If insurrectionist violence breaks out here in Kentucky, we’ll know who to blame

What a terrifying week. By now, even our Amish neighbors heard the news and seen the pictures of a violent mob attacking our capitol on Jan.6, where they destroyed property, planted bombs, bludgeoned a police officer to death, called for the execution of the Vice President and other high-ranking elected officials, stole sensitive documents and electronic devices, and defecated and urinated throughout the halls of Congress. Throughout the melee and leading up to it, the inflammatory rhetoric of the president and other office-holding members of the GOP bullhorned out of the insurrectionists’ mouths: The election was stolen. Trump won.

These claims have been investigated and found to be false. Trump-appointed judges have thrown out lawsuits seeking to overturn the election’s results because the president’s lawyers can produce no evidence, none at all, that mass fraud and cheating occurred. Except for the testimony of a man whose predilection for lying is unparalleled and his power-hungry cohorts in the GOP, there is nothing to suggest that the outcome of this election was anything other than what the majority of voters decided it would be. (Ironically, some of the people calling to overturn the presidential portion of the election won office on the very same ballot. They are not, however, seeking to have those results overturned.)

As I write this, white supremacist organizations, anti-government militia, QAnon conspiracy theorists, and other disgruntled citizens are openly planning to engage in further violence. As Republicans call on Democrats to let bygones be bygones (as if a violent attempt to overthrow the government were nothing more than a harmless prank) their far-right base seeks to destroy those parts of the country — and by that I mean actual flesh-and-blood people — who don’t agree with them.

Can the coming violence be stopped? I don’t know. Already, we’ve had armed protesters on our state capitol’s grounds, and while that protest did remain peaceful, what’s purportedly planned for this weekend across the country likely will not. Should all hell break loose here in the Commonwealth, those who commit acts of violence won’t be the only ones to blame.

For four years, our elected Republicans have embraced a self-serving and craven president for no other reason than he took on the mantle of their political party, and his support helped them fundraise and maintain their own power. Many of them, like Representatives Andy Barr and Hal Rogers, continue to stand by and restate his lies of a stolen election. Senator Mitch McConnell says the election was fair, but he did so way too late, and he has not agreed to hold his GOP colleagues and the president, who incited the violence on Jan. 6, responsible.

We’re in a tight spot, friends. But now is not the time for denial. Our options are limited, but we have a few. Make a plan to stay safe. Google how to de-escalate a mob. If you’re white, let it sink in that the fear you feel is nothing compared to the fear your neighbors of color feel right now. Consider your privilege and how you might wield it for good now and in the future.

And unless you’re also an insurrectionist seeking to overturn our elections and install Donald Trump as our country’s first dictator, email and call your Kentucky senators and representatives. Do so every day until the coup is definitively put down and all responsible held to account. Do so until you feel confident that your Black and brown neighbors, your democratically elected neighbors, and our democracy are safe. Do so until fascists, white supremacists, their sympathizers, and all their ideologies crawl back into the recesses of our republic in shambles and defeat. Then get on with or join up with the never-ending work of love and justice, and try to ensure such a terrifying week never happens here again.

Reva Russell English is a farmer and registered Independent in Lexington.