lots of people (myself included) pointed out that these white rioters were treated very differently from Black protesters and race is a very big factor here but i think it’s worthwhile to point out also that activists’ relationship to capitalism affects how the state treats them

environmentalist & anti-capitalist protesters of all races are treated very poorly and it’s worth examining that their treatment in the 60s and 70s is part of why we’re facing the climate change crisis we’re in now. that movement was smashed with the full power of the state

the rioters today, despite the destruction they caused in the capitol, don’t present a threat to the moneyed interests in this country. they’re pro-business fascists. if they got everything they want, the billionaires would only make more money

BLM protests tend to represent a coalition on the left that include socialists and communists but even strictly speaking about the issues BLM protests focus on - those present a threat to the billionaire class if cops can’t kill, arrest, & imprison Black people with impunity

private prisons make wealthy, powerful people billions. fossil fuels make wealthy, powerful people billions. lack of regulation and wage theft make wealthy, powerful people billions. the people in favor of these things get treated with kid gloves. those opposed are destroyed.

as much as the MAGA chuds claim to be a populist movement, they favor an economic system that benefits billionaires. they favor the continued racial stratification that creates a permanent underclass in capitalism. they favor the pillaging of our environment for profit.

look at the way the power of the state was brought down with its full weight in the 20th century against American Communists, the environmental movement, and the Civil Rights movement - those people were tried for treason, imprisoned for decades, and beaten to death by cops.