MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Reactions to Wednesday's riot at the U.S. Capitol continue to pour in across the Mid-South. But what about those who think highly of the U.S. and have even made this country home?
Local 24 news Reporter, Brittani Moncrease, spoke with a Netherlands native about his view of the riot.
“I traveled to the US for the first time in 2005. It’s still one of the best experiences that I’ve ever had,” said Sebastiaan de Kok, Netherlands native.
So much so, de Kok left the Netherlands and made the U.S. his home.
After nine years here, his views of the U.S. have somewhat changed.
“This was not the America that I saw during my first trip,” said de Kok.
Wednesday's riot at the U.S. Capitol was not the 'American Dream.'
“Shock…but also not. The last four years have been kind of building up to this,” said de Kok.
Do you think this a good representation of a Democracy?
“No, no I don’t. I think it’s an outrage. It’s very umm…It’s a disgrace for the country especially on the world stage,” said de Kok.
It is a display that de Kok sees as having long-lasting effects.
“The fact that this is possible is unbelievable,” said de Kok. “There’s a huge disparity between a lot of different groups, but mostly far rights and leftist groups...“Look at the contrast between protests for the death of George Floyd. People were gunned down with rubber bullets, pepper sprayed. There was a lot of coverage for the police brutality that happened then, but here people are just seemingly walking into the Capitol.”
Declarations of a revolution and supporters of 'Make America Great Again' were images that stood out to many.
“Everybody understands what they’re initially trying to say right? America isn’t great. We want to make it great again. That leads to the question, ‘When was it great,' said de Kok. “Are we talking about the Jim Crow era? Is that what great was for some people? For some people, that’s what great is. It’s disgusting.”
de Kok calls it disgusting, but said it is worth addressing.
“It has made me more determined to be a part of the solution,” said de Kok. "There’s two more weeks left of this president, but when he’s gone, I think the problem is still there. It’s going to take a lot of time, effort and conversations.”