It was definitely a mob, and I think Geert is right that this particular event had no clear command.
But I would caution against assuming these rioters were all poor white folk or that this was primarily about class. Many in the mob have now been identified, and there were plenty of white collar hooligans in the mix, some flying in on their private jets. The formation and legacies of whiteness in the US are a key animating factor here in a way that crosses class lines. It also fuels the way the mob claimed the title “patriot” and invoked 1776. Tara (Sent by pneumatic tube.) ________________________________ From: nettime-l-boun...@mail.kein.org <nettime-l-boun...@mail.kein.org> on behalf of Geert Lovink <ge...@xs4all.nl> Sent: Friday, January 8, 2021 8:13:54 AM To: a moderated mailing list for net criticism <nettime-l@mail.kein.org> Subject: Re: <nettime> made for TV, made for social media Good question, Keith. Was it a putch without a purpose of a mob without a cause? For sure they were all revved up, dazed by meme magick and shit, looking for the best selfie opportunity. Once we enter the heart of the power, and roam around there, we do not face power as such. No need to repeat here what Foucault and many other after him have written about power. We know, but what if one has to experience this at first hand, as riot tourists? The warriors were running through corridors, without a plan, needless to say, without their leader, as he was sitting in front of his TV set, around the corner, enjoying the images, watching the spectacle unfold, yet remaining silent at the decisive moment. There was no command, no plan, not even a serious counterforce. At best it was a ‘disruption’ such as promoted by Silicon Valley venture capitalists. Geert > On 8 Jan 2021, at 4:39 pm, Keith Sanborn <mrz...@panix.com> wrote: > > Put another way, was it the burning of the Reichstag or the storming of the > Winter Palace? or neither? # distributed via <nettime>: no commercial use without permission # <nettime> is a moderated mailing list for net criticism, # collaborative text filtering and cultural politics of the nets # more info: https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://mx.kein.org/mailman/listinfo/nettime-l__;!!LIr3w8kk_Xxm!4ZlRYQvxRnxEGpBaDolKOdJ7WIEPd9iTmb7mHr3uHhhjtRY6B2Z47HSnjMr5MhY$ # archive: https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://www.nettime.org__;!!LIr3w8kk_Xxm!4ZlRYQvxRnxEGpBaDolKOdJ7WIEPd9iTmb7mHr3uHhhjtRY6B2Z47HSnGQyZ9-Y$ contact: nett...@kein.org # @nettime_bot tweets mail w/ sender unless #ANON is in Subject:
# distributed via <nettime>: no commercial use without permission # <nettime> is a moderated mailing list for net criticism, # collaborative text filtering and cultural politics of the nets # more info: http://mx.kein.org/mailman/listinfo/nettime-l # archive: http://www.nettime.org contact: nett...@kein.org # @nettime_bot tweets mail w/ sender unless #ANON is in Subject:
