Yesterday’s guilty verdicts on all counts against 45-year-old former Minneapolis cop Derek Chauvin was celebrated like a Super Bowl when all it was one tragic event not about civil rights but a wayward cop that let ordinary policing get the better of him. George Floyd lost his life under Chauvin’s knee because too many cops have poor training or untreated mental health problems failing to do their jobs. If you listen to all the hype about yesterday’s verdict from 78-year-old President Joe Biden, 56-year-old Vice President Kamala Harris, former President Barack Obama and many elected officials you’d think Congress just passed historic civil rights legislation. George Floyd’s death was tragic because no one in America should die because of a cop’s utter incompetence or mental health problems. But let there be no mistake, Geroge Floyd was no role model.
Floyd’s death watched my millions on video symbolized a long history of Black oppression by historically white police departments. While demographics have changed with more minorities in the law enforcement field, the same stereotypes persist with generations of inner city policing tending to single out African Americans for whatever reason. Watching the cheering crowds celebrate Chauvin’s conviction should remind everyone that it was the wrong thing to celebrate. While civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump collected $29 million in damages for the Floyd family, no compensation can get Floyd back. Chauvin’s defense attorney Eric Nelson made it easy work, only 10 hours of deliberation, for the jury to convict the former cop on all charges, including second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter all carrying long prison sentences.
Chauvin will grow old or die in prison from natural or unnatural causes but House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) spewed utter nonsense about Floyd’s death. Pelosi praised Floyd for “sacrificing your life for justice,” what complete rubbish. Floyd was murdered by an incompetent or deranged cop, had nothing to do with martyring himself to serve as a poster boy for the new militant civil rights movement led by Black Lives Matter [BLM]. Black Lives Matter, like the Black Panthers of the 1960s is a militant-type organization designed to mobilize peaceful or violent demonstration to seek social justice. “If this country doesn’t give us what we want, then we will burn down the system and replace it. I could be speaking figuratively. I could be speaking literally. It’s a matter of interpretation,” said Hawk Newsom June 26, 2020, leader of BLM in New York City.
When Newsome made his threat, numerous American cities were besieged with riots, looting, arson and anarchy. BLM’s message of if we don’t get what we want, “we will burn down the system and replace it,” are the exact words used by Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) the day after the jury started deliberating. “I hope were going to get a verdict that says, guilty, guilty, guilty,” Waters said. “If we don’t, we cannot go away. We’ve got to get more confrontational.” We have got to maker sure that they know we mean business,” threatening more rioting, looting, arson and anarchy. Waters echoed the words of Hawk Newsome., promising endless violence if BLM doesn’t get what it wants. Once Biden won the presidency Nov. 3, 2020, co-founder Patrisse Cullors demanded a meeting. Cullors called for de-funding police departments around the country.
Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.), former chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus [CBC], said she felt “relief.” “I think we’re in a good place right now where there’s bipartisan conversations that have been happening,” Bass said. “I am hoping that we will] get it over the finish line and this will be positive momentum to do that,” referring to the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. Black Lives Matter has called for de-funding police department around the country, re-allocating police funding to the Black community. Floyd’s May 25 murder galvanized collective rage brewing for generations in the Black Community. But the narrative coming from today’s media stems from the New York Times Nicole Hannah-Jones 1619 project, blaming the plight of African Americans living with generations of slavery. Hannah-Jones advocates $15 trillion in reparations for African Americans.
Chauvin’s April 20 convictions on all counts gives African Americans something to cheer about but doesn’t change anything in today’s society. While it’s easy to blame oppression in the Black community on “systemic racism,” current civil rights laws provide legal protections and opportunity to Black citizens. What happened to George Floyd was not a product of “systemic racism” but one wayward cop who failed to follow appropriate police procedures and use-of-force policy. Passing new the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act won’t change the stresses involved in everyday policing. While there’s nothing wrong with more sensitivity and anti-racist training, police work is stressful business requiring more mental health services to assure police officers don’t go over the deep end. Blaming everything on “systemic racism,” fails to identify the stresses needed to prevent another George Floyd.
