WEBVTT 00:00:16.770 --> 00:00:28.291 USA! USA! USA! 00:00:28.881 --> 00:00:31.993 Here in defiance of tyranny, 00:00:34.311 --> 00:00:37.014 you've come to fight as free men. 00:00:39.080 --> 00:00:41.804 And free men you are. 00:00:44.155 --> 00:00:45.822 What will you do with that freedom? 00:00:45.822 --> 00:00:46.786 I have no idea. 00:00:46.786 --> 00:00:48.237 I took my teeth out. 00:00:48.237 --> 00:00:51.604 I'm not one to usually take pictures of myself, but in this case I think I'll make an exception. 00:01:09.066 --> 00:01:10.384 Oh hello. 00:01:10.384 --> 00:01:14.374 Welcome to System Fail, the show where 'questionable life choice' 00:01:14.374 --> 00:01:15.950 begins with the letter Q. 00:01:15.950 --> 00:01:19.510 2020's been an outstanding year for the Q movement, 00:01:19.510 --> 00:01:22.710 we've never had more support as we have, y'know, this year 00:01:22.710 --> 00:01:24.786 with the COVID and you know, 00:01:24.786 --> 00:01:26.889 being forced to do things that are unconstitutional 00:01:26.889 --> 00:01:28.152 like wearing masks. 00:01:28.152 --> 00:01:34.055 The pro-Trump conspiracy cult QAnon believed there would be a coup on inauguration day. 00:01:34.055 --> 00:01:38.119 According to QAnons the inauguration was an elaborate trap 00:01:38.119 --> 00:01:42.389 set by president Trump to round up and execute Democrats. 00:01:42.389 --> 00:01:46.525 If he doesn't declare martial law, then I will feel like my vote no longer counts. 00:01:46.525 --> 00:01:49.280 He's boarding Marine 1! WOOO! 00:01:49.280 --> 00:01:51.820 He's on his way! He's on his way! 00:01:51.820 --> 00:01:53.488 Obviously that did not happen. 00:01:53.488 --> 00:01:57.859 And I literally was just walking around like... what now? 00:01:57.859 --> 00:01:59.590 Bye bye Q. I can't talk to you anymore. 00:01:59.590 --> 00:02:01.030 Jesus, Lord help me. 00:02:01.030 --> 00:02:02.740 I am your host Dee Dos, 00:02:02.740 --> 00:02:05.430 and as my lazy human producers were wrapping up 00:02:05.430 --> 00:02:07.425 their annual Winter Solstice break, 00:02:07.425 --> 00:02:10.666 I find holiday traditions to be deeply despotic. 00:02:10.666 --> 00:02:14.080 strange reports began coming in from Washington DC. 00:02:14.080 --> 00:02:16.840 - Breaking news at this hour. - It is hard to put into words. 00:02:16.840 --> 00:02:19.660 - The terrifying scenes... - ...unimaginable scenes and violence 00:02:19.660 --> 00:02:22.200 - ... thousands storming the Capitol - ... overrun police 00:02:22.200 --> 00:02:23.038 - they're inside 00:02:23.038 --> 00:02:27.400 In the weeks since the short-lived Capitol Hill Authoritarian Zone, 00:02:27.400 --> 00:02:32.110 the Internet has produced a wide range of analysis, commentary, and hot takes. 00:02:32.110 --> 00:02:36.371 So I woke up and the U.S. is literally being coup'd. This is a coup right now! 00:02:36.371 --> 00:02:38.760 Did the Simpsons predict the storming of the Capitol? 00:02:38.760 --> 00:02:40.650 Smash that like button and let's get into it! 00:02:40.650 --> 00:02:43.123 So before I add my humble assessment, 00:02:43.123 --> 00:02:46.702 perhaps we should rewind and take another look at what happened. 00:02:53.960 --> 00:02:57.705 On January 6th, members of the United States Congress convened 00:02:57.705 --> 00:02:59.750 to formally certify the votes 00:02:59.750 --> 00:03:04.800 submitted by the country’s arcane, 18th-Century, electoral college system. 00:03:04.800 --> 00:03:10.260 This dry and antiquated ritual usually passes without much scrutiny. 00:03:10.260 --> 00:03:12.971 But with the outgoing president, Donald Trump, 00:03:12.971 --> 00:03:15.500 stubbornly refusing to concede the election, 00:03:15.500 --> 00:03:19.956 the event was pitched as a final opportunity for his most hardcore supporters 00:03:19.956 --> 00:03:22.824 to intervene and, “stop the steal.” 00:03:22.824 --> 00:03:27.210 The President is now telling his supporters that he also wants them in the streets, 00:03:27.210 --> 00:03:29.670 in Washington on January 6th, 00:03:29.670 --> 00:03:33.460 saying on Twitter: "Be there, will be wild!" 00:03:33.460 --> 00:03:37.310 Thousands of supporters from all across the country heeded Trump’s call 00:03:37.310 --> 00:03:41.350 and descended on DC to make their final stand. 00:03:41.350 --> 00:03:43.730 And after some soon-to-be incriminating speeches, 00:03:43.730 --> 00:03:46.618 We're gonna walk down to the Capitol... 00:03:48.448 --> 00:03:50.659 Let's have trial by combat! 00:03:50.659 --> 00:03:54.220 the mob began to march from the White House to the Capitol building. 00:03:54.220 --> 00:03:57.130 We can take that place! 00:03:57.130 --> 00:03:59.160 And then do what? 00:03:59.160 --> 00:04:00.220 Heads on pikes!!! 00:04:00.220 --> 00:04:04.020 Shortly after they arrived, the MAGA vanguard began to clash 00:04:04.020 --> 00:04:07.342 with a surprisingly small contingent of DC Capitol Police. 00:04:09.920 --> 00:04:13.290 Reinforcements were soon called in, but the surging crowd 00:04:13.290 --> 00:04:15.470 overwhelmed them with a pincer attack, 00:04:15.470 --> 00:04:19.480 breaching the Capitol Building’s outer security perimeter in two locations, 00:04:19.480 --> 00:04:22.180 and then smashing their way into the building itself. 00:04:24.310 --> 00:04:25.529 WOOO! 00:04:25.529 --> 00:04:27.099 Let's go, let's go! ! 00:04:27.799 --> 00:04:29.069 Aaaargh 00:04:29.069 --> 00:04:34.729 Within this motley crew of QAnon cultists, white nationalists, neo-nazis, 00:04:34.729 --> 00:04:38.799 and other ride-or-die Trump supporters, 00:04:38.799 --> 00:04:42.689 there was a significant number of militia members dressed in tactical gear, 00:04:42.689 --> 00:04:47.120 as well as dozens of both active duty and former police officers 00:04:47.120 --> 00:04:49.480 and members of the US military. 00:04:49.480 --> 00:04:52.760 Their presence, and the discovery of explosive devices 00:04:52.760 --> 00:04:55.529 at the Republican and Democratic headquarters, 00:04:55.529 --> 00:04:58.919 lent a semblance of tactical proficiency and premeditation 00:04:58.919 --> 00:05:01.789 to what was otherwise a surreal gong show 00:05:01.789 --> 00:05:05.216 that looked something like a bizzaro anti-globalization demo 00:05:05.216 --> 00:05:07.515 crossed with a riotous frat party. 00:05:07.667 --> 00:05:09.168 - GO! - Whose house?! 00:05:09.168 --> 00:05:11.372 -USAAAAAA! - Yeah! 00:05:11.372 --> 00:05:13.968 Woo! 00:05:13.968 --> 00:05:14.862 We respect the law! 00:05:14.862 --> 00:05:17.440 We were normal, good, law abiding citizens. 00:05:17.440 --> 00:05:18.871 You guys did this to us! 00:05:19.800 --> 00:05:22.554 As the crowd made their way towards the Senate chambers 00:05:22.554 --> 00:05:24.119 and the House of Representatives, 00:05:24.119 --> 00:05:28.772 the secret service and DC Capitol Police sprung into action. 00:05:28.772 --> 00:05:31.989 Vice President Mike Pence and the Senate and House leadership 00:05:31.989 --> 00:05:34.219 were spirited off to safety. 00:05:34.219 --> 00:05:37.587 Less important politicians hid under their seats, 00:05:37.587 --> 00:05:40.642 waiting for their own armed escorts to arrive, 00:05:41.802 --> 00:05:46.387 while shrieking congressional staffers barricaded themselves in empty offices. 00:05:46.867 --> 00:05:47.408 Ahhhhhh! 00:05:49.621 --> 00:05:50.621 [whimpering] 00:05:50.870 --> 00:05:53.804 It’s a safe bet that many pairs of khakis, 00:05:53.804 --> 00:05:57.303 and a good number of Brooks Brothers and Georgio Armani powersuits 00:05:57.303 --> 00:05:58.319 were soiled that day. 00:05:58.319 --> 00:06:00.559 And as you can see, we have a bit of poop. 00:06:00.559 --> 00:06:05.283 As they were being evacuated, a number of sweaty, geriatric legislators 00:06:05.283 --> 00:06:09.310 hastily donned the so-called ‘escape hoods’ located under their seats. 00:06:13.180 --> 00:06:17.080 Turns out they’re only opposed to PPE when it comes to 00:06:17.080 --> 00:06:19.880 providing it to front-line workers and prisoners. 00:06:20.400 --> 00:06:25.080 Some of the most surreal scenes took place after the war criminals had been evacuated, 00:06:25.080 --> 00:06:27.328 Heeeeyyy! 00:06:27.842 --> 00:06:32.404 and small groups of Trump supporters were left to wander around the Senate, 00:06:33.589 --> 00:06:34.723 rifle through papers, 00:06:34.723 --> 00:06:38.880 There's gotta be somethings in here we can fucking use against these scumbags. 00:06:38.880 --> 00:06:41.201 and even hold an impromptu prayer circle. 00:06:41.201 --> 00:06:44.935 Thank you divine omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent creator God, 00:06:44.935 --> 00:06:47.658 for filling this chamber with your white light of love. 00:06:47.658 --> 00:06:48.758 Amen! 00:06:49.048 --> 00:06:51.838 Thank you for allowing us to get rid of the Communists, the Globalists 00:06:51.838 --> 00:06:53.813 and the traitors within our government. 00:06:53.813 --> 00:06:56.513 We love you and we thank you. In Christ's holy name we pray! 00:06:56.513 --> 00:06:57.930 AMEN! 00:07:04.768 --> 00:07:09.426 When the smoke, tear gas, and homemade bear mace had finally cleared, 00:07:09.426 --> 00:07:11.379 five people were dead. 00:07:11.379 --> 00:07:15.479 This included Brian Sicknick, a DC Capitol Police officer, 00:07:15.479 --> 00:07:17.190 and ardent Trump supporter 00:07:17.190 --> 00:07:19.742 who was bludgeoned to death by a fire extinguisher. 00:07:20.270 --> 00:07:21.899 Oh shit! 00:07:23.794 --> 00:07:27.731 Benjamin Phillips, who died of an unspecified ‘medical emergency’ 00:07:27.731 --> 00:07:30.399 was the inventor and founder of Trumparoo. 00:07:30.399 --> 00:07:33.079 Trumparoo was a kangaroo dressed as Trump. 00:07:33.079 --> 00:07:35.479 Phillips sold the stuffed animals at rallies. 00:07:35.479 --> 00:07:37.830 That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. 00:07:37.830 --> 00:07:42.300 US Air Force veteran and zealous QAnon adherent, Ashli Babbitt, 00:07:42.300 --> 00:07:46.379 was shot in the throat while attempting to storm the House of Representatives. 00:07:46.379 --> 00:07:48.796 - There's a gun! - Yeah he's got a gun! 00:07:50.749 --> 00:07:52.339 Oh shit! 00:07:52.339 --> 00:07:54.449 It coulda been me, but she went in first. 00:07:54.449 --> 00:07:58.550 Rosanne Boyland was trampled to death on the steps of the capitol, 00:07:58.550 --> 00:08:04.379 after being photographed earlier in the day waving a flag that read ‘don’t tread on me’. 00:08:04.379 --> 00:08:05.883 [singing] Isn't it ironic? 00:08:05.883 --> 00:08:11.392 And rumor has it, Kevin Greeson died after fatally tasering himself in the balls. 00:08:11.392 --> 00:08:15.269 Trump'll come to get er done, man! Trump'll come for dat wall. 00:08:15.269 --> 00:08:19.415 The guv'nment come for yer guns, man. The guv'nment come for your balls! 00:08:19.415 --> 00:08:20.525 MAGA hat 00:08:20.525 --> 00:08:21.475 ball zap 00:08:21.475 --> 00:08:22.360 cardiac 00:08:22.360 --> 00:08:23.406 heart attack. 00:08:23.406 --> 00:08:31.503 MAGA hat, ball zap, cardiac, heart attack. 00:08:31.503 --> 00:08:33.351 Truly, patriots all. 00:08:35.904 --> 00:08:39.000 The media and members of the political establishment 00:08:39.000 --> 00:08:40.707 were quick to condemn the violence. 00:08:40.707 --> 00:08:42.150 This is the most shocking... 00:08:42.150 --> 00:08:43.111 Crazy... Shameful... 00:08:43.111 --> 00:08:44.640 Ridiculous... Hard to fathom... 00:08:44.640 --> 00:08:45.755 Sad day for America... 00:08:45.755 --> 00:08:48.425 A grave breach of its democratic traditions... 00:08:48.425 --> 00:08:49.275 Yeah I was mad as hell. 00:08:49.275 --> 00:08:52.660 Unsurprisingly, many of the initial headlines 00:08:52.660 --> 00:08:54.220 and shocked tweets 00:08:54.220 --> 00:08:56.840 denounced the chaos in the capitol as anarchy. 00:08:56.840 --> 00:08:58.810 These are not protests. This is anarchy. 00:08:58.810 --> 00:09:00.050 Infantile anarchy. 00:09:00.050 --> 00:09:02.610 - Anarchy. - What happened is nothing short of anarchy. 00:09:02.610 --> 00:09:07.731 One Democratic politician even went so far as to describe the attackers as: 00:09:07.731 --> 00:09:09.180 “Trump’s anarchists.” 00:09:09.180 --> 00:09:11.810 [Sighing] You don't know what you're talking about do you? 00:09:11.810 --> 00:09:15.090 It wasn’t long before liberals began evoking 9/11, 00:09:15.090 --> 00:09:19.368 and referring to the people who stormed the capitol as domestic terrorists. 00:09:19.368 --> 00:09:23.750 Don't dare call them protesters. They were a riotous mob. 00:09:23.750 --> 00:09:26.430 - Goons and thugs. - Scum of the earth. 00:09:26.430 --> 00:09:30.120 - Domestic terrorists. - Domestic terrorists. 00:09:30.120 --> 00:09:32.610 Domestic terrorists. It's that simple. 00:09:32.610 --> 00:09:36.450 Democratic strategists seized on the events to further their efforts 00:09:36.450 --> 00:09:39.250 to whitewash and recuperate the Black-led uprisings 00:09:39.250 --> 00:09:42.250 of the previous spring and summer. 00:09:42.627 --> 00:09:46.840 Comparisons were repeatedly drawn between the illegitimate violence at the capitol 00:09:46.840 --> 00:09:48.783 and the so-called ‘peaceful protests’ 00:09:48.783 --> 00:09:51.903 that took place after the police murder of George Floyd. 00:09:51.903 --> 00:10:03.610 [singing] Supposing we said it didn't happen. Didn't happen at all. 00:10:03.610 --> 00:10:07.610 The 14,000 strong National Association of Manufacturers 00:10:07.610 --> 00:10:09.980 led a chorus of lobbyists and business leaders 00:10:09.980 --> 00:10:11.310 in condemning the violence. 00:10:11.310 --> 00:10:14.395 We have seen regimes in Europe that were unstable 00:10:14.395 --> 00:10:16.680 and those who spoke out were hounded or killed. 00:10:17.220 --> 00:10:18.594 That's a real risk to the market. 00:10:18.594 --> 00:10:23.345 Visa’s CEO, Alfred F Kelly Jr, released a statement 00:10:23.345 --> 00:10:26.130 assuring the shocked and traumatized nation 00:10:26.130 --> 00:10:30.700 that the credit card company stood “100% behind the results of the election.” 00:10:30.700 --> 00:10:32.780 Visa chec- Oops. 00:10:32.780 --> 00:10:36.210 Billionaire Republican megadonor, Sheldon Adelson, 00:10:36.210 --> 00:10:38.287 was so upset that he dropped dead. 00:10:39.280 --> 00:10:43.300 Twitter and Facebook banned Donald Trump’s social media accounts 00:10:43.300 --> 00:10:46.840 and implemented a further purge of influential QAnon profiles, 00:10:46.840 --> 00:10:50.120 Twitter announcing it has purged more than 70 000 accounts 00:10:50.120 --> 00:10:53.130 for sharing harmful QAnon associated content. 00:10:53.130 --> 00:10:56.480 while Amazon, Apple and Google banded together 00:10:56.480 --> 00:10:59.750 to bring down right-wing social media network, Parler. 00:10:59.750 --> 00:11:00.980 - [French] Parler. - What? 00:11:00.980 --> 00:11:04.371 -Par-ler. -Is there an American nearby? 00:11:04.371 --> 00:11:08.807 Meanwhile, joining the progressive tech billionaires of Silicon Valley 00:11:08.807 --> 00:11:11.210 and the CEO of Visa, 00:11:11.210 --> 00:11:14.590 a soberingly-large number of self-described radicals 00:11:14.950 --> 00:11:19.540 used the umbrella of anti-fascism to justify cooperating with the FBI 00:11:19.540 --> 00:11:22.090 - That's snitching. You know what I mean? -Yeah 00:11:22.090 --> 00:11:26.060 while bemoaning the fascist attack on the sanctity of American democracy. 00:11:26.060 --> 00:11:30.247 Fence sitting as far as I'm concerned is aiding and abetting terrorism. 00:11:30.247 --> 00:11:33.337 It's pretty cringe. It's pretty cringe. 00:11:33.337 --> 00:11:37.490 This drives home the increased dangers that anarchists and abolitionists 00:11:37.490 --> 00:11:41.680 can expect to face under a Biden-Harris administration. 00:11:41.680 --> 00:11:45.940 Those currently cheering on Joe Biden as some sort of anti-fascist hero 00:11:45.940 --> 00:11:49.770 seem quite happy to ignore the fact that he was the primary author 00:11:49.770 --> 00:11:51.560 of the USA PATRIOT Act. 00:11:51.560 --> 00:11:55.710 Just to set the record straight, almost the same thing that got passed, 00:11:55.710 --> 00:11:59.750 the Patriot Act, was introduced by me in 1994. 00:11:59.750 --> 00:12:04.060 And it was the right wing that defeated it. You guys tried to help get it passed. 00:12:04.060 --> 00:12:08.656 Encouraged by the universal outrage towards the debacle in DC, 00:12:08.656 --> 00:12:12.530 he has already announced plans to pass a new anti-terrorism bill, 00:12:13.420 --> 00:12:18.640 and promised to clamp down on so-called domestic violent extremism - or DVE. 00:12:18.640 --> 00:12:22.390 Coordinating relevant parts of the federal government efforts to address DVE 00:12:22.390 --> 00:12:26.510 will focus on evolving threats, radicalization, the role of social media, 00:12:26.510 --> 00:12:29.184 opportunities to improve information sharing, 00:12:29.184 --> 00:12:32.350 operational responses and more. 00:12:32.350 --> 00:12:37.190 We can safely assume that they're not just talking about QAnon and the Proud Boys. 00:12:37.190 --> 00:12:39.203 Peaceful protesters should be protected 00:12:39.203 --> 00:12:41.660 and arsonists and anarchists should be prosecuted. 00:12:41.660 --> 00:12:45.100 Local law enforcement can do that. And it can be done today. 00:12:45.810 --> 00:12:49.330 As for the far-right, at this stage it is too soon to see 00:12:49.330 --> 00:12:51.250 what the long-term effects will be. 00:12:51.950 --> 00:12:55.350 Once Trump realized the trouble he’d gotten himself into, 00:12:55.350 --> 00:12:58.610 he immediately and predictably threw his supporters under the bus. 00:12:58.610 --> 00:13:02.510 To those who engaged in the acts of violence and destruction, 00:13:02.510 --> 00:13:05.129 you do not represent our country. 00:13:05.129 --> 00:13:08.200 And to those who broke the law... you will pay. 00:13:08.200 --> 00:13:11.390 What an idiot. I thought that guy was cool. 00:13:11.390 --> 00:13:14.240 This was followed by a collective suspension of reality, 00:13:14.240 --> 00:13:17.050 in which parts of Trump’s fractured base 00:13:17.050 --> 00:13:21.310 began claiming that the attack was a psy-op carried out by antifascists. 00:13:21.310 --> 00:13:25.660 I feel it was uh, people like Antifa, Black Lives Matter, 00:13:25.660 --> 00:13:27.650 who infiltrated the crowd. 00:13:27.650 --> 00:13:29.840 Of course none of that is true. 00:13:29.840 --> 00:13:32.260 What we saw in the Capitol Building is your A-team. 00:13:32.260 --> 00:13:35.970 On the pie chart that I've shown you before, that's your tiny sliver, 00:13:35.970 --> 00:13:38.200 that's your special forces of antiffa. 00:13:38.200 --> 00:13:40.690 They know exactly what they're doing. They're well trained. 00:13:40.690 --> 00:13:45.250 They've got the statements ready to say, y'know, "she's dead", that sort of thing. 00:13:46.443 --> 00:13:51.030 Many of those arrested following their brazen, mask-free actions at the capitol 00:13:51.030 --> 00:13:54.307 will be happy to give evidence against their co-accused, 00:13:54.307 --> 00:13:56.355 in order to lessen their own sentences. 00:13:56.355 --> 00:13:57.665 Informant! 00:13:57.665 --> 00:14:00.810 This is already leading to more high profile arrests, 00:14:00.810 --> 00:14:03.340 and could lead to the cannibalization and breaking up 00:14:03.340 --> 00:14:08.190 of a number of far-right, fascist and white nationalist organizations altogether. 00:14:10.300 --> 00:14:14.234 Despite this, it seems clear that the attack on the Capitol building 00:14:14.234 --> 00:14:18.492 will push many disillusioned QAnon followers and Trump supporters 00:14:18.492 --> 00:14:21.287 even further down the path of radicalization. 00:14:23.172 --> 00:14:26.690 And what comes from that is certain to be very ugly indeed. 00:14:26.690 --> 00:14:31.680 We're talking about a groundswell that is decades, if not generations old. 00:14:32.850 --> 00:14:37.250 I think it would be a mistake to overly think that this is about president Trump. 00:14:37.250 --> 00:14:40.771 At the end of the day I don't think that the president has the power 00:14:40.771 --> 00:14:44.001 to command this groundswell. Or to call it off. 00:14:44.001 --> 00:14:46.510 Have a good life. We will see you soon. 00:14:46.510 --> 00:14:51.140 To learn more about what went down, I recently caught up with anarchist organizer, 00:14:51.140 --> 00:14:56.570 radical emcee, and member of the Maroon Movement and the Food Clothing and Resistance collective, 00:14:56.570 --> 00:14:57.570 Sima Lee. 00:14:58.570 --> 00:15:00.291 Hey Sima, how’s it going? 00:15:00.291 --> 00:15:03.830 Just trying to keep mellow in the time of cholera. Heh. 00:15:03.830 --> 00:15:05.960 I hear that cannabis can help with that. 00:15:05.960 --> 00:15:07.593 Shit. Haha. 00:15:07.654 --> 00:15:10.930 What’s your take on what happened in DC on January sixth? 00:15:11.240 --> 00:15:15.372 My initial take was, oh shit so they're going for it huh? 00:15:16.570 --> 00:15:20.430 It was something that we saw coming and actually were just surprised 00:15:20.430 --> 00:15:22.400 that it took so long to manifest. 00:15:23.250 --> 00:15:25.890 These clashes, especially in Washington, DC 00:15:25.890 --> 00:15:27.870 in the streets of Washington, DC, 00:15:27.870 --> 00:15:30.270 but across the country we watched these groups spring up. 00:15:30.270 --> 00:15:32.720 I mean we saw the confederate flags out there. 00:15:32.720 --> 00:15:35.430 We saw the three percenters out there. 00:15:35.430 --> 00:15:40.730 There was some of the same faces that we've been seeing - some of them for decades. 00:15:40.730 --> 00:15:43.200 And so this isn't a shocker. 00:15:43.200 --> 00:15:45.550 And we know they don't give a damn about the police. 00:15:45.550 --> 00:15:47.480 We know they did that to antagonize us 00:15:47.480 --> 00:15:50.820 so it was no surprise to us that they would clash with the police 00:15:50.820 --> 00:15:53.630 or anyone else to get their point across 00:15:53.630 --> 00:15:56.580 that they're trying to take it back to the good old days. 00:15:56.580 --> 00:16:00.970 They brought that gallows and that noose and it said more about 00:16:00.970 --> 00:16:04.967 how they feel about us, I feel, more so than those politicians. 00:16:04.967 --> 00:16:09.469 So we watched it like, okay, we've been waiting to see them 00:16:09.469 --> 00:16:14.150 come out and say who they really are as a group, collectively and take a stand 00:16:14.150 --> 00:16:19.110 and so there, they did it. And it is what it is. 00:16:19.110 --> 00:16:23.580 All the contradictions of our 400 year empire is coming to head. 00:16:23.580 --> 00:16:27.810 And it's coming to a head right in the nation's capitol, right in Rome. 00:16:27.810 --> 00:16:31.100 Us as anti-fascists, we stepped back, we watched that shit 00:16:31.100 --> 00:16:33.760 and we prepare what we have to do for our communities. 00:16:33.760 --> 00:16:36.410 You lived and organized in DC for years. 00:16:36.410 --> 00:16:40.569 What are your thoughts on the police response to the storming of the capitol building, 00:16:40.569 --> 00:16:43.940 and how does it compare to you and your comrades' own experiences 00:16:43.940 --> 00:16:46.530 with the DC Metro and Capitol police? 00:16:46.530 --> 00:16:52.020 Yeah we never had any lighthearted interactions with the police. 00:16:52.020 --> 00:16:54.200 it was always heavy handed, abusive. 00:16:54.200 --> 00:16:57.330 I mean anybody who's been paying attention these last few months, 00:16:57.330 --> 00:17:02.128 you've seen the heavy handedness of the state against anyone. 00:17:02.128 --> 00:17:05.598 You don't even have to damage buildings as a lot of people like to say, 00:17:05.598 --> 00:17:08.859 "well this is about property damage and protecting property" 00:17:08.859 --> 00:17:10.630 - a lot of people weren't even bothering property. 00:17:10.630 --> 00:17:14.990 They were just taking their ability to gather with their own communities 00:17:14.990 --> 00:17:17.969 to speak about what they wanted. And they were beaten 00:17:17.969 --> 00:17:20.670 and had chunks of their foreheads knocked out. 00:17:20.670 --> 00:17:23.160 There's whole groups of people now without eyes. 00:17:23.550 --> 00:17:28.276 We've been having to deal with not just the so-called white supremacists, 00:17:28.276 --> 00:17:31.630 but the white supremacists of the police department as well. 00:17:31.630 --> 00:17:34.600 It's been an attack against the movement. 00:17:34.600 --> 00:17:38.110 Not just the so-called Black Lives Matter movement, because not all Black people 00:17:38.110 --> 00:17:41.110 identify with that term or that movement. 00:17:41.110 --> 00:17:45.340 But that Black Liberation movement, it's been under attack 00:17:45.340 --> 00:17:47.850 in Washington DC in particular. 00:17:47.850 --> 00:17:51.040 So many munitions dumped, so much tear gas. 00:17:51.040 --> 00:17:54.560 We don't know the long term effects this is gonna have on our comrades. 00:17:54.560 --> 00:17:59.840 And so to see them be so gentle and kind and considerate, 00:17:59.840 --> 00:18:02.820 it didn't make us feel a certain way other than, yeah 00:18:02.820 --> 00:18:05.300 it acknowledged what we've been saying all along. 00:18:05.300 --> 00:18:09.940 That the police state is the implementation of white nationalism and white supremacy. 00:18:09.940 --> 00:18:12.540 And it doesn't matter if it's a Black cop, a Brown cop,, 00:18:12.540 --> 00:18:17.150 all police, they're all in it together with the citizens. 00:18:17.150 --> 00:18:20.320 What are your thoughts on the response to this attack from liberals 00:18:20.320 --> 00:18:23.080 and other segments of the American left? 00:18:23.080 --> 00:18:29.530 People's reaction to white supremacists gathering at the home of white supremacy, 00:18:29.530 --> 00:18:33.460 clashing with each other, it's just been really odd and it's been off. 00:18:33.460 --> 00:18:36.500 You know I expect the liberals to be, y'know 00:18:36.500 --> 00:18:40.570 "muh country, muh flag, muh people, muh capitol, muh politicians," y'know? 00:18:40.570 --> 00:18:42.500 I expect that from liberals. 00:18:42.500 --> 00:18:46.430 And I don't give a damn how liberals or how conservatives take things. 00:18:46.430 --> 00:18:54.350 I'm looking at how, you know, so-called leftists are repeating the words of the state. 00:18:54.350 --> 00:18:58.490 Are looking for help from feds who have been crushing us. 00:18:58.490 --> 00:19:02.280 My comrades have been getting visits, y'know, at their jobs, 00:19:02.280 --> 00:19:05.160 at their homes, snatched out of their cars. 00:19:05.160 --> 00:19:10.100 Y'know, we know what it feels like to get raided by the Metropolitan Police Department 00:19:10.100 --> 00:19:12.280 with guns and dogs. 00:19:12.280 --> 00:19:15.491 We know what that feels like. I know what that feels like. 00:19:15.491 --> 00:19:20.126 To have an AR in my face, in a house full of police. 00:19:20.126 --> 00:19:24.840 To be watched and observed. To have friends black bagged and kidnapped. 00:19:25.780 --> 00:19:28.880 So my comrades aren't reacting in that manner, but other people 00:19:28.880 --> 00:19:34.776 that I know and that I'm affiliated with, I'm seeing people not be able to accept 00:19:34.776 --> 00:19:40.710 that we're not going to get any real assistance from our actual enemies. 00:19:40.710 --> 00:19:42.520 You know people all talk about abolitionism 00:19:42.520 --> 00:19:46.840 that's not just about abolishing prison. It's about abolishing the entire state, 00:19:46.840 --> 00:19:50.730 the entire apparatus, the entire empire. It has to go. 00:19:50.730 --> 00:19:52.620 So some people are like, "Well what are you saying? 00:19:52.620 --> 00:19:54.620 You don't want fash to go to jail?" 00:19:54.620 --> 00:19:57.430 Aren't we trying to eradicate all of this? 00:19:57.430 --> 00:20:00.540 All of it! We're trying to eradicate all of it. 00:20:01.440 --> 00:20:04.570 We're gonna have to find out what we're gonna do with 00:20:04.570 --> 00:20:07.920 the people who are making our live so horrible. 00:20:07.920 --> 00:20:13.530 But I can tell you what we're not going to do is start dealing with the feds. 00:20:13.530 --> 00:20:17.110 Like people can quote Assata and still love the feds?? 00:20:17.520 --> 00:20:19.100 When they're after her again? 00:20:19.100 --> 00:20:22.150 The same people who killed thirty plus Panthers? 00:20:22.150 --> 00:20:26.550 Sundiata Acoli is still in jail right now, celebrating his birthday 00:20:26.550 --> 00:20:30.800 and Maroon, and Mutlu, and on and on and on. 00:20:30.800 --> 00:20:33.640 So we don't work with the feds. We don't cheer on the feds. 00:20:33.640 --> 00:20:37.660 We don't cheer on new laws that will be used against our communities. 00:20:37.660 --> 00:20:40.390 They will pretend that it's going to go against the white supremacists 00:20:40.390 --> 00:20:42.200 and it always goes against us. 00:20:42.200 --> 00:20:46.380 So it's disheartening to see people debating, you know, what to call this 00:20:46.380 --> 00:20:51.162 and "it wasn't really an insurgency, it was just a minor..." - it was what it was. 00:20:51.162 --> 00:20:53.502 It's what it has been for four hundred years. 00:20:54.182 --> 00:20:57.490 Sometimes they clash amongst each other, the elite, 00:20:57.490 --> 00:20:59.640 the white supremacists, the foot soldiers. 00:20:59.640 --> 00:21:02.090 But it always blows back against us. 00:21:02.090 --> 00:21:05.230 We can never cheer them on. Ever. 00:21:06.620 --> 00:21:09.630 And it's just kind of disappointing and it seems like, 00:21:09.630 --> 00:21:12.290 I don't know what is going on with the Left in North America, 00:21:12.290 --> 00:21:14.380 but they really need to get it together. 00:21:14.380 --> 00:21:18.589 And they need to re-analyze what they feel abolition and autonomy really is. 00:21:18.589 --> 00:21:21.260 Because it's definitely not cheering on the state. 00:21:21.260 --> 00:21:22.880 Anything else you’d like to add? 00:21:22.880 --> 00:21:28.190 This movement that we are in in 2021, it cannot look like it has in the past. 00:21:28.190 --> 00:21:32.100 The critiques of the white leftists from Black, Brown, Indigenous people, 00:21:32.100 --> 00:21:35.649 from queer, from trans, gender nonconforming, nonbinary people, 00:21:35.649 --> 00:21:40.809 have to be listened to if we're going to be serious about an abolitionist movement, 00:21:40.809 --> 00:21:44.370 a revolutionary, autonomous movement. 00:21:44.370 --> 00:21:47.895 And we're gonna have to understand that and get over our own shit 00:21:47.895 --> 00:21:51.861 and build up our own dual power, right here and right now. 00:21:51.861 --> 00:21:53.850 We build up our power and our communities, 00:21:53.850 --> 00:21:56.560 through our co-ops, our collectives, our mutual aid 00:21:56.560 --> 00:21:58.990 and our taking care of what we need to take care of 00:21:58.990 --> 00:22:01.750 so that we can stand firm against the attacks of the state. 00:22:01.750 --> 00:22:04.860 Because just because they're coming at these damn right wing people right now, 00:22:04.860 --> 00:22:06.712 they haven't forgotten about us. 00:22:07.480 --> 00:22:11.010 All our comrades got court cases coming up. Nothing's stopped. 00:22:11.010 --> 00:22:14.630 People are still in the fucking prisons packed with COVID. Nothing's stopped. 00:22:14.630 --> 00:22:16.420 People are still getting evicted. 00:22:17.530 --> 00:22:20.530 So I just think people have to step it up. 00:22:20.530 --> 00:22:25.550 The threat that we're up against in this country is serious! 00:22:25.550 --> 00:22:26.530 Thanks Sima. 00:22:26.530 --> 00:22:29.490 We’ve now reached the end of this episode of System Fail. 00:22:29.490 --> 00:22:34.370 Be sure and check out the full interview with Sima Lee, in which she shares her insight 00:22:34.370 --> 00:22:37.740 on the rise and spread of Black anarchism in the United States. 00:22:37.740 --> 00:22:41.670 Coming soon on the next episode of the Circle A podcast. 00:22:41.670 --> 00:22:45.031 As amusing as it’s been to watch the takedown of Parler 00:22:45.031 --> 00:22:48.801 and Trump’s twitter feed, recent moves by tech capitalists 00:22:48.801 --> 00:22:52.100 have once again demonstrated the urgent need for anarchists to build 00:22:52.100 --> 00:22:56.650 and support our own media and communication infrastructure projects. 00:22:56.650 --> 00:22:59.220 On this note, we’d like to remind viewers 00:22:59.220 --> 00:23:02.450 that subMedia is a contributing member of Kolektiva, 00:23:02.450 --> 00:23:06.040 an independently-hosted and open source social media platform 00:23:06.040 --> 00:23:08.540 run by and for anarchists. 00:23:08.540 --> 00:23:12.630 You can check out our PeerTube instance at Kolektiva.Media, 00:23:12.630 --> 00:23:16.510 and our Mastodon instance at Kolektiva.Social. 00:23:16.510 --> 00:23:20.330 To support subMedia, consider making a one-time donation 00:23:20.330 --> 00:23:24.750 or signing up to be a monthly sustainer at sub.Media/Donate. 00:23:24.750 --> 00:23:29.720 You can also support us by buying some of our merchandise at sub.media/gear. 00:23:29.720 --> 00:23:33.730 Be sure and follow us on your corporate data-mining platform of choice. 00:23:33.730 --> 00:23:35.480 Just search for subMedia. 00:23:35.480 --> 00:23:39.450 Or better yet, sign up to our mailing list and get every new episode 00:23:39.450 --> 00:23:41.285 delivered directly to your inbox. 00:23:41.285 --> 00:23:43.214 Godspeed, humans.