just open fire on them? They were, as a group, attacking a government building, an important one at that.

Except they weren't "attacking a government building" anymore than any other recent US protest where a government building was stormed. Hell, during when rioters were setting police cars and whole police stations on fire, the government didn't open fire on rioters. Developed nations -- and even most developing nations -- don't do that because you just invite massive backlash. Activities like that escalate a conflict.

And the optics of the US shooting unarmed civilians would've been taken by every government in the world as a justification for using murder to suppress dissent. That's overlooking any international condemnation and sanctions the US would've received because shooting protestors is a very, very bad look.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing_of_Ashli_Babbitt

The_Viscount posted...

Except they weren't "attacking a government building" anymore than any other recent US protest where a government building was stormed. Hell, during when rioters were setting police cars and whole police stations on fire, the government didn't open fire on rioters. Developed nations -- and even most developing nations -- don't do that because you just invite massive backlash. Activities like that escalate a conflict.

And the optics of the US shooting unarmed civilians would've been taken by every government in the world as a justification for using murder to suppress dissent. That's overlooking any international condemnation and sanctions the US would've received because shooting protestors is a very, very bad look.

lol what a fucking shit post.

hypnox posted...

Why didn't they just open fire on them? They were, as a group, attacking a government building, an important one at that.

They did shoot some people, but it absolutely would have been a mistake to just spray the crowd with bullets for multiple reasons, not the least of which was that it was clearly unnecessary. That said, I do think they would have been justified if they had been more aggressive in in dealing with the aggressors, especially compared to some of the violence enacted during certain protests in the past and knowing in hindsight that several people in the crowd were very violent.

hypnox posted...

Why didn't they just open fire on them? They were, as a group, attacking a government building, an important one at that.

Honestly, I don't understand why the guards didn't open fire on them all. I believe thats what any other country would have done in that situation.

Because not all of them were armed.

Because the GOP controlled the actions of the police and National Guard and also planned the event so it'd be silly to kill the people you invited to riot

I think I was watching Destiny or someone like that when it all broke out, and at the beginning you see little old ladies with their hubbies just strolling through the Capitol building looking around like it's a museum. I think slaughtering a bunch of oldman wouldn't go over well to be honest. Surely not everyone was there for rioting.

Same reason they didnt open fire in Portland, Kenosha, Seattle.. ect

There was way more law enforcement on hand during those riots too, what gives?

The_Viscount posted...

Except they weren't "attacking a government building" anymore than any other recent US protest where a government building was stormed. Hell, during when rioters were setting police cars and whole police stations on fire, the government didn't open fire on rioters. Developed nations -- and even most developing nations -- don't do that because you just invite massive backlash. Activities like that escalate a conflict.

Yep, the Capitol building got off easy compared to some other Federal ones

https://youtu.be/x6AV-TQqgIc

JixHedgehog posted...

Same reason they didnt open fire in Portland, Kenosha, Seattle.. ect

There was way more law enforcement on hand during those riots too, what gives?

Yep, the Capitol building got off easy compared to some other Federal ones

Bro the seat of government was attacked and people died.

papercup posted...

Bro the seat of government was attacked and 1 person died.

Versus the 19 during the George Floyd riots alone https://www.forbes.com/sites/jemimamcevoy/2020/06/08/14-days-of-protests-19-dead/

Nice whataboutism. Now let's get back to the part where you don't seem to understand the Jan 6 terrorist attack was an assault on America.

papercup posted...

Nice whataboutism. Now let's get back to the part where you don't seem to understand the Jan 6 terrorist attack was an assault on America.

Here we go with the "isms"

I'm out.

Opening fire and killing many of the Jan 6th idiots might have, ironically, won the day for their "cause". It might have made the dead protesters martyrs and reversed the lesson learned from that day. Honestly, I think there is a small chance that democracy might have died that day (Trump would have been reinstated) if it turned into a bloodbath given that the protestors might have ended up with public emotion on their side. Probably not, but...it would have been even uglier than it was.

As events were unfolding I was honestly hoping the idiots would succeed in burning down a wing of the Capitol so long as there was no loss of life. The visual of a burned out Capitol would have been a permanent reminder of how deluded these people were and why we absolutely cannot tolerate their authoritarian crap. We can rebuild a building. Rebuilding a democracy is much harder.

Long story short: props to the capital police for their restraint in an impossible scenario. America needed to see who those people really were on a big stage, and that was it. Or at least I hope that was it...

JixHedgehog posted...

Versus the 19 during the George Floyd riots alone https://www.forbes.com/sites/jemimamcevoy/2020/06/08/14-days-of-protests-19-dead/

have you figured out who was president in 2008 yet

JixHedgehog posted...

Versus the 19 during the George Floyd riots alone https://www.forbes.com/sites/jemimamcevoy/2020/06/08/14-days-of-protests-19-dead/

Yes, law enforcement is far more comfortable gunning down minorities and people with disabilities fighting for civil rights. In other news, water is wet.

The solution to this is not to advocate for the gunning down of more dumbfuck Q-anoners. It's to condemn the gunning down of other groups.

JixHedgehog posted...

Here we go with the "isms"

I'm out.

lol of course the hypocrite runs away when people don't buy his both sides bull shit.

papercup posted...

Bro the seat of government was attacked and people died.

Time to make a memorial for the people that died.