This week I was joined by ProPublica’s Alec MacGillis to talk about his recent essay reviewing the videos from the Capitol Hill riots posted to the far-right social media site Parler. Alec argues that those who broke into the Capitol were far more ordinary - and a lot less strategic - than many have assumed. As he argues in his piece, “There undoubtedly were some dangerous organized elements within the mob that attacked the Capitol. But what is scariest about these videos is that they show the damage that can be done by a crowd of unorganized Americans goaded and abetted by the leaders of an organized political party. The radical fringe is a cause for concern. The thousands of regular people whipped into a murderous rage is the real nightmare.”
In our conversation we talked about the petit bourgeois characteristics of the Capitol insurrectionists; the extent to which they were empowered by the experience and felt entitled to do it; the ignoring of the Stringer Bell rule about recording ones participation in a criminal conspiracy; the reasons why the rioters didn’t do more damage; and the dangers of overlearning the lessons of January 6. We also talked about the nihilism of Mitch McConnell and Alec’s forthcoming book “Fulfillment: Winning and Losing in One-Click America.”
Hope you enjoy it!
The Truth and Consequences Podcast with Alec MacGillis