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Really enjoyed helping interpret these findings, which show that nearly 60% of arrested folks from Jan 6 attacks experienced bankruptcies/bad debt/foreclosures. What does that mean? I suggest that it's a reflection of how precarity + entitlement 1/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/02/10/capitol-insurrectionists-jenna-ryan-financial-problems/
intersect with persuasive rhetoric & misinformation that says something is being taken away from you & given to someone who doesn't deserve it. We see that dynamic w/white supremacist extremists who feel the country is being taken over by multiculturalism, & we see it with 2/
armed protests against second amendment rights & the claim that Democrats are going to "take your guns away." We saw it Jan 6 with how precarity + entitlement combine w/ a sense of betrayal & anger mobilized by the big lie-- that the election was being stolen & given to 3/
people who don't deserve it, who in fact are acting tyrannically & therefore must be thwarted heroically by courageous revolutionary acts. This mobilizing dynamic: feeling precarious (like something could be lost, something could be taken away from you), feeling entitled (you 4/
deserve that thing & it's going to be taken away by or given away to someone who doesn't deserve it, & feeling betrayed by & furious at those who are taking it away-- is incredibly powerful at moving people to violent action. We've seen it with terrorist violence in synagogues 5/
& we saw it at the Capitol on January 6. But remember that feeling precarious doesn't mean people are actually disenfranchised. I've love to see us drop that word entirely from these discussions. Only 9% of these arrests so far are people who appear to be actually unemployed. 6/
But these feelings of precarity, of uncertainty, of potential status loss of something one feels entitled to have & grievances toward those who are taking away, stealing it-- that is a big predictor here. To be clear-- this is different from economic insecurity. It's 7/
precarity + entitlement, mobilized by rhetoric about something being taken away & the need to fight back heroically to save something (one's people, rights, future, family, or country). Anyway, it's a well-done piece, kudos to @tcfrankel for the solid research. /END
