Anyone shocked by the US Capitol attack has ignored an awful lot of warning signs | Francine Prose

Do surprised pundits and politicians not recall militias storming the Michigan capitol last year? Or neo-Nazis marching in Charlottesville?

Perhaps the most powerful shocks, the most painful surprises, are the ones that we saw coming yet refused to believe would happen. Our ability to fear something and, at the same time, assume it will never occur is one aspect of human nature that seems particularly ill-suited to our continued wellbeing and survival.

Related: We must impeach Trump and bar him from holding office again. Now | Corey Brettschneider