Not a Riot—A Reckoning

WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 6: Trump supporters clash with police and security forces as people try to storm the US Capitol on January 6, 2021 in Washington, DC. Demonstrators breeched security and entered the Capitol as Congress debated the 2020 presidential election Electoral Vote Certification. (photo by Brent Stirton/Getty Images)

This song was inspired by a LinkedIn post by Christian Ortiz.  He’s a self-described “Decolonial Social Scientist and technologist, strategist, market disruptor, and the Creator of Justice AI, the world’s first AI Framework that solved the AI bias problem.” Christian is doing pioneering and cutting-edge work with Justice A.I. GPT.

Below is the post followed by the lyrics and both versions of the song. We both agree that version #1 is the best.

Turn it up and resist!

Peace, MAA

White rage stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021.

Every single rioter was white. Every. Single. One.
Not “working class.” Not “confused.” Not “misled.” They weren’t protesting injustice. They were defending white dominance, violently.

The lie they used, “election fraud,” had already been disproven. That was never the point.
The real fuel? Eight years of a Black president.
Eight years of seeing DEI in job descriptions.
Eight years of barely beginning to name structural harm. That was too much truth for whiteness to bear.

So it lashed out.

The attack wasn’t spontaneous. It was a white supremacist tantrum, a colonial reflex.
Not against tyranny. Against equity.

Now we’re in 2026. Trump is in year two of his second term. This time, the fascism isn’t subtle.
He’s consolidating power, silencing dissent, and using the state to punish perceived enemies.
Again.

So where’s the left? Where’s the mass resistance? Too many are paralyzed, not by fear, but by respectability. Some don’t want to “look like the Trump rioters.” Others are still asking permission to feel rage. But white supremacy is not waiting. It never does. Black and Brown folks are tired of giving their bodies to movements that won’t listen.

Here’s the truth:

White supremacy won.
It didn’t sneak in. It was invited, through silence, through both-sides-ism, through performance without disruption. It took back the throne. And most of the country is letting it.

This isn’t a call for violence. It’s a call for backbone. For refusal. For remembering that resistance isn’t optics. It’s obligation.

If you’re still worried about looking too radical, ask yourself:

What isn’t radical about a regime that cage children, hunt down and kidnap migrants sending them to other counties and prisons illegally, ban truth from textbooks, restrict funding to social impact orgs, and are putting an end democracy in plain view?

This is white supremacy. A system built for the social construct of whiteness. The system of white supremacy allows this vitriol to exist. I cannot and will not be silent about it. None of us should ever be. I do what I can where I am. But over throwing this needs global effort. This is an everyone problem whether you’re near or far.

FILE PHOTO: A mob of supporters of then-U.S. President Donald Trump climb through a window they broke as they storm the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, U.S., January 6, 2021. REUTERS/Leah Millis/File Photo

Verse 1

White rage kicked down the Capitol door, Wrapped in flags, screaming “freedom” while begging for more. Don’t dress it up as confusion or working-class pain— They knew exactly what they came to reclaim. Every face the same shade of denial and fear, Not fighting injustice—fighting equity here. They weren’t misled; they were mobilized, Defending a lie that whiteness baptized.

Pre-Chorus

They said “fraud,” but the truth cut deeper than votes— Eight years of a Black man steady at the helm of the boat. Eight years of hearing the system named, And whiteness cracked when it couldn’t stay unnamed.

Chorus This wasn’t a riot—it was a reckoning denied, A tantrum of empire when the mirror replied. Not against tyranny, not for the people’s voice— It was rage at equality, terrified of choice. White supremacy didn’t whisper or sneak— It stormed in screaming, and we called it “free speech.”

Verse 2

Fast forward—2026, second term crown, Now the mask’s off, and the boots come down. Power hoarded, dissent erased, Enemies named by the color of their face. Kids in cages, migrants snatched in the night, Shipped across borders with no legal right. Truth banned from books, funds cut from repair, Democracy dying in bureaucratic air.

Pre-Chorus

So where’s the roar? Where’s the mass refusal? Why’s the left frozen, stuck in approval? Too scared to look “like them,” scared to offend— While fascism moves without asking when.

Chorus

White supremacy won—let’s say it plain, Not by force alone, but by comfort with chains. Through silence, both sides, performance and prayer, It took back the throne while we “stayed aware.” If you’re waiting for perfect optics to fight— Oppression thanks you for the extra night.

Bridge

This is not a call to burn or bleed, It’s a call to backbone, to refuse, to lead. Resistance ain’t branding, it ain’t a post— It’s showing up when it costs you the most. Black and Brown bodies are done being shields For movements that march but refuse to yield. No more permission to feel this rage— History doesn’t pause for politeness on stage.

Breakdown

What isn’t radical About cages? About kidnappings with badges? About truth erased, futures erased, Democracy auctioned in plain sight spaces? What isn’t radical about a system Built to protect a lie called whiteness?

Final Chorus

This is white supremacy—call it by name, A system, a structure, an inherited flame. I won’t be silent. I won’t comply. None of us should. Not now. Not I. This isn’t just local, it’s global, it’s wide— An everyone problem—no place to hide.

Outro

If history’s watching—and it always is— Let it see refusal, not folded hands and wishes. No more waiting. No more disguise. The reckoning’s here. Open your eyes.

Version 1

Version 2

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