We have now passed the one-year anniversary of the January 6th riot that resulted in the storming of the Capitol Building. An estimated 2,000 people participated in the riot. 700 people have been charged for the incident, 173 have pleaded guilty, and 71 people have been formally sentenced so far. This was, rather, IS a monumental event. And after one year, it’s a laughing stock to young people. Really, it was seen as comedic right away. As pictures of “rednecks” wrapped in buffalo hide and mall-cop tactical gear flooded the internet, and false reports came in about a man who died from tasing himself in genitals rolled in, the event became a precise caricature of the last four years. Wealthy, neo-liberal politicians cowering in bunkers while middle-aged men went on a half rampage/half photoshoot, perfect for nihilistic youth to mock. 

As cartoonish as the whole ordeal was, the larger force at play here goes unmentioned. In the age of the internet, of free information– how can thousands of people be so whipped up by conspiracy theory as to take direct action, attempting to overthrow a vote by roleplaying as revolutionaries?

Firstly, people are confused and afraid. The future seems increasingly uncertain, and every side of the political aisle has taken to the doom and gloom mentality. In this environment, some of the more parasitically minded see an opportunity for profit. Ben Shapiro convinces you that trans people aren’t deserving of respect, Jordan Peterson tells you that women are chaotic and need to be tamed, and Tim Pool proclaims that civil war is just on the horizon. Whether any of these men believe what they say is irrelevant, what matters is that what they say brings eyes to their content, cash in their pockets, and panic to their viewers. This grift is bound to end horribly.

After speaking at an Idaho event, Conservative Pundit Charlie Kirk was asked a whopper during his Q&A section. A man walked up and asked “When do we get the guns? How many elections are we going to let them steal, until we kill these people?” Kirk was quick to shut down the question, backtracking saying peaceful force must be used, but what did Kirk expect? If you say an election is stolen, how can peaceful, democratic moves be the solution? Democracy has already been corrupted in their world view. Are you gonna vote out the people who you think control the vote? No. you grab your pitchforks, light the tiki torches, and march to the Capitol. This is no exaggeration either. The Qanon Shamen, the highest-profile capitol rioter, claims to have had little interest in politics until 2020 when he learned of satanic conspiracies and election fraud. How do you go from a spiritual healer to a whacked-out “Digital Soldier” in a year’s span? 

If far-right politicians and con men continue down this path, January 6th will lose its status as “historic”. So get rid of these grifters, and let’s put some funding towards mental health services because that shaman guy really believed he was on a mission for God.