Thanks to Matthew Stewart ’85 for the interesting and insightful interview on his book The 9.9 Percent (October 2021 issue). I appreciated his sensible and humane perspective. However, he unhelpfully fell into the red/blue divide when he casually referenced the January 6 protest at the Capitol by implication as a “coup attempt” while ignoring the summer protests of 2020–21 —potentially the best evidence for his arguments.
January 6 was a political protest gone wrong, generated by a perception of suspect election procedures in several states. The summer protests, in contrast, were socioeconomically based. These expressed a need-driven passion sufficient to trigger an extended season of violent unrest.
Mr. Stewart could have pointed to the summer protests as exhibit one on the frustrations and ultimately the dangers of resource inequality. He failed to support his advocacy with his own example when he chose a partisan snipe over the persuasive evidence available to him.