Honestly I have mixed feelings on these guys. Like, sure, they absolutely did need to be jailed, because trying to overturn an election is extremely dangerous for the country and one cant set the precedent that one can get away with attempting it, but at the same time, these people were lied to, and if the things that they had been led to believe about the election being stolen had actually been true, I cant help but think that something like what was done might have been justified. It feels kinda messed up, then, that the people who had been led into this with misplaced trust and false promises are the ones getting the bulk of the punishment, and not the people who sold them on lies in the first place.
I understand that the kind of people that fall for this stuff tend to be horrible in other ways, don't get me wrong, but I guess I still find it hard not to find some amount of sympathy for anyone, even if I find them detestable. People aren't born being bigoted, and while it's absolutely understandable to hate people for thinking and acting that way, I certainly do myself, I'm not sure to what extent I can really see it being a choice. Like, what kind of person, who both understood what bigotry was and was not already in the grip of it, would actively choose it? I feel like those kinds of views are something one is taught, and once taught are difficult to unteach, because part of what they are involves suspicion against anyone that has a contrary message. Like the concept of garbage in ->garbage out that people use with computers, but applied to people instead.
It feels kinda messed up, then, that the people who had been led into this with misplaced trust and false promises are the ones getting the bulk of the punishment, and not the people who sold them on lies in the first place.
I agree. Altho not in the sense that these people are being handed unfair judgement, they've all got off extremely light for the acts they committed. But it is a travesty of justice that the ones instigating it have received little to no punishment.
These people gobbled the propaganda up because it justified their bigotry. So my sympathies are limited.
I will, however, agree with you that it is a travesty that the ones feeding people misinformation and hate aren’t the ones being tried and convicted. The instigators are the biggest criminals, and should be taken down
Look, they were organized, they brought weapons, bombs, hatred, and murdered cops.
If they had encountered any congressmen they would have murdered them, too.
Right, and if lizard people did secretly rule the world, then maybe the rational answer would be their racist conspiracy wank. If they are controlling the media, we must attack 5G towers!
But it's fucking nonsense.
They're just gullible assholes who fell for complete bullshit. There is no excuse for them not knowing better. They did awful things for stupid reasons. Do not fool yourself into feeling bad for them, as if they had sensible belief in any of The Idiot's seventeen contradictory narratives promoting basic-bitch fascism.
This is how history works. The victors determine how the story is told. If these guys had been successful rest assured no matter how wrong they were they would have painted themselves heros.
But I get your point. Unfortunately idiocy isn't a solid defense for treason.