January 11, 2021
Dear editor;
What price would you pay to defend democracy where you work? Brian Sicknick, 42-year-old-Capitol-Hill-police-officer, gave his life Wednesday, Jan. 6 to defend a sacred symbol of Democracy the U.S. Capitol building and those inside.
When the pro-Donald Trump mob breached the Capitol building, he was beaten severely on the head with a fire extinguisher and died the next day. The flag was lowered to half-mast January 10 to honor Brian and four other lost lives.
It didn’t matter that Brian was pro-Trump, the unencumbered barrage of rioters who broke into the Capitol, overwhelmed the shorthanded Capitol police.
Impeachment papers have been drawn up declaring Incitement of Insurrection by president Trump for falsely claiming voter fraud since and prior to the November 3 election that the vote was stolen from him and his people. He spoke to a rally of supporters just before the deadly onslaught at the Capitol January 6. He unsuccessfully urged vice president Mike Pence not to certify Joe Biden’s victory and rallied his followers to stop the counting of certain states’ electoral college votes in order to overturn the election in his favor. Just before launching the highly- agitated crowd towards the Capitol, Trump said, “You will never take back our country with weakness.”
The mob took out its rage on everyone who stood in the way of Trump’s presidency for another four years. The mob chanted “Hang Mike Pence”, ransacked and looted offices of Pelosi, Schumer, and Clyburn, to seek revenge. Fortunately, representatives and senators of Congress found safety before the mob could find them.
It was terrifying to watch on television. I can’t imagine what it was like for those experiencing it first hand. It is not America, and yet it is. There is a saying about white privilege that we observed for several hours on televisions that day, “When you’re accustomed to privilege, equality feels like oppression.” It’s going to be a long, hard, road and require much prayer to get us to any reconciliation. I hope and pray we can do it.
Judy Siedlecki, Oswego