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> Their main opponent also tried to stage a coup. Please, calling it a coup is a joke. France has larger demonstrations almost monthly (at least during non-Co

> Their main opponent also tried to stage a coup. Please, calling it a coup is a joke. France has larger demonstrations almost monthly (at least during non-Covid times), I've seen larger riots in the aftermath of hockey games. It was a few rednecks rioting...

timkpaine 5y ago
A few rednecks, millionaires, members of congress, family of Supreme Court justices, White House staff....
kajecounterhack 5y ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_United_States_Capitol_attack https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_United_States_Capitol_att... Read the article. It wasn't a "few rednecks rioting" -- there were two pipe bombs. Elected representatives were in actual danger; capitol police were struggling to hold back the participants. That the "rednecks rioting" were so poorly organized doesn't make it any less a coup. Our elected officials were being sheltered in windowless rooms.
- usrn 5y ago
  Funny the pipe bomb guy wasn't caught despite how easy it should be to find him. Funny the guy who encouraged everyone to go to the capital (despite the almost universal disagreement) hasn't testified.
- mumblemumble 5y ago
  Also, the stated purpose was to subvert the democratic process and install their figurehead as leader. I don't know that I'd call it an attempted coup, either, because that gives them too much credit. They weren't particularly well organized, and didn't seem to know what to do once they breached the capitol building. That said, it doesn't really matter that the gilets jaunes were protesting for longer and in larger numbers; directly comparing them is a category error. The gilet jaunes were operating within the norms of how French civil society currently operates. The Capitol protesters/insurgents/whatever were expressly trying to overturn them. Maybe not a coup, maybe not treason, but sedition at the very least.
jkubicek 5y ago
A few rednecks whipped into a frenzy by the actual President of the US and backed by his supporters in congress who were attempting to overturn the election. We can't let the laughable ineptitude of these people distract us; they may not be so freakin' stupid the next time they attempt to overthrow our duly elected representatives.
- Mikeb85 5y ago
  > We can't let the laughable ineptitude of these people distract us We definitely can. The whole world laughs at the US when they call it a coup. We've seen plenty of real coups in our lifetime, this ain't it.
taylodl 5y ago
Technically you're right - it was an attempted coup.
dragonwriter 5y ago
> Please, calling it a coup is a joke. France has larger demonstrations almost monthly Coup attempts are not defined by crowd size.
- Mikeb85 5y ago
  No they're usually defined by military and government officials taking over institutions to overthrow the elected government. None of which happened. And when crowds do lead to governments being overthrown, usually it's crowds in the millions encouraging those institutions to overthrow the government. Again which didn't happen. By any definition it wasn't a coup d'état or even an attempt at anything with a chance of success.
  - dragonwriter 5y ago
    > No they're usually defined by military and government officials taking over institutions to overthrow the elected government. No, a coup doesn't have to be by military and government officials (though they are usually best situated, and in any case were involved in the autocoup attempt of which the attack on the Capitol was a part—but neither the whole, the beginning, or necessarily even the end once it failed.) And a coup attempt can (this specific subtype is called a self-coup, autocoup, or autogolpe) seek to irregularly extend the powers or the term of the current leadership, not overthrow anyone already in power, and this is what the one involving the 1/6 attack was. And a coup attempt doesn't always involve taking over anything, in the same way a murder attempt doesn't always produce a dead body.
    - Mikeb85 5y ago
      By this logic I could gather 10 friends from the pub, go to a government building, break a few windows, say we want to overthrow the government, then go home and call it an attempted coup. Really though, that's never been successful and calling it an attempt is being extremely generous. It's like saying writing a Tweet is an attempt at writing a novel.
      - 5y ago

timkpaine 5y ago

A few rednecks, millionaires, members of congress, family of Supreme Court justices, White House staff....

kajecounterhack 5y ago

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_United_States_Capitol_attack https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_United_States_Capitol_att... Read the article. It wasn't a "few rednecks rioting" -- there were two pipe bombs. Elected representatives were in actual danger; capitol police were struggling to hold back the participants. That the "rednecks rioting" were so poorly organized doesn't make it any less a coup. Our elected officials were being sheltered in windowless rooms.

usrn 5y ago
Funny the pipe bomb guy wasn't caught despite how easy it should be to find him. Funny the guy who encouraged everyone to go to the capital (despite the almost universal disagreement) hasn't testified.
mumblemumble 5y ago
Also, the stated purpose was to subvert the democratic process and install their figurehead as leader. I don't know that I'd call it an attempted coup, either, because that gives them too much credit. They weren't particularly well organized, and didn't seem to know what to do once they breached the capitol building. That said, it doesn't really matter that the gilets jaunes were protesting for longer and in larger numbers; directly comparing them is a category error. The gilet jaunes were operating within the norms of how French civil society currently operates. The Capitol protesters/insurgents/whatever were expressly trying to overturn them. Maybe not a coup, maybe not treason, but sedition at the very least.

jkubicek 5y ago

A few rednecks whipped into a frenzy by the actual President of the US and backed by his supporters in congress who were attempting to overturn the election. We can't let the laughable ineptitude of these people distract us; they may not be so freakin' stupid the next time they attempt to overthrow our duly elected representatives.

Mikeb85 5y ago
> We can't let the laughable ineptitude of these people distract us We definitely can. The whole world laughs at the US when they call it a coup. We've seen plenty of real coups in our lifetime, this ain't it.

taylodl 5y ago

Technically you're right - it was an attempted coup.

dragonwriter 5y ago

> Please, calling it a coup is a joke. France has larger demonstrations almost monthly Coup attempts are not defined by crowd size.

Mikeb85 5y ago
No they're usually defined by military and government officials taking over institutions to overthrow the elected government. None of which happened. And when crowds do lead to governments being overthrown, usually it's crowds in the millions encouraging those institutions to overthrow the government. Again which didn't happen. By any definition it wasn't a coup d'état or even an attempt at anything with a chance of success.
- dragonwriter 5y ago
  > No they're usually defined by military and government officials taking over institutions to overthrow the elected government. No, a coup doesn't have to be by military and government officials (though they are usually best situated, and in any case were involved in the autocoup attempt of which the attack on the Capitol was a part—but neither the whole, the beginning, or necessarily even the end once it failed.) And a coup attempt can (this specific subtype is called a self-coup, autocoup, or autogolpe) seek to irregularly extend the powers or the term of the current leadership, not overthrow anyone already in power, and this is what the one involving the 1/6 attack was. And a coup attempt doesn't always involve taking over anything, in the same way a murder attempt doesn't always produce a dead body.
  - Mikeb85 5y ago
    By this logic I could gather 10 friends from the pub, go to a government building, break a few windows, say we want to overthrow the government, then go home and call it an attempted coup. Really though, that's never been successful and calling it an attempt is being extremely generous. It's like saying writing a Tweet is an attempt at writing a novel.
    - 5y ago