Let’s Face It — The Second Civil War Has Started

Let’s face the truth. The Second Civil War (CW2) just got underway. It had been brewing underground, in chat rooms, and on social media sites for much of this century. The first skirmish of CW2 started when insurgents, commanded by their Commander-in-Chief, the disgruntled sitting President of the USA, ordered them to march down to the capitol and stop the certification of the November General Election results.

The rumbling of CW2 has gone unnoticed, covered up, and spun to put a glossy public relations spin on the trouble with white men. These troubled Americans and the women who love them began to intensify their resistance to American elections and democracy when President Barack H. Obama started to form a perfect union. Obama’s America included Americans hitherto excluded from the pursuit of living happily in America.

Let there be no mistake about it; this war’s first shot likely fired on January 6, 2021 is a harbinger of violence to come. A member of the Capitol Police Force fired a shot to prevent a mob from entering the House of Representatives’ floor, where the crowd was hellbent on stringing up the Vice President and Speaker of the House, striking one rebel in the neck and killing her.

Let’s face it; the country is now engaged in a full-fledged war with itself, testing whether the government, pre-Trump presidency, or post-Trump presidency “will long endure.” As sure as Fort Sumpter’s shelling on April 12, 1861, marks the beginning of the first Civil War, January’s assault on the Congress marks the start of the outright hostility between the government and White Nationalists. This band of self-righteous Americans wants to claim America for Whites only, no Jews, no Italians, no Mexicans, no Japanese, no Asians, no Blacks, just pandemic non-mask wearing whites.

As much as President-Elect Joe Biden wants to restore the country’s soul, he must first fight for control of America. Before Biden can vaccinate Americans from the Coronavirus, he will have to cut out the racist cancer eating away at America from the inside since 1789.

Biden and all democracy-loving Americans must face January’s insurrection head on and fight it like it is a war because it is nothing less than a war. Members of the Trump militia who stormed the Congress, upon leaving, yelled they would be back, and the next time they come, they shouted, they will come “back with guns. “

Americans shocked by the attempted coup must realize that despite the Rebels suffering four casualties to the Americans two, the rebels won the first battle. They ransacked (not to be confused with ram shacked), which perhaps is a better descriptive term, congressional offices, took spoils of war, beat police officers with flag poles, and paraded through the House floor with a Confederate flag, something that Robert E. Lee wanted to do but could not achieve. And created terror, for seven hours terror reigned before they walked out of the building without being taken to jail.

The CW2 will not be an easy war to win for the most powerful nation on the planet because of several factors.

First, Trump’s militia members and sympathizers are found in law enforcement agencies throughout the country, evident by the cooperation those who invaded Congress received from members of the Capitol Police Force. An infiltrated force will make fighting the insurgents problematic. If an officer is one of the good guys, he never knows if the officer standing next to him is with him or with the vagabonds attempting to overthrow the duly elected government. 

Is his partner with him or with the enemy of the country? Does he have to worry about the attack in front of him? And watch his back from a partner who sympathizes with the rebels? Tough questions to ponder in the heat of battle.

Secondly, like the Confederate soldiers of the 19th century, Trump’s minions have been trained in the art of war by the US military. Many of them fought overseas and are combat savvy. Also, many Trump Loyalists, one can presume, hide inside the US military.

Third, unlike the first Civil War, the Trump forces will not fight a conventional war. They will employ the tactics of the guerilla, fighting in courthouses and town squares throughout America.

Fourth, no longer can hordes of gun-toting white men be called armed protestors. The events of January 6, 2021 revealed that armed white men are a clear and present danger to disrupt the peace and tranquility of urban America. They have to be approached as enemy combatants, nothing more and nothing less.

Let’s face it. America is at war with itself. It’s the white hats against the red hats. Be safe out there, everyone.

Harold Michael Harvey is the Living Now 2020 Bronze Medal winner for his memoir Freaknik Lawyer: A Memoir on the Craft of Resistance. He is a Past President of the Gate City Bar Association. He is the recipient of Gate City’s R. E. Thomas Civil Rights Award, which he received for his pro bono representation of Black college students arrested during Freaknik celebrations in the mid to late 1990s. Harvey is an engaging public speaker. Contact him at hmharvey@haroldmichaelharvey.com.