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Democracy

'Captain America' creator's son slams clueless Capitol rioters who used his symbol

@THR/Twitter, @Ameba_MN/Twitter, Jake Tapper/Twitter

While many of us know Captain America from the current Marvel Cinematic Universe movies starring Chris Evans, the superhero character has been an iconic comic book character for 79 years.

A superhero with the name "Captain America" who wears a red, white, and blue uniform and fights for freedom naturally invokes a sense of patriotism. However, not everyone who considers themselves a "patriot" can truly claim the title.

The son of one of Captain America's co-creators has some harsh words for those who have co-opted Captain America symbolism in their support of Donald Trump and the storming of the Capitol by his followers. Neal Kirby, the son of Jack Kirby, who created the character with Joe Simon in 1941, aimed his message directly at the rioters.

#CaptainAmerica co-creator Jack Kirby's son says he was “appalled and mortified” to see Trump supporters dressed as… https://t.co/9tkMd9sBya
— The Hollywood Reporter (@The Hollywood Reporter) 1610639526.0

In his "Statement to Insurrectionists," shared on Twitter by Jake Tapper, Kirby wrote:

"My father, Jack Kirby, along with this partner Joe Simon, created Captain America in 1941. Perhaps the most iconic symbol of patriotism since the 'Spirit of 1776', Captain America has stood as a symbol and protector of our democracy and the rule of law for the past 79 years. He was created by two Jewish guys from New York who hated Nazis and hated bullies. Captain America stood up for the underdog, and, as the story was written, even before he gained his strength and prowess from Army scientists, always stood for what was righteous, and never backed down.

At 72, I have a fairly vivid personal memory of every political and cultural upheaval since Castro's revolution in the mid-1950s. Add to that my father's stories, and I could probably paint a picture of the battlefields of northern France surrounding the city of Metz in WWII as well. However, the events that transpired at our nation's Capitol on Jan. 6, an insurrection inspired and fomented by our own president, will be the event that haunts me forever.

Neal Kirby, the son of Captain America co-creator Jack Kirby, was distressed to see some of the January 6 terrorist… https://t.co/nwrplRJIk1
— Jake Tapper (@Jake Tapper) 1610593697.0

While watching one of the horrific videos of the storming of the Capitol, I thought I noticed someone in a Trump/Capt. America t-shirt! I was appalled and mortified. I believe I even caught a quick glance of someone with a Captain America shield. A quick Google search turned up Trump as Captain America on T-shirts, posters, even a flag! These images are disgusting and disgraceful. Captain America is the absolute antithesis of Donald Trump. Where Captain America is selfless, Trump is self-serving. Where Captain America fights for our country and democracy, Trump fights for personal power and autocracy. Where Captain America stands with the common man, Trump stands with the powerful and privileged. Where Captain America is courageous, Trump is a coward. Captain America and Trump couldn't be more different.

My father, Jack Kirby, and Joe Simon, the creators of Captain America and WWII veterans, would be absolutely sickened by these images. These images are an insult to both their memories.

If Donald Trump had the qualities and character of Captain America, the White House would be a shining symbol of truth and integrity, not a festering cesspool of lies and hypocrisy.

Several of our presidents held the same values as Captain America. Donald Trump is not one of them."

@CanteringClark Is this person holding a Captain America shield? wtf? https://t.co/PN10Ubz5Af
— Ameba (@Ameba) 1610027611.0

There you have it. It should be pretty obvious that if you're marching alongside actual Nazis you don't get to use Captain America as a symbol for your movement, but it's helpful to hear it straight from the source anyway.

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Democracy

You can't 'lower the temperature' when your democracy is already on fire

Canva, Rep. Jame Comer/Twitter, Congressman Ted Budd/Twitter

A common refrain we're hearing from politicians and pundits who insist on denying current reality is that leadership right now needs to focus on "lowering the temperature."

You know, in case a violent mob decides to storm the Capitol or something.

From lawmakers the past couple of days:

"Trying to impeach a President with less than 10 days left in office is the worst way to lower the temperature in our country. If Democrats say they want unity, this isn't the way to show it."– Congressman Ted Bud (R-NC)

"I've reached out to President-elect Biden today & plan to speak to him about how we must work together to lower the temperature & unite the country to solve America's challenges."– House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA)

"I am opposed to yet another impeachment of President Trump by Nancy Pelosi that will further inflame tensions in America. We need to lower the temperature and unify Americans behind issues we can all agree on."– Congressman James Comer (R-KY)

And watch Fox News' Brian Kilmeade use the same language:

Brian Kilmeade makes the right's main argument against impeachment: "This country is ready to explode. You saw what… https://t.co/KEH9XN9m54
— Brian Stelter (@Brian Stelter) 1610370795.0

I'm not sure where these talking points come from, but there's clearly a deliberate message that we all just need to calm down and not do anything that might result in incensing a violent mob.

You know, like the one that already stormed the Capitol.

It feels a bit like these folks don't really comprehend what is happening in their own country and haven't digested the gravity of what just happened. So that we're all clear on where we are, let's take stock real quick:

Insurrectionists stormed the U.S. Capitol last week while both houses of Congress were in session. They broke windows, doors, and furniture and left urine and feces in hallways and offices. They killed a police officer with a fire extinguisher, beat another with flag poles, and put more than a dozen Capitol officers in the hospital. They appeared ready to take lawmakers hostage with flex cuffs and chanted about hanging the vice president. They even constructed a gallows on Capitol grounds—and they did it all in the name of keeping Trump in power.

Trump has spent the two months since the presidential election claiming that the election was rigged, stolen, fraudulent, and/or unconstitutional. He has lobbed and relobbed baseless allegations that have repeatedly been debunked. He has encouraged his supporters to "stop the steal" and "save America" from the "Radical Leftist Democrats." It's been lie after lie, and when you mix those lies up with the quacko conspiracy theories pushed by QAnon—which the president has never denounced, only saying that its deranged adherents "love America"—you end up with a mob of people who think and that it's their patriotic duty to attack the seat of democracy and embarrass the nation on the world stage as they act out their tyrannical government overthrow fever dreams.

The absurdity of the insurrection somewhat masked the seriousness of what we witnessed. But anyone with the slightest understanding of civics should know that a violent storming of the U.S. Capitol is not a sign that things are getting too hot. It's a sign that we're already on fire.

Imagine standing in front of a burning building and saying, "We just need to figure out how to lower the temperature." Um, no. We need to put the fire out. Now. Quickly. By whatever means we have available to us.

The time for "lowering the temperature" was months ago. And the way to lower the temperature was to tell the American people the truth about the election results and to move forward with a peaceful, orderly transition. The reason the temperature got so high in the first place is because opportunistic politicians and right-wing media allowed fringe conspiracy kookiness into the mainstream when they realized how easily and eagerly their voters and viewers embraced it, and because we have a president who fans the flames of prejudice.

Calls for lowering the temperature and uniting the country fall flat when a significant portion of the country believes one candidate literally stole the presidency from the other, and when continued lies, misinformation, and impassioned rhetoric have already ignited the flame of insurrection. At this point, it's too late to lower the temperature. We have to actually put out the fire now. What does that look like? How about telling the truth and uniting around the fact that the violent storming of the Capitol only happened because a dishonest president of the United States can't admit defeat. That's a good start.

What could be more unifying than a unanimous, bipartisan statement of the objective facts? Biden is the rightful winner of the election according to everyone who actually has the authority to determine that's the case. On top of that, the U.S. does not unite with or negotiate with terrorists. The U.S. does not tolerate coup attempts. The U.S. does not abide by sedition and insurrection. This is why people who serve in our government and military take an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. Congress was literally in the middle of a constitutional duty when domestic enemies sent them into hiding. The storming of the Capitol was literally an attack on the Constitution.

Just because those who did it see themselves as patriots and not seditionists doesn't make it true. Just because they believe they are "saving America" doesn't mean that they actually are. Just because they say they support the Constitution doesn't mean they know what that means. Just because they carry the flag doesn't mean they're actually defending what it stands for.

What we witnessed was a violent mob co-opting the symbols of our nation, mixing them with the language and symbols of white supremacy and those of their dear leader, and attempting to overthrow an entire branch of the federal government. If that's not the most disgusting attack on democracy that we've seen in modern history, I don't know what is. And they are still threatening more violence to keep Trump in power.

When a house is on fire, you don't need to lower the temperature. You need to put out the fire, and you need to do it now.

democracy

Democracy

Expert on tyranny explains the Trump 'Big Lie' you've been hearing so much about lately

Reuters/Twitter, Timothy Snyder/Twitter

In October, the Washington Post shared an updated count of the lies or misleading claims President Trump has made since he was elected. The count, as of August 27, was 22,247 claims in 1,316 days. Why did the count only go through August? Because the president's pace had accelerated to more than 50 lies or misleading claims per day, and the fact-checking team couldn't keep up.

And it's not just the Washington Post. Fact checkers across the media landscape have repeatedly lamented that it's impossible to keep up.

All politicians stretch the truth sometimes, some more often or egregiously than others. But the frequency, nature, and shamelessness of President Trump's lying is in an entirely separate category than most politicians. This is not an opinion or even a judgment; it's an axiomatic fact.

The problem is, a shocking number of people overlook his lies, believe his lies, or in some cases, even love his lies. Opportunistic politicians and idealogues have seen him rise to power through lies, have seen the adulation he receives from his base for his lies, and have decided it's worth it to hitch their wagon to his lies. That's largely how we've ended up here, in a broken government and political culture where the president's supporters rally behind the lie that he won the election with a not-insignificant number of them willing to die or kill to defend that lie.

Yale historian Timothy Snyder calls the claim that Trump won the election a "Big Lie." Snyder, who specializes in the history of Central Europe and the Holocaust and has written books on tyranny, explained what that means in a Twitter thread.

2/10. A Big Lie changes reality. To believe it, people must disbelieve their senses, distrust their fellow citizen… https://t.co/wHcXEyd1Za
— Timothy Snyder (@Timothy Snyder) 1610472686.0

Snyder wrote:

"The claim that Trump won the election is a Big Lie.

A Big Lie changes reality. To believe it, people must disbelieve their senses, distrust their fellow citizens, and live in a world of faith.

A Big Lie demands conspiracy thinking, since all who doubt it are seen as traitors.

A Big Lie undoes a society, since it divides citizens into believers and unbelievers.

A Big Lie destroys democracy, since people who are convinced that nothing is true but the utterances of their leader ignore voting and its results.

A Big Lie must bring violence, as it has.

A Big Lie can never be told just by one person. Trump is the originator of this Big Lie, but it could never have flourished without his allies on Capitol Hill.

Political futures now depend on this Big Lie. Senators Hawley and Cruz are running for president on the basis of this Big Lie.

There is a cure for the Big Lie. Our elected representatives should tell the truth, without dissimulation, about the results of the 2020 election.

Politicians who do not tell the simple truth perpetuate the Big Lie, further an alternative reality, support conspiracy theories, weaken democracy, and foment violence far worse than that of January 6, 2021."

5/10. A Big Lie destroys democracy, since people who are convinced that nothing is true but the utterances of thei… https://t.co/KYpbSWXQv0
— Timothy Snyder (@Timothy Snyder) 1610472687.0

Everyone who lives in objective reality understands that Trump did not win this election. There was no widespread fraud, and not enough small instances of fraud (which have occurred on both sides in every single election throughout history) to even come close to changing the outcome of the election. The election officials charged with carrying out the elections in every state, both Republican and Democrat, have said so. International election observers that Trump invited to witness our elections have said so. The federal agency charged with election security under Trump's own administration has said so.

Investigations into allegations have borne no fruit, and nearly all of the affidavits and "testimonies" (notably, not given under oath) we've seen have been from people describing normal voting and tallying processes that they don't fully understand. Voting machine companies have now launched billion-dollar defamation lawsuits against Trump allies who pushed conspiracy theory-laded lies about voting machines. The courts have been decisive in their rulings against the president and his allies, who are now 1 and 64 in lawsuits attempting to prove both fraud and unconstitutionality in some states' election processes.

The facts are not in question; it's only what people believe or want to believe that is in question.

Psychologists have explained that the president will never concede because his narcissistic nature and pathology will not allow it. He will double down on the Big Lie for the rest of his life. That's a problem—but it's not the only one.

Online misinformation that led to Capitol siege is 'radicalization,' say researchers https://t.co/v13MRxPfvi https://t.co/DF4W9P8qIS
— Reuters (@Reuters) 1610476230.0

A Big Lie can't succeed without support. Those in power who have gone along with this lie have breathed life into it, which also fuels the anger and resolve of those who believe the lie. Every person who has supported and disseminated this lie since election day bears responsibility for the attack on our U.S. Capitol and for how close we came to witnessing a massacre of our lawmakers last week. Every single one.

The bombardment of thousands of lies over the past four years have wounded and weakened our body politic. But the Big Lie slashed an artery and our democracy is bleeding out. Every single enabler of this lie needs to stand up and say "It wasn't true. We were wrong," as a tourniquet to stop the bleeding. Not just the politicians, but the media personalities who know the truth but supported the "Stop the Steal" message anyway. The only immediate remedy is to decisively end the lie, to clamp down on it hard and fast. Damage has been done and will need to be assessed, but right now the goal is survival.

That requires putting the truth and the country before any and all political or popular ambition, which some have proven time and again they will not do. But if there's ever been a time to swallow your pride and do the right thing, it's right now.

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Heroes

Heroic Officer Eugene Goodman used himself as bait to lure rioters away from the Senate

Kristen Wilson/Twitter, Ian Bremmer/Twitter (Photo by Ashley Gilbertson)

As more footage from last week's attack on the U.S. Capitol comes out, we're getting a fuller picture of what took place that day. And frankly, it's terrifying.

We've now seen the gallows erected outside of the Capitol and the rioters shouting "Hang Mike Pence!" We've seen reports of insurrectionists carrying zip tie restraints and now know how close we were to possibly witnessing lawmakers being taken hostage—or worse—live on TV. We've seen journalists attacked, a policeman dragged down steps and beaten with an American flag, and feces and urine left in the hallways and offices of the U.S. Capitol.

One piece of footage that has emerged shows how one Capitol Police officer's bravery may have saved members of the U.S. Senate. Officer Eugene Goodman found himself alone and confronted with a mob forcing him backwards up a stairway within the Capitol. Video from HuffPost reporter Igor Bobic shows Goodman attempting to hold back the rioters, but he is clearly outnumbered. They keep pushing him farther and farther up the stairs, toward the floor where the Senate chambers are.

— (@)

What isn't immediately obvious in the video footage is a specific moment when the mob reached the floor where the Senate chambers were. Goodman appears to glance down the hall toward the chambers, where no security can be seen, and then shove the frontman of the mob before leading them in the opposite direction of that hallway.

In other words, it looks like he used himself as bait to keep the mob away from the Senate chambers. Insurrectionists did end up breaching those chambers, but thankfully, it wasn't until after lawmakers had been moved to a secure location within the building.

— (@)

It's hard to imagine the terror this man must have felt in these moments. Completely outnumbered, charged with the duty of protecting the U.S. Capitol as it's being overrun, knowing that the nation's lawmakers—including the next three people in line for the presidency—were in the building and relying on the police for protection.

— (@)

But the terror for Officer Goodman goes beyond that. This isn't just a police officer being outnumbered; it's also a Black man facing down an angry white mob. We've seen photos of pro-Nazi apparel worn by some of these people. We've seen a huge Confederate flag being marched through this building that day. Many of the people who have since been arrested are prominent members of white nationalist groups.

To be who he was, in the place that he was, facing the mob that he was—and to still have the presence of mind to do what he did—is a demonstration of heroism that can't be overstated.

As we express our gratitude and praise for his heroism, we must also acknowledge the trauma of this experience. Not just the trauma any of us would have endured, but the added racial trauma of knowing that this mostly white mob could—and just might—lynch him.

— (@)

The racism in the group isn't just an assumption. Nor is the violent threat they posed.

BuzzfeedNews interviewed two Black Capitol officers, both of whom remained anonymous, about their experiences in the Capitol that day. They said they were repeatedly called the n-word as the rioters stormed the building. Some even abused them while telling them they were doing it for them.

"We were telling them to back up and get away and stop, and they're telling us they are on our side, and they're doing this for us, and they're saying this as I'm getting punched in my face by one of them … That happened to a lot of us. We were getting pepper-sprayed in the face by those protesters — I'm not going to even call them protesters — by those domestic terrorists," one officer told the outlet.

And they were left to fend off white supremacists without sufficient support. One officer, who has been with the Capitol Police for more than a decade, said the threat was downplayed before the event, and then the chief of police was MIA during the riot. He also explained how the absurd costuming and antics of some of the rioters served as a distraction from how serious the threat really was.

"That was a heavily trained group of militia terrorists that attacked us," said the officer. "They had radios, we found them, they had two-way communicators and earpieces. They had bear spray. They had flash bangs ... They were prepared. They strategically put two IEDs, pipe bombs, in two different locations. These guys were military trained. A lot of them were former military."

The threat isn't over. There are multiple reports of plans for more armed protests in the nation's capital as well as state capitals in the days leading up to Biden's inauguration. Social media companies have cracked down on incitement, including banning the president, in an attempt to keep extremist groups from organizing via their platforms. Other private companies have also taken action to limit further violence by denying service to Parler, a "free speech" social media platform that has been a favorite of many pro-Trump organizers, as the seriousness of what happened last week truly sinks in.

In everything that's happened this week, Officer Goodman's brave actions stand out as a beacon of hope. President Biden will have an incredibly busy schedule once he takes office, but as soon as possible, he should award this man the Presidential Medal of Freedom. If anyone has ever deserved that honor, Eugene Goodman certainly does.

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British reporter captured the pro-Trump Capitol riot up close, and the footage is surreal

iTV News/Twitter

Here in the U.S. many of us had our eyes glued to the news yesterday as a pro-Trump mob stormed the U.S. Capitol, disrupting a constitutionally-mandated session of Congress and sending lawmakers into hiding. We watched insurrectionists raise a Trump flag on the outside of the building, flinched at the Confederate flag being marched through its hallowed halls, and witnessed the desecration of our democracy in real-time.

It was a huge and horrifying day in our history. Our own citizens attacking our own government, all because the president refuses to accept that he lost an election. In their minds, they are patriots defending democracy from an illegitimate election. In reality, they are terrorists destroying the foundations of what makes America great.

The disconnect between what these people believe and actual reality could not be starker. Years of misinformation and disinformation, bald-faced lie upon bald-faced lie, and conspiracy theory upon conspiracy theory have led to this place. It was predictable. It should have been preventable. But it was still stunning to witness.

As an American, it's a little hard to digest in its entirety. We've been in this weird space of "alternative facts" for years, and have grown accustomed to hearing blatant lies pushed as truth. We've gotten used to being gaslit daily, from the highest office in the land. That constant deluge of falsehood has an effect on our psyches, whether we fall on the side of eating it up like candy or spitting it out like the poison it is.

So seeing what happened at the Capitol through the eyes of another country's media is really something.

British broadcasters were on the ground with the rioters yesterday as they stormed the building, and they captured footage from outside and inside the building that is just surreal. But it's not just the visuals that are striking. To hear a foreign country's media describing an American insurrection really drives home the seriousness of what we all witnessed. To see the domestic attack on our democracy through the eyes of one of our closest allies somehow hits home in a way that seeing it on our news does not.

Watch the incredible coverage from iTV News' Robert Moore:

Watch @robertmooreitv's report from inside the Capitol building as the extraordinary events unfolded in Washington… https://t.co/PjMm60Wbf1
— ITV News (@ITV News) 1609973437.0

"America's long journey as a stable democracy appears to be in genuine doubt." Wow, those words. It's a bit like having a friend slap you straight when you've gotten a bit too wrapped up in your own b.s. It also feels a lot like watching news coverage from a country we would criticize for its anti-democratic elections.

What a sobering perspective of where we are as a nation. "Humiliating" seems to barely scratch the surface, knowing this was what the world just watched transpire in our Capitol. "Grave" is another word that comes to mind.

It's going to take time and a herculean effort, but let's all commit to doing our part to repair the fabric of our democracy, restore dignity to the U.S., and regain our standing on the global stage.

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It's an unforgettable image.

Just a few hours after Senate Republicans released their health care bill, a woman in a wheelchair chanting "No cuts to Medicaid" is rolled down Capitol office building hallway by police.

About 10 seconds into the shot, the officers lift her out of her chair and carry her off-screen and outside as her chants grow louder and louder.

— (@)

Her name is Stephanie Woodward. She's a disability rights lawyer and activist.

She had traveled to D.C. with a group of around 60 protestors to call on the Senate majority leader to preserve the program.

"People with disabilities depend on Medicaid for our lives and for our liberty," she says in an interview.

The group piled into McConnell's office with others lying down on the floor just outside. Members were taken into custody about 20 or 30 minutes later.

— (@)

The Senate bill contains major cuts to Medicaid, a program that funds a large portion of medical care for Americans with disabilities.

The current proposal caps the amount of money the federal government provides the states to cover the program, which funds home care for disabled adults in addition to general medical care. With drastic funding reductions, Woodward fears, many disabled adults would be forced into nursing homes, losing their independence in the process.

"My parents were working-class people," says Woodward, who was born with spina bifida. "They couldn't afford to keep me alive if it wasn't for Medicaid. Medicaid paid for all my surgeries growing up, paid for my wheelchairs. I wouldn't be who I am today ... without Medicaid getting me here."

Woodward would like to see senators revise the bill — and bring people with disabilities into the process.

High on her list is making sure the law does not reduce the ability of people who need intensive, frequent medical care to do more than just survive.

Photo by Don Emmert/Getty Images.

"We have the right to not only live, but live just as every other American in the community," she says.

In the meantime, she has no regrets about the protest.

"I'm certainly a bit sore, but it's worth it," she insists. "It's what we need to do to fight for our lives."

For her, it's about the values in the Declaration of Independence: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

"We don't see that as just restricted to people without disabilities," she says. "I think that's for all Americans."

u s capitol

'Captain America' creator's son slams clueless Capitol rioters who used his symbol

You can't 'lower the temperature' when your democracy is already on fire

Expert on tyranny explains the Trump 'Big Lie' you've been hearing so much about lately

Heroic Officer Eugene Goodman used himself as bait to lure rioters away from the Senate

British reporter captured the pro-Trump Capitol riot up close, and the footage is surreal

A woman dragged from her wheelchair for protesting the health care bill speaks out.

It's an unforgettable image.

Her name is Stephanie Woodward. She's a disability rights lawyer and activist.

The Senate bill contains major cuts to Medicaid, a program that funds a large portion of medical care for Americans with disabilities.

Woodward would like to see senators revise the bill — and bring people with disabilities into the process.

In the meantime, she has no regrets about the protest.

For her, it's about the values in the Declaration of Independence: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Expert says there's only one laundry cycle you ever need, no matter what's being washed

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