The following piece was submitted by the Watertown Citizens for Peace, Justice & the Environment:
Watertown Citizens for Peace, Justice & the Environment (WCPJE) is joining social justice groups across the state and the country in a candlelight vigil to remember and reflect upon the violent, deadly attacks that took place in our nation’s capital on January 6, 2021.
While evidence mounts that the insurrection was aided by some of our elected leaders, lies about the well-verified 2020 election continue to spread, with increasing threats against public officials.
The vigil will take place in Watertown Square by the Delta from 5:30-6:30 p.m. Participants are asked to wear masks, practice social distancing and use cell phone flashlights or electric candles, not actual flames.
In order to preserve our democracy, WCPJE also asks voters to contact their Senators and Representatives to demand they pass urgent legislation to counter attacks on our voting rights: The Freedom to Vote Act, the Protecting Our Democracy Act, the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, and Washington D.C. Admission Act (statehood for 700,000 Americans who have NO voting representation in Congress).
Please join us on Thursday at 5:30 in Watertown Square to show we will not tolerate the sabotaging of our elections and our democracy.
This seems dangerous we can’t afford to lose more lives to covid19 please think about our elderly and immunocompromised
“Peace, Justice, and the Environment”?
Might it consider changing its name?
Obviously this is a one-sided vigil with a political agenda.
Look at what the Left/Antifa/Black Lives Matter did in 2020:
Many millions in uncalled for damage and ruined businesses, including small Black businesses.
Something like 40 deaths total.
Looting galore, including in Boston.
https://www.axios.com/riots-cost-property-damage-276c9bcc-a455-4067-b06a-66f9db4cea9c.html
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/31/americans-killed-protests-political-unrest-acled
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jemimamcevoy/2020/06/08/14-days-of-protests-19-dead/?sh=78d41cd74de4
https://thefederalist.com/2020/08/19/death-toll-rises-to-an-estimated-30-victims-since-mostly-peaceful-protests-began/
Compared to these, the January 6 invasion was a picnic.
I’d like to see this Watertown group defend itself in print with ALL the facts brought out.
You are defending an attempted overthrow of the United States government and the legitimately elected President. It was absolutely not a picnic. Stop fostering Trump’s “Big Lie” and the ZERO proof supporting it. It’s disgraceful that some people are still minimizing what happened at the Capital as we approach the anniversary of the attempted insurrection. Thank God people who participated are going to prison. Let’s hope some of the GOP leaders who helped facilitate the treason join them!
All of the deaths that have sprung from political unrest (whether incited by right wing separatists or by left-wing civil rights protesters) are tragic and senseless. That said, per the Guardian article that you yourself posted, nearly all of the ~11 people killed while participating in a minuscule fraction of the thousands of Black Lives Matter rallies across were by right-wing protestors (e.g. Kyle Rittenhouse) or by police when an armed and agitating right-wing protestor assaulted them. Others killed during political unrest include people trying to incite civil war (“Boogaloo” extremists) or those shot to death by the National Guard as they attempted to violently put down the demonstrations in question. Additionally, again per the articles you posted, much of that property damage was covered by insurance and so the financial brunt will not be borne by the business owners. By comparison, 5 deaths from one event on one day, in one city, within one single building, is astonishingly violent.
Pretty poor deflection there, William. What happened on Jan 6 was unprecedented in US history — armed insurrectionists trying to overthrow the results of a legitimate Presidential election (if you doubt Trump lost, ask yourself why 61 of the 62 lawsuits his team filed over election fraud failed –see https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/news/politics/elections/2021/01/06/trumps-failed-efforts-overturn-election-numbers/4130307001/. BTW the 62nd was on a minor point).
And for all the noise the right wing makes about “Backing the Blue”, they sure didn’t back them on that fateful day. Here’s an excerpt from a piece on the testimony by the Capitol Police officers who defended the integrity of our democratic process that day:
“During their testimony, officers recalled being physically assaulted and harassed by the violent mob. Hodges at one point described a brawl with a rioter who tried to rip his police baton from his hands.
“After I pushed him back, he yelled at me, ‘you’re on the wrong team!’…another [shouted], ‘you will die on your knees!’,” Hodges testified.
“Gonell said his experience during the insurrection was more terrifying than serving in Iraq, where he had to conduct supply missions on roads laced with improvised explosive devices.
“I did not recognize my fellow citizens,” Gonell said. One rioter, he said, “shouted that I —an Army veteran and a police officer — should be executed.”
The USA Today article I cited is here:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2021/07/27/jan-6-capitol-riot-police-testify-before-congress/5392126001/
And anyone who wants to hear the stories directly from the officers, here’s the YouTube link. It’s harrowing stuff. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnFSSyoNu_k