There is a lesson members of Congress should learn from the Capitol riot

Capitol riot

While there is absolutely no doubt it was wrong for the 5-10% of the D.C. protesters who became rioters to enter our U.S. Capitol and the House and Senate Chambers to disrupt the business of government, our representatives may have learned a lesson in how many Americans feel.

They have now shared the same fear, trepidation and lack of trust in our institutions that citizens of Portland, Minneapolis, Seattle, New York, Kenosha and other cities felt as they saw rioters freely destroy and burn their businesses and neighborhoods this past summer.

Maybe this shared victimhood will make our representatives more responsive to the pleas and needs of these American citizens who felt they have been under siege.

Bill Barlow, West Columbia

AG Alan Wilson

Regarding “Group tied to AG urged ‘patriots’ to attend rally,” (Jan. 11)

South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson’s claim of his ignorance about the Republican Attorneys General Association’s involvement in the Jan. 6 insurrection doesn’t pass any believability test.

Wilson was one of the AGs signed onto the spurious Supreme Court action that sought the disqualification of electors from four states. He knew exactly what he was doing — undermining our country’s democracy. He knew that his national counterpart, Bill Barr, said there was no basis for this action.

I believe Wilson and our complicit Congressmen should be judged according to the provisions of Section 3 of the 14th Amendment and be removed from office.

Frank Caggiano, Columbia

Politics of fear

Recent polls report that 68% of Republicans believe the election was “stolen” from Trump. This is a shocking failure of critical thinking.

It shows the success of the Republican strategy to demonize opponents and promote a narrative that says the opposition is to be feared. It’s the result of a type of politics based on lies and that relies on fear. It’s goal is not policy or principle, only power.

This type of politics has worked in South Carolina. During recent elections the airwaves were filled with ads warning of how opponents were communists bent on destroying capitalism and how opponents wanted to take citizens’ guns.

Our democracy needs to debate policy issues, but we don’t need the demonization and fear-mongering that is now a staple in our politics. Citizens should reject these elements of politics, no matter which party they come from. They should look more critically at their political beliefs.

Peter H. Swanson, Columbia

Lockdowns

After reading John Cooper’s Jan. 10 op-ed, “Hypocrisy on lockdown edicts merits exposure,” I found it ironic that he only cited examples of prominent Independent or Democratic individuals who ventured out during a recommended lockdown.

How convenient to ignore the fact that our governor, while stating that we all needed to practice personal responsibility in fighting the virus, has been out without a mask in groups larger than the recommended number, without social distancing. And don’t even get me started with the president, who has blatantly discouraged mask wearing and social distancing.

Cooper, of the conservative Heritage Foundation, was correct in stating there is hypocrisy. But the hypocrisy is in his own backyard.

Doris Levy Davidson, Columbia

Tillman statue

When I call for the removal of the Ben Tillman statue on State House grounds, the response I often get is a lecture on how Tillman acted according to the widely-accepted ethics of his day. I’m scolded for applying my modern standards of morality to those who grew up in a different era.

For the sake of argument, I’ll grant the dubious claim that racial massacres, political terror and election fraud were acceptable in the 19th century. Indeed, Tillman bragged about his participation in such conduct. In spite of what may have been accepted by some Southern whites during his era, I unapologetically assert that these things are wrong today and were wrong when committed.

Being chased down and executed for holding a particular ideology would have felt the same in 1876 South Carolina as it would have at Tiananmen Square in 1989. The terror felt by one of Tillman’s victims would be no less than what you’d feel today if forced to kneel with a gun put to your head.

Tyler Trotter, Columbia .