One Moment In Our Country's Life
Both sides were armed.
At the Michigan Capitol rally supporting President Donald Trump, and demanding a recount challenging his convincing loss to President-elect Joe Biden, one fellow stood against a street lamp holding a semi-automatic rifle. Among the 300 or so protestors several were seen with holstered pistols.
At the far edges a much smaller group of anti-Trump protestors, perhaps 30, gathered. Several were in black. One carried a baseball bat. One fellow all in camo, helmeted, his face shielded, had a large knife strapped to his side.
And one anti-Trumper dressed in black had a pump-action shotgun over his shoulder.
There was an electric air of tension, and it very nearly exploded.
The rally was underway as inside the Senate Hearing Room across the street the combined Michigan Senate and House Oversight committees voted on a straight party line vote to subpoena documents regarding the election.
As legislators deliberated, word began passing among reporters and bystanders in the meeting room that Pennsylvania had been declared for Mr. Biden. He had won the presidency. “It’s all over,” one person whispered to others, holding up his phone to show the headline.
Senate Committee Chair Ed McBroom, a Republican from the Upper Peninsula town of Vulcan, unaware of the election results until a reporter told him, insisted the move for subpoenas was not an attempt to change the election results but to look into possible voting irregularities.
Mr. McBroom was not asked why, if lawmakers were not trying to overturn the election results, it was necessary to conduct such an investigation at that time. Nor was he specifically asked if he believed the results to be accurate.
At the protest the collective fury at the thought Mr. Trump had lost was nearly explosive.
There were nearly as many flags as people, it seemed. More flags than facemasks, that was clear. U.S. Flags were prominent, but various forms of Trump flags -- including the “No More Bullshit” and “Fuck Your Feelings” flags -- were present. Popular garb were t-shirts that promoted guns. If you didn’t have a flag or t-shirt, or wanted some for Christmas presents, a vendor had set up and was doing an extremely brisk business.
Amid the crowd on the Capitol steps, a speaker (it was difficult to establish who he was) said the people knew Mr. Trump had won, in part because they had been to his rallies.
They had to demand there be a full recount of the state, he shouted, and if the state will not recount the ballots, “then we have to take drastic action.” There was a slight pause before he clarified what that drastic action would be: “like not paying our taxes!” That generated applause.
He was not the only speaker, though. Standing by a truck festooned with American flags, a bearded man dressed in a colonial uniform was bellowing his own protests about the election into a megaphone..
The colonialist was positioned not far from the anti-Trump protestors. They were huddled tightly, apparently discussing strategy. A television camera was pointed at them and a woman who appeared to be the leader shouted, “No media! No media! The revolution will not be televised!”
After a few minutes, while the colonialist continued to shout out support for Mr. Trump and demanding all “legal” votes were counted, the leader of the anti-Trump group marched up to him. She shouted in her own megaphone, “Black lives matter” and in seconds they were fewer than three feet from each other. The man in camo with the knife followed her as backup.
As she continued to shout, “Black lives matter!” the colonialist shouted back, “Unborn Black lives matter too!” A man who had been near the colonialist, holding a sign saying “Black lives for Trump,” edged closer as security for his comrade.
She was joined by a woman with a baseball bat. Dropping her megaphone she shouted: “You’re killing us! You keep killing us!” He shouted back, “You keep killing your unborn babies!” The anti-Trump leader pointed to another woman in the group, then shouted: “That’s insulting! She had a miscarriage!”
The Trump follower with the semi-auto now walked to the group.
“Are you capable of holding a civil discussion?” the colonialist shouted, adding, “I’ve been to Washington, D.C. and met your paymaster, George Soros.”
Most of the remaining anti-Trump protestors now circled in. The fellow with the shotgun stood back but nearby.
Surrounding the colonialist there were so many voices shouting and talking, it was impossible to hear clearly what was said. But there was one voice that suddenly broke through. It wasn’t clear whose voice it was, but what was shouted was very clear:
“DISPERSE! DISPERSE!”
The anti-Trump crowd whirled around to see several dozen Trump supporters marching intently towards them. Instead of dispersing, they marched right up to the Trump supporters. The shotgun totter got into the crowd. The semi-auto carrier did as well.
Pro and anti-Trump activists were now screaming into each other’s faces, inches apart. No police could be seen in the area. This reporter’s wife dashed across Capitol Avenue to call 911.
The 911 operator told her there were lots of police in the area. None could be seen, Cindy, my wife, said. In fact, moments later from the Capitol steps whoever was leading the rally speeches announced there were no police and no need for any police. “The police have been told to stand down!” he said.
In the confrontation, the tension was heightening. Those without obvious weapons seemed ready to throw fists. No one was backing down. Though inches apart they were somehow getting even closer.
And then it ended. On both sides, they stepped back. Whether someone got into the middle to break it up was unclear. But both sides stepped back. There were no handshakes, no acknowledgements of a truce. On both sides people still eyed each other warily, but they stepped back. Small groups on both sides mingled to talk over what had happened and check out the other side. But it was over. The pro-Trump side went back to the the rally. The anti-Trump side gathered itself back by one of the state’s war memorials.
It both is and is not too much to use the incident as an allegory for where we are as a nation. While Mr. Biden’s popular vote victory is more than 5 million over Mr. Trump, more than 70 million people voted for the incumbent. In the end, it is possible both will have won 25 states each. There appears no middle ground on any aspect of the two men either side can agree to, either on policy or character.
Only grudgingly now are many Republicans acknowledging Mr. Biden as the president-elect not because it is the right and proper thing to do (as Hillary Clinton and former President Barack Obama did when Mr. Trump won) but because they recognize all the witless lawsuits in the world will not change the outcome that Mr. Biden will be the 46th president.
Perhaps, for now, that is enough. Just as the crowd on the edge of violence suddenly stepped back, and only stepped back without signs of actual peace, perhaps acknowledging reality is a way to start the long process towards some type of unity.
There was something else that happened at the rally. This reporter didn’t see it, but it was photographed and shared on social media: Several pro and anti-Trump members prayed together. For peace and unity, we hope.