Yesterday, on January 6, 2021, the United States Capitol was attacked by supporters of President Trump. These domestic terrorists were intent on causing harm: Harm to people and property and harm to our democracy. There was a deliberate attempt, by any means necessary, to disrupt, cancel, and invalidate our democratic processes.
For now, those attempts have been halted, but the social, political, and emotional impact of these people’s actions will reverberate for some time.
On December 29, 2020, we wished, “Farewell” to 2020 in hopes of a 2021 that had no option other than to improve on the year we had just closed out. We were excited about the incoming Biden-Harris administration, assuming the worst of the Trump administration’s actions were behind us. Unfortunately, it only took six days into the new year to show us that improvement in 2021 is not a given; it is a choice. And it requires us all to make that choice together.
But before we can make that choice, we are required to have a reckoning. We have to take responsibility for our own actions that support a system that arrested 400 peaceful Black Lives Matter protestors on the steps of the Capitol but only 52 domestic terrorists who violently breached the chambers of Congress.
We have to understand our complicity in allowing elected officials to stay in office who only speak out against white supremacy when their own lives are in danger, instead of speaking out in attempts to protect the lives of all. We built this system, and we cannot be surprised when it behaves the way we built it to.
We, at Atrómitos, do not have all of the answers. Nor do you. But collectively, we can make the decision to be better. We can make the decision to look introspectively and understand what our roles and responsibilities are in addressing what has happened before. We can learn from the past and make the decision to do things differently.
That decision will vary among us.
At Atrómitos, it means only working with partners who share our principles for the country we live in: equality and equity, nondiscrimination, and nonviolence. It means incorporating the voices of all our partners and being kept honest by our partners when we fall short of that goal. To that end, we are honored that in 2021, our partners will begin contributing guest Our Ideas articles to share their work and views. It means knowing our place, and supporting others when it is not our time to speak.
Atrómitos believes in the democratic infrastructure that upholds our republic, and we support all of our partners who are working to strengthen those principles.
Yesterday was unacceptable.
Today we decide to be better. And we look forward to doing it together, with you.
– Atrómitos Team
