On Jan. 6, about 20 people called Harry Dunn the n-word.
Who is Dunn and why is his being called a racial slur important?
Dunn is a Capitol Police officer who was present at the attempted coup d’état on Jan. 6. Dunn testified before the Jan. 6 commission, a committee of nine House of Representatives members (seven Democrats, two Republicans), investigating the events of that day. During his testimony, Dunn recounted an exchange after someone yelled no one voted for Biden and Dunn acknowledged the current president got his vote.
“You hear that guys? This n** vote for Biden,” Dunn recalled a woman yelled. The crowd joined in, “Boo, f* n!”
I’m sure Dunn was stunned.
“No one had ever, ever called me a n** while wearing the uniform of a Capitol Police officer,” he testified.
Since his testimony, Dunn has received more racist messages through social media and email.
Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police Department officer Michael Fanone received a voicemail from a man saying, “I wish they would’ve killed all you scumbags.” During the insurrection, Fanone was attacked, beaten, tased and called a traitor. If you recall, his assault only stopped when he said he had children, but it didn’t stop soon enough because the incident caused Fanone to have a heart attack.
If you’ve seen Fanone’s testimony, his anger is palpable. As he testified, Fanone hit the table and shouted, “The indifference shown to my colleagues is disgraceful! Nothing, truly nothing has prepared me to address those elected members of our government who continue to deny the events of that day. And in doing so betray their oath of office.”
Fanone’s words are ironic. Especially so when you realize the elected officials he’s referencing are members of the Republican Party, the law-and-order party, the Blue Lives Matter party. Now that it’s time to actually show support, real support, not that performative crap, the blue lives aren’t getting support. They don’t seem to matter.
That’s because it was never about actually supporting police officers. It was always about anti-Blackness. Blue Lives Matter was a direct result of Black people and our allies shouting Black lives matter. If Blue lives truly mattered, Blue Lives Matter would’ve came into existence long before Black Lives Matter.
But it didn’t because, again, it was just part of the continued anti-Black sentiment of this country. When Black people want to say our lives matter, someone has to counter to let us know they don’t. The All Lives Matter crowd is also a part of the anti-Black belief. Again, why did it take the creation of Black Lives Matter before people started yelling All lives matter?
For the record — and because we have to continuously repeat this for the purposely obtuse — in saying Black lives matter, no one ever said those are the only lives that matter. No one ever said all lives don’t matter. No one ever said police officers’ lives don’t matter. First, no one is blue so blue lives don’t exist, and second, Black people are police officers! Their lives are included in Black Lives Matter.
This is why you have to actually think. If you only go to oft-repeated talking points, never parse the details or think about if something makes sense, you look foolish — much like these lawmakers who are willing to turn against Capitol Police officers in support of Donald Trump.
How about these lawmakers get honest and create a new movement: My Political Career Matters? Clearly, that’s all that really matters to them. It isn’t the Capitol Police. It isn’t the truth.
