The ouster of two state representatives, Justin Pearson and Justin Jones, for a nonviolent protest is yet another assault on American democracy.
On Thursday evening, a Republican supermajority in the Tennessee state house voted to expel two Democratic state representatives, Justin Pearson and Justin Jones. Their supposed offence was participating in a nonviolent protest for stricter gun laws after the recent mass shooting at a Nashville school. In the days following the protest and leading up to Thursday’s legislative session, Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton compared the largely student-led protest to the Jan. 6 capitol insurrection. Sexton’s reference to one of America’s darkest days is as ironic as it is misplaced.
There are certainly connections to the Jan. 6 insurrection and this week’s events at the Tennessee state house. But Sexton and his fellow Tennessee Republicans fail to realize they are the ones making the connection through a continued assault on American democracy. That connection began before Jan 6 and has continued through Thursday’s Tennessee House session, with many points in between. It is seeped in hypocrisy and shrouded in racism.
White grievance has become the ideological fuel powering the Republican Party. While it has always existed in some form, the current brand is as loud and unabashed as ever. Its public display began with the rise of Donald Trump as a candidate during the 2016 presidential election cycle and surfaced openly during the August 2017 events in Charlottesville, Virginia. On Jan. 6 America witnessed arguably the most egregious and violent expression of white grievance yet. The country has since seen multiple flashpoints, both prolonged and discreet, which have created a straight line leading to the Tennessee State House.
