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The hypocrisy is evident.
By Alice Kelly — Written on Jul 28, 2021
Republicans' claims to “Back The Blue” and their chants of “Blue Lives Matter” are coming back to haunt them in the midst of the congressional investigation into the Capitol insurrection.
Conservative reaction to the emotional testimony of four frontline police officers who were attacked during the riot has betrayed the hypocrisy in how law enforcement is viewed by the right-wing.
What police testimony revealed about the Capitol attacks.
In the chilling testimony, the officers detailed how mobs of Trump supporters beat them to the ground and knocked them unconscious.
The supporters of the former President who once said, “An attack on law enforcement is an attack on all Americans,” left the officers fearing for their lives during the January 6 attack.
U.S. Capitol Police Sgt. Aquilino Gonell said, through tears, that the insurrectionists even waved “Blue Lives Matter” flags as they attacked him.
The mistreatment of the police has continued amongst Republicans and conservatives even after the attacks.
The GOP has largely dismissed any opportunity to restate their respect for one of the last remaining pillars they claim to support.
Twenty-one members of the party voted against honoring the police officers involved in the attack. These members included Reps. Lauren Boebert, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Matt Gaetz and Thomas Massie who have all had a history of supporting police... when it suits them.
The party who once claimed to support law enforcement has refused to acknowledge the severity of the insurrection, becoming apologists for those who attack police officers.
Even a Fox News host mocked the Capitol police.
Over on Fox, the true voices of the right-wing, Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham, hosted a mockery of the police testimony by piecing together redacted clips showing the less violent moments of the attack.
Ingraham issued a trophy that read "best political performance" to Harry Dunn, a Black U.S. Capitol police officer, who said protestors chanted the N-word at him.
"The award for blatant use of party politics when facts fail, the Angle award goes to Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn," she added.
Carlson went on to laugh in the face of Officer Michael Fanone, a police officer who suffered a heart attack after the incident.
What does Blue Lives Matter really mean to Republicans?
The true sentiment behind the Republican interpretation of “Blue Lives Matter” is glaringly obvious in this context.
The phrase, which was invented to challenge the “Black Lives Matter” movement, is so unequally applied that conservatives might as well just say with the really mean ─ blue lives only matter if they’re taking Black lives.
The GOP has been consistently critical of Democrats for their lack of “law and order,” yet shrink away from any defense of the police when it means condemning their own.
Alice Kelly is a writer living in Brooklyn, New York. Catch her covering all things social justice, news, and entertainment. Keep up with her Twitter for more.