Welcome to the real-life Hunger Games! My time and place: Wednesday, January 6th, 2021, at 4:32 pm in my bedroom, writing in my journal. What is going on in the world around me: Chaos in the Capitol! This historical moment will leave many asking for a very long time… where were you and what were you doing on this day and time? What will you say? What did you think, when, what should have been a display of decorum and tradition on Capitol Hill of certifying Joe Biden’s election turned into a dangerous and terrifying moment. What did you think of the mayhem in Washington D.C. ? Did you feel like you were transported and warped into the Hunger Games book by Suzanne Collins?
It all started for me early in the morning when then-President Trump spoke at the rally, telling his supporters that he would walk with them to the Capitol and cheer on the brave Congressmen and women to “Stop the Steal.” When the Senate adjourned to certify the vote, we got two states in, and Senator Ted Cruz objected to Arizona’s count certification. While in the two-hour debate about Arizona’s count, Trump supporters scaled and had barged their way into the Capitol, declaring to “Stop the Steal.” They came by the thousands wearing red Trump hats and waving all sorts of flags. The two flags that terrified me the most were seeing the Confederate flag and a grey American flag with a skull. There were so many Trump supporters that they outnumbered the Capitol police and the Washington DC police. They broke windows and doors to gain access to multiple areas within the Capitol. The most notable regions were the Senate floor, close to the House of Representatives floor, and the offices of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Lastly, they gained access to Madam Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office, leaving a note saying they will not be backing down.
Watching the insurrection at the Capitol was shocking and horrific. In all my life, I never thought I would see this happen and thought that these types of things were a thing of the past or stories of fiction. I guess when you rile up a large, angry mob enough and send them to the Capitol, this is what will happen. As I watched the events unfold, I stress ate and had my eyes glued to the television. A sense of worry and hurt flooded me, and I questioned how we had gotten here and where America stands. To the people who argue that this is the people’s house, and people have the right to demonstrate – I am with you and hear your voices, but I disagree with your trespassing and use of violence.
I would like to end this by asking you now, where were you that day? Will you say I was doing a TikTok or binge-watching a show? I hope not because what we, as a county, saw was a huge tipping point. Yes, we all need an escape from time to time, but we all should remember that incorporating news and knowing what our government is doing is important. I encourage my readers to watch the news for an hour a day, or at least if you have Twitter, scroll left once after the trending page and look at the headlines. As a country, we have tipped too far towards a deep end, and we all have a civic responsibility to educate ourselves and be aware so that history does not repeat itself, and there is not a Hunger Games II!