I saw a meme on social media about the supposed link between what happened in the US Capitol in 1954 vs. 2021.
The author of the meme indicates all the Capitol protesters from 2021 should be punished with sentences from 50-75 years. Obviously a death sentence for anyone over 30.
But the meme lies.
In 1954, the Puerto Rican nationalists did not storm the capital. They casually walked to the visitor’s gallery and watched the immigration debate. They said the Lord’s Prayer together, unfurled the Puerto Rico flag, and then the four of them stood up and opened fire with semi-automatic weapons wounding five representatives. (1954 United States Capital Shooting-wikipedia)
In 2021, citizens charged through the doors of the Capitol and walked around. Some of the people committed acts of vandalism and others stole property; however the majority of people just walked around. Certainly, justice must be served on lawbreakers, but this is meme is suggesting an over-the-top extreme punishment, especially when the four Puerto Rican nationalists had their sentence commuted by President Jimmy Carter after 25 years.
Should every person who stepped foot in the Capitol on January 6th be treated in the same manner as people who actually pulled out guns and shot people? If President Carter believed the sentence was too harsh (and commuted their sentences,) why would today’s Democrats advocate for the same harsh sentences?
And what should be done to the lawbreakers that planned and carried out nightly riots during the summer of 2020? People were threatened, beaten and killed. Businesses were looted and torched. Government buildings were attacked and damaged and yet there is no cry for justice for months of rioting, vandalism, and looting. There is no commission to investigate those who planned and organized these riots and mayhem.
Unequal justice is not justice. Everyone is supposed to be equal under the law, but obviously some are ‘more equal.’