The truly violent nature of the US neoliberal bipartisan political establishment is revealed in its commitment to funding racist, militarized police forces above funding healthcare & housing. The same ones who scoff at “defund police” also scoff at funding universal healthcare 1/

They put immense energy toward maintaining a veneer of “civility” by wearing high-priced suits, adhering to a certain decorum with one another & engaging in performative governance. But their policies, words & actions reflect the truly violent nature of their character. 2/

These are people who see little distinction between property & human life, particularly the lives of the poor, nonwhite &/or marginalized. It’s not surprising—given that this is the value system of those who established the nation in the first place,... 3/

...that those most comfortable in the modern day establishment would share this same general viewpoint.

These are not individuals who oppose violence in principle but who instead want to monopolize the use of violence in their roles as gov’t officials & the political class. 4/

What ultimately made the Trump era disruptive to the bipartisan establishment wasn’t racism or violence—the establishment upholds both & he still enjoys support from the majority of Republicans and white voters—but that there was no veneer of civility. 5/

Even now, the bipartisan establishment is above all else concerned w/ its own self-preservation in aftermath of 45.

The performance of the inauguration matters b/c the “peaceful transition of power” has long been held as evidence of American exceptionalism & bipartisanship. 6/

John Lewis faced criticism for refusing to attend Trump’s inauguration while most of the bipartisan establishment went thru the motions of pretending it was normal. Trump now threatens to disrupt things & further damage the veneer of civility by refusing to attend Biden’s. 7/

But regardless of how inauguration plays out for the bipartisan establishment, for millions in America there will be no peaceful transition. They will be tossed from their homes by the same militarized police forces the establishment chooses to fund instead of funding housing. 8/

There is no such thing as a peaceful transition into poverty.

There is only the violence of being forced to go hungry while leaders of the bipartisan establishment enjoy lavish meals, housing & healthcare funded by the same tax payers they’re abandoning to illness & debt. 9/

It’s dangerous to look only at theatrical performances of peace & democracy w/o examining the system of brutality underlying it—or the violent nature of those overseeing & administering it, no matter how politically skillful they are at masking it with charm & “civility.” 10/10