# 6 January 2021; A Day worth a Thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [January 6, 2021, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/6-january-2021-a-day-worth-a-thread/929770 "2021-01-06T04:30:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 16
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2021, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/6-january-2021-a-day-worth-a-thread/929770/302 "2021-01-06T20:21:35Z")
Creator of monster is flabbergasted that the monster he helped create has gotten out of control. If only history or literature had given us a warning! > ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2021, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/6-january-2021-a-day-worth-a-thread/929770/303 "2021-01-06T20:21:45Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > I’m kind of OK with the Capitol Police and their apparent lack of preparation. The Capitol belongs to We the People, and it’s supposed to be open to the public so we can observe our representatives in action (with limits and metal detectors, etc etc). To cordon off the building behind barricades while a momentous decision is going on is a _terrible_ look. I’d rather they react late, rather than over-react early. Well, [this](https://twitter.com/MartyOropeza/status/1346906852173312000) was how it looked during the BLM protests last summer. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2021, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/6-january-2021-a-day-worth-a-thread/929770/304 "2021-01-06T20:21:55Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > > [@Jungian\_Camisole1](#): > > > > I was thinking yesterday that today would be the happiest day of Vladimir Putin’s life. We are in absolute chaos, and he’s probably sitting back and enjoying his cigar. > > No, I think Putin is still disappointed that Trump didn’t get reelected. Xi Jinping, perhaps, too. Another four years of Trump could have permanently relegated America to the secondary league. That would imply they did actually try to help Trump win but failed, and would go against the idea they left him high and dry on election day. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2021, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/6-january-2021-a-day-worth-a-thread/929770/305 "2021-01-06T20:22:16Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > No Federal or Federal-connected security force can be counted on to move in, since they are subordinate to the President; plus IIUIC any other police force would have to be asked for by the actual Congressional leaders to be able to act inside the Capitol complex. > > There should have been preemptive coordination of the Leadership and Capitol Police with DC Police to at least secure the perimeter properly. So what we need is for Pelosi and McConnell to call up Ralph Northam and ask him to mobilize the Virginia state police (as the nearest Democratically controlled executive who has armed people under him) to mobilize and clear them out? ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2021, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/6-january-2021-a-day-worth-a-thread/929770/306 "2021-01-06T20:22:29Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > There are photos of police inside the House aiming guns at the doors as the protestors tried to break in. > > And then they did break in – and apparently the police did nothing to stop it. I’ve never worked in law enforcement or the military, but I wonder if this is a common consequence of “Do this, but I’m not telling you HOW to do it” orders. “Keep protesters out!” Sure, but what if they break through - is lethal force authorized or not? “I’m not clarifying.” Well then, when the protesters break through, the cops must err on the side of not killing/maiming, then. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2021, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/6-january-2021-a-day-worth-a-thread/929770/307 "2021-01-06T20:24:37Z")
I believe King George III and Lord North had a similar epiphany once. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2021, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/6-january-2021-a-day-worth-a-thread/929770/308 "2021-01-06T20:24:38Z")
Okay, now they’re breaking a window, and climbing in. Christ can’t they send in some military, in some form (National Guard, whatever)? ---
**Author:** ![Deeg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deeg/32/2955_2.png) [@Deeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deeg)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2021, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/6-january-2021-a-day-worth-a-thread/929770/309 "2021-01-06T20:25:08Z")
Really good comment by Maggie Koerth at 538. You can go there for the full post but here’s the begining. The likely answer is “no”. > It is difficult for me, as a reporter who was on the street during the protests in Minneapolis last summer, to not be comparing and contrasting police response to each set of protests. I am obviously not seeing everything going on there, but I haven’t seen police shooting less-lethal munitions, like beanbags or rubber bullets, at any of these people on the Capitol steps. Which is hard to square, emotionally, with things I saw in Minneapolis, like my reporting partner being shot in the face by a police projectile or a protester I was interviewing in an otherwise empty lot being shot in the leg with similar rounds by officers pushing back a far smaller group of protesters who were making much less contact with the officers. [I’m certainly not the only reporter thinking about that](https://twitter.com/KELLYWEILL/status/1346889793674862595). > On the other hand, [we reported here at FiveThirtyEight over the summer](https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/de-escalation-keeps-protesters-and-police-safer-heres-why-departments-respond-with-force-anyway/) about how those kinds of responses — which escalate tensions between police and protesters — don’t actually reduce violence and, in fact, increase the likelihood that protests will become more violent. So is a less-aggressive police response here evidence-based? ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2021, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/6-january-2021-a-day-worth-a-thread/929770/310 "2021-01-06T20:25:29Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > “Keep protesters out!” Sure, but what if they break through - is lethal force authorized or not? “I’m not clarifying.” Well then, when the protesters break through, the cops must err on the side of not killing/maiming, then. Seems like having the doors locked and chained from the inside, while the cops were still outside, would have been a sensible precaution. Maybe the rioters would have broken their way through the glass, but they’d have had to actually DO that, instead of just waltzing in through the doors once they got past the cops. ---
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2021, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/6-january-2021-a-day-worth-a-thread/929770/311 "2021-01-06T20:26:01Z")
I don’t know if this is true or not: > ---
**Author:** ![Jungian\_Camisole1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jungian_camisole1/32/3646_2.png) [@Jungian\_Camisole1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jungian_Camisole1)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2021, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/6-january-2021-a-day-worth-a-thread/929770/312 "2021-01-06T20:26:12Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > Creator of monster is flabbergasted that the monster he helped create has gotten out of control. If only history or literature had given us a warning! “Why are the leopards eating **my** face??!” ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2021, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/6-january-2021-a-day-worth-a-thread/929770/313 "2021-01-06T20:26:44Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > Okay, now they’re breaking a window, and climbing in. Christ can’t they send in some military, in some form (National Guard, whatever) The Trump’s Department of Defense is refusing requests for help. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2021, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/6-january-2021-a-day-worth-a-thread/929770/314 "2021-01-06T20:26:52Z")
> [@FlikTheBlue](#): > > So what we need is for Pelosi and McConnell to call up Ralph Northam and ask him to mobilize the Virginia state police (as the nearest Democratically controlled executive who has armed people under him) to mobilize and clear them out? CNN just said Virginia state police have been called in. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2021, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/6-january-2021-a-day-worth-a-thread/929770/315 "2021-01-06T20:27:07Z")
Reports of a woman shot, in critical condition. No other details. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2021, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/6-january-2021-a-day-worth-a-thread/929770/316 "2021-01-06T20:27:56Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > CNN just said Virginia state police have been called in. Is there any rule on one state’s police having jurisdiction in another place? (since DC is not part of Virginia) ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2021, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/6-january-2021-a-day-worth-a-thread/929770/317 "2021-01-06T20:28:01Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > Maybe the rioters would have broken their way through the glass, but they’d have had to actually DO that, instead of just waltzing in through the doors once they got past the cops. White Wing Privilege. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2021, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/6-january-2021-a-day-worth-a-thread/929770/318 "2021-01-06T20:28:23Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > Okay, now they’re breaking a window, and climbing in. Christ can’t they send in some military, in some form (National Guard, whatever)? CNN just reported Virginia state police (Democratic governor) and Maryland state police (sane Republican governor) are sending reinforcements. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2021, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/6-january-2021-a-day-worth-a-thread/929770/319 "2021-01-06T20:29:34Z")
I think it depends on the protesters. Those who simply want their voices heard aren’t likely to get violent unless someone else starts it. Those who want to burn the system down, are going to try to burn the system down. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2021, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/6-january-2021-a-day-worth-a-thread/929770/320 "2021-01-06T20:30:33Z")
CNN: Maryland state police have arrived, in riot gear. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2021, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/6-january-2021-a-day-worth-a-thread/929770/321 "2021-01-06T20:30:36Z")
The senate side has been cleared and pushed into the rotunda to be taken out. No news from the house side. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/6-january-2021-a-day-worth-a-thread/929770.md?page=15) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/6-january-2021-a-day-worth-a-thread/929770.md?page=17)