# "You would actually think it was a normal tourist visit" \[Jan 6, 2021 Quote\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [May 14, 2021, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-would-actually-think-it-was-a-normal-tourist-visit-jan-6-2021-quote/942093 "2021-05-14T17:42:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2021, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-would-actually-think-it-was-a-normal-tourist-visit-jan-6-2021-quote/942093/62 "2021-05-21T23:16:20Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > I don’t intend to adress this silliness any further. I aplaud this decision. 👏🏽 ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2021, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-would-actually-think-it-was-a-normal-tourist-visit-jan-6-2021-quote/942093/63 "2021-05-23T14:20:27Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > How does all this compare with ubiquitous media references to the “mostly peaceful” George Floyd riots? (And have there been any comparable threads about that?) I’m tired of this right-wing insistence on bringing up the summer’s protests whenever the Capitol riot (and yes, it was a riot) is discussed. They’re completely unrelated. It’s like if I got drunk, back out of my parking space, dented someone’s car, and when called on it, said “well, what about that ship stuck in the Suez Canal? Huh? What about that? Why aren’t we talking about that? That did way more damage than this tiny dent in your car. Obviously you’re biased and a Marxist.” It’s just a distraction, an attempt to shift attention away from the riot. Again, it was a riot, not a peaceful protest. A riot. A disgusting, violent, ignorant, un-American riot. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2021, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-would-actually-think-it-was-a-normal-tourist-visit-jan-6-2021-quote/942093/64 "2021-05-23T14:27:15Z")
The crowd “heave-ho-ing” at the doors, crushing cops inside the capitol- total tourists. Jesus christ, Republicans. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2021, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-would-actually-think-it-was-a-normal-tourist-visit-jan-6-2021-quote/942093/65 "2021-05-23T14:32:33Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > total tourists. When I was fairly young, I couldn’t tell the difference between the words terrorist and tourist. It seems as though there are some who still can’t. ---
**Author:** ![Akaj](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akaj/32/145_2.png) [@Akaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akaj)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2021, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-would-actually-think-it-was-a-normal-tourist-visit-jan-6-2021-quote/942093/66 "2021-05-23T14:44:17Z")
> [@Saintly\_Loser](#): > > Again, it was a riot, not a peaceful protest. A riot. A disgusting, violent, ignorant, un-American riot. “Riot” doesn’t even convey the full magnitude of what happened. A riot is spontaneous and chaotic. This was an insurrection – the leaders of the mob that stormed the capitol had the full intention of violently disrupting the lawful activity of the government. People who broke windows and stole things during the George Floyd protests were criminals. People who broke into the Capitol on Jan. 6 were traitors. ---
**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:** [May 23, 2021, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-would-actually-think-it-was-a-normal-tourist-visit-jan-6-2021-quote/942093/67 "2021-05-23T14:59:43Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > How does all this compare with ubiquitous media references to the “mostly peaceful” George Floyd riots? (And have there been any comparable threads about that? 1. Where are these “ubiquitous media references to the “mostly peaceful” George Floyd riots” and 2. Did you bother to search for those threads before you decided to complain about them not existing? ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2021, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-would-actually-think-it-was-a-normal-tourist-visit-jan-6-2021-quote/942093/68 "2021-05-23T15:04:59Z")
And since the false equivalence of the riots followimg Mr. Floyd’s murder and the insurrection keep showing up, it must be stated clearly that the riots following the murder were people pissed off about a murder, and the insurrection riot was people pissed off about pure imaginary bullshit. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2021, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-would-actually-think-it-was-a-normal-tourist-visit-jan-6-2021-quote/942093/69 "2021-05-23T15:23:48Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > Is that because you consider “being in the Capitol Building” as violent by definition? > > Or are you asserting that all the people who entered the building physically attacked people or damaged/stole things? It sounds like you’re trying to make the argument that as long as you can find a single person who did not engage in violent acts, then that makes the whole even peaceful. Of course that would be an idiotic argument to make. But that’s exactly what it looks like. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2021, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-would-actually-think-it-was-a-normal-tourist-visit-jan-6-2021-quote/942093/70 "2021-05-23T15:29:18Z")
Is this how you react when “tourists” are in the building? > **[A Republican congressman who denied there was an insurrection and likened...](https://www.businessinsider.com/gop-rep-who-called-capitol-rioters-tourists-photographed-barricading-house-2021-5)** > > Andrew Clyde, who claimed that there was no insurrection at the Capitol, was photographed on January 6 barricading the House against rioters. ---
**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:** [May 23, 2021, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-would-actually-think-it-was-a-normal-tourist-visit-jan-6-2021-quote/942093/71 "2021-05-23T15:38:10Z")
He was just volunteering to move furniture for the remodeling. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2021, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-would-actually-think-it-was-a-normal-tourist-visit-jan-6-2021-quote/942093/72 "2021-05-23T15:38:27Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > And since the false equivalence of the riots followimg Mr. Floyd’s murder and the insurrection keep showing up, it must be stated clearly that the riots following the murder were people pissed off about a murder, and the insurrection riot was people pissed off about pure imaginary bullshit. It’s also useful to add that Jan 6 was a planned riot and was a riot right from the beginning. The vast majority of riots that happened over the summer were planned peaceful protests that, for various reasons not relevant to this thread, escalated into riots later on. Also, in general, most democrats denounced the riots. They may have understood them and empathized with the people involved, but most still said they shouldn’t have happened. We didn’t encourage them, we didn’t egg them on and most of all, we most certainly didn’t deny that they happened. How many dem leaders suggested that, had you seen videos without being given the context, you would have thought that it was like any other nice day in middle America with lots of people hanging out on their front lawns, talking to the neighbors, walking down the sidewalks. Maybe even a block party or parade going on. Nothing out of the ordinary. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2021, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-would-actually-think-it-was-a-normal-tourist-visit-jan-6-2021-quote/942093/73 "2021-05-23T20:35:11Z")
True words right there. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2021, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-would-actually-think-it-was-a-normal-tourist-visit-jan-6-2021-quote/942093/74 "2021-05-23T22:45:17Z")
> [@Akaj](#): > > People who broke windows and stole things during the George Floyd protests were criminals. People who broke into the Capitol on Jan. 6 were traitors. ^ This. Facts matter. The right will go on offering up false-equivalencies and What-About-ism, _because they have nothing else._ But even they know, though they will not admit they know, that what we all saw on January 6 at the Capitol was treasonous insurrection against the United States of America. ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2021, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-would-actually-think-it-was-a-normal-tourist-visit-jan-6-2021-quote/942093/75 "2021-05-23T23:03:47Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > How does all this compare with ubiquitous media references to the “mostly peaceful” George Floyd riots? (And have there been any comparable threads about that?) I’ve already addressed your whataboutism. It doesn’t even make sense. > [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > Or are you asserting that all the people who entered the building physically attacked people or damaged/stole things? If your point is that the Capitol riot was actually a peaceful protest, or just a bunch of tourists visiting the Capitol off-hours, because not _everyone_ who entered the building physically attacked people or damaged or stole or broke stuff (although it’s worth noting that, in fact, _everyone_ who entered the building did so illegally), then of course you’ll be the first to admit that the same standard applies to the summer’s protests. And now your whataboutism makes even less sense. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2021, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-would-actually-think-it-was-a-normal-tourist-visit-jan-6-2021-quote/942093/76 "2021-05-23T23:11:06Z")
> [@Saintly\_Loser](#): > > I’m tired of this right-wing insistence on bringing up the summer’s protests whenever the Capitol riot (and yes, it was a riot) is discussed. > > They’re completely unrelated. No, they’re not. Right-wing extremists rioted over the summer, and right-wing extremists rioted on January 6. I expect that in many cases, it was the exact same people. The riots over the summer were not started by the people who had legitimate grievances. They were started by groups like the Hell’s Angels, the Boogaloo Boys, the Proud Boys, and the Minneapolis Police Department. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2021, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-would-actually-think-it-was-a-normal-tourist-visit-jan-6-2021-quote/942093/77 "2021-05-24T00:25:00Z")
> [@Saintly\_Loser](#): > > I’m tired of this right-wing insistence on bringing up the summer’s protests whenever the Capitol riot (and yes, it was a riot) is discussed. > > They’re completely unrelated. Good point, but I would call it a _insurrection attempt._ ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2021, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-would-actually-think-it-was-a-normal-tourist-visit-jan-6-2021-quote/942093/78 "2021-05-24T01:00:45Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Good point, but I would call it a _insurrection attempt._ An insurrection is simply the violent uprising (against the government). Actually overthrowing the government isn’t part of the definition. [https://dictionary.findlaw.com/definition/insurrection.html](https://dictionary.findlaw.com/definition/insurrection.html) ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2021, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-would-actually-think-it-was-a-normal-tourist-visit-jan-6-2021-quote/942093/79 "2021-05-24T01:11:45Z")
“…but they _believed_ something!” Because in America, all it takes is believing. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2021, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-would-actually-think-it-was-a-normal-tourist-visit-jan-6-2021-quote/942093/80 "2021-05-24T01:16:47Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Good point, but I would call it a _insurrection attempt._ No. There was an insurrection. ---
**Author:** ![SwissMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e79b87/32.png) [@SwissMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SwissMan)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2021, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-would-actually-think-it-was-a-normal-tourist-visit-jan-6-2021-quote/942093/81 "2021-05-24T01:33:14Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Good point, but I would call it a _insurrection attempt._ Reminds me of Sideshow Bob’s defense: “Attempted Murder! Really, what is that? Do they give a Nobel Prize for _Attempted Chemistry_?” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-would-actually-think-it-was-a-normal-tourist-visit-jan-6-2021-quote/942093.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-would-actually-think-it-was-a-normal-tourist-visit-jan-6-2021-quote/942093.md?page=5)