Thank God for cellphones! Without video evidence of Chauvin's crimes violating George Floyd's natural rights, Floyd may have gone the way of just another unfortunate statistic, and Chauvin might have continued his career on the beat, unfettered of any responsibility or accountability. over the unnecessary, tragic loss of a life cut short.
I still recall my visceral reaction to the footage. I understand the allegation of Floyd's counterfeiting. I do not understand the use of unnecessary force; Floyd was no flight risk and there were multiple officers on the scene. He complained that he was having trouble breathing and yet Chauvin continued to maintain his weight on Floyd's neck. And, of course, this was not the first and only tragic result of police brutality to people of color. There was the notable event of Eric Garner, choked to death over selling single cigarettes (which NY saw as an illegal workaround to paying high excise taxes on local cigarette sales). I could talk of Walter Scott, Breonna Taylor, and other high-profile, unnecessary killings.
There are a few things that come to mind. First, the conviction outcome wasn't that obvious. According to statisca, only 5 of 42 convictions of on-duty police between 2005 to 2020 were for murder; about twice as many for the lesser charge of manslaughter. (Chauvin was convicted of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.) According to this source, there are roughly 1000 police-responsible killings a year; the arrest rate is maybe up to 2%, and roughly only a third of the arrested are convicted. I suspect that the real unjustified killing rate is north of 2%; why aren't more arrested? I can only speculate about prosecutorial discretion; perhaps the public is willing to give officers the benefit of a doubt, prosecutors may not find witnesses (say, partners on the scene) cooperative or other evidence compelling, etc. Never mind that prosecutors rely on the police as their allies in law enforcement; no doubt prior convictions relying on the charged officer may come under scrutiny. Still, I knew and was nauseated by the fact the defense would try to scapegoat the real victim (George Floyd) for his own death, portraying him as in ill health, dead man walking, who could have died at any time with or without Chauvin kneeling on Floyd's neck. There can be no doubt that constricting a man's air supply, his neck in particular, for a prolonged period of time, put Floyd's health and life at risk. I've heard disagreeable people mock Floyd, arguing that he couldn't have been so bad off if he could manage to complain that he was having trouble breathing. Police arrest people every day without choking off their air supply. Would the jury buy the testimony of defense witnesses? I wasn't sure
Second, I'm tired of the predictable partisan nonsense. I knew leftist media like CNN would talk of systemic racism. I knew the right wing media, particularly in the Trump era, obsessed with supporting "law and order", would try to make Chauvin the victim of "mob justice", that jurors were more concerned about the political ramifications of a not guilty plea on social unrest (rioting and looting), throwing Chauvin's due process rights under the bus.
I don't intend to go into an exhaustive review of both sides. I just want to summarize a few notable examples to make my point. CNN primetime host Chris Cuomo started a white guilt Twitter trend noting that maybe white America would start taking police violence more seriously if their own children were victimized. I tweeted back that most (but not proportionate) victims of police were white. Be clear: I have concerns about the abuses of state power in any form regardless of ethnic group. I have spoken out against police brutality in many cases, including Garner and Floyd. I have written many commentaries and tweets about bad public policy with disparate effects on urban blacks. (and I'll briefly discuss those below). I've lived in integrated apartment complexes. I have had black managers and colleagues (including a couple of black DBA's who have served as professional references), my closest friend in fifth grade (also an Air Force brat) was black, and I once dated a black woman. One of my Catholic Newman friends back at UH was married to a black Christian female singer (and told me of his own parents not accepting his wife and children). I have a black nephew-in-law, a deeply Christian man who has worked in the pharmacy industry, with 5 beautiful kids I adore. I don't want to be put on the defensive that "some of my best friends are black". It's not just black Professionally, I've worked with innumerable Indians, Pakistanis, even a guy from Bangladesh. I've worked on an internationally staffed project team at IBM/ I've befriended and/or dated Latinos/Latinas. I have two grand-nephews whose mothers are Latinas. As a Catholic I've worked with Hindus, Baptists, Mormons, and Jews; one of my doctoral officemates was a Taiwanese immigrant woman, one of my clients on the West Coast was a Native American. When I was in Catholic sixth grade, my class "adopted" a poor Washington DC black family. Maybe I was different since I grew up in the integrated military and I attended a university built in the middle of a southwest San Antonio barrio where some male dorm residents were the sons of migrant farm workers. As a Franco-American (French Canadian heritage), I've never really felt I was part of the majority white community; I have a surname almost no one can pronounce, and I almost got held back in kindergarten because I spoke primarily French. (and the teacher spoke only English) Some of the first albums I ever bought were from Diana Ross and the Four Tops. So please, no elitist, presumptuous lectures. Mainstream leftists have an insulting, cartoonish simplistic view of most Americans and racial identities. Most people know to treat each other as equals without pervasive political indoctrination.
As for the right wing, don't get me started on what "comedian" Steven Crowder was thinking by mocking George Floyd's death scene posing with his neck exposed. Where did he get the idea to do that--when Hannity offered (but never followed through) to get waterboarded? And you can almost phone in the Trumpkin response--get a law enforcement officer of color to provide another perspective on the Floyd case. That's what "Catholic Vote", a Youtube channel I used to clip some of its videos way back when it provided good comments, but something happened to it during the Trump era and I haven't sampled content in some time, and this nonsense will likely result in my unsubscribing.in the near future.
For us libertarians, the violation of individual rights, including the right to life, is an abomination, particularly by the State, which rules by force. Bad public policy, especially affecting urban black communities, include, but are not restricted to:
- end the war on victimless crimes, particularly the war on drugs. The US has one of the highest incarceration rates in the world, and young black men are disproportionately represented.
- remove barriers to entry in the job market and the business world, including the minimum wage, occupational licensing and failing public schools
- end the war on poverty, which has created a perpetual underclass and fragmented black families
- end qualified immunity, which discourages accountability for public servant misconduct, including police officers
- improve education choice for parents.
