As an American, Jan. 6 was an embarrassing day. I and thousands of others watched live coverage of the Capitol being raided and destroyed by Trump supporters.

The past four years have been filled with hatred and heartbreak. Of all people to blame, I know the man behind it is none other than Donald Trump himself. 

Trump encouraged his supporters to go to the Capitol to “support” the women and men in congress debating and certifying the election. His supporters then marched to the Capitol and started to vandalize and disrupt the peace. When things began to get out of hand, Congressmen and women sent out messages to the world, but more specifically to Trump, to stop the violence and vandalism. 

The insurrection continued into the nightfall; all Trump had done to disperse the massive crowd was tell them to “Go home.” He even said “We love you. You’re very special.” Unlike others, Trump didn’t put in any effort to get things back in order.

Many people had tried to control the crowd, but the person who could have gotten things straight would be Trump, considering these were his supporters. People pleaded to him for help and instead, he underlyingly supported the process, leaving other lawmakers to deal with matters themselves. As I watched the news, I felt disappointed in this country. A person who is supposed to protect and serve the people let America down. 

What happened at the Capitol is one of the biggest examples of white privilege; we saw a majority white crowd get minimum repercussions for their actions when a diverse group protested for the right to live, people were beaten, thousands arrested and many murdered. 

What I saw was what America truly is. America is viewed as this wonderful place to live, but in harsh reality, it’s one of the most unstable places in the world. People lose their lives fighting for justice and others get a free pass destroying things over a loss. This is America. This is where we live. Instead of ignoring it, we need to take in what happened and use the situation to better the future.