The Trial of America Continues

Derek Chauvin was found guilty on all three charges that he faced in the murder of George Floyd. But, the trial of America must continue.

The defense inside the courtroom centered around whether George Floyd was killed by Derek Chauvin. However, the defense outside of the courtroom has always been and continues to be whether George Floyd deserved to live at all.

We must not forget about how many people’s defense of this was that a Black man deserved to die….

From the time the video surfaced a faction of America has believed that the white officer had to be justified in his use of force, because it was being used against a Black man. From the time the first medical examiner’s report came out another faction of America believed the white officer had to be justified in his use of force, because it was being used against a Black man under the influence. From the time George Floyd’s name was released as the victim another faction has believed that the white officer had to be justified in his use of force, because it was being used against a Black man with an imperfect history.

I am still deeply concerned when I hear the responses of the people around me. Members of my family and people who I once called friends have removed their hoods of anonymity and unashamedly spewed their hatred in defense of the murder of a Black man that they didn’t believe deserved to live. They refuse to recognize that this man was murdered for allegedly passing a bad twenty dollar bill, something that could happen to anyone who pays with cash (any change you receive could later be found to be counterfeit). They refuse to recognize that in doing so the response from police for that action will never match what George Floyd faced (police will not confront that action with them with guns drawn before words are spoken, over a twenty dollar fucking bill). They refuse to recognize that the onlookers were doing everything in their power by “only recording” (an officer who is so comfortable as to not fear consequences and place his hand in his pocket while pressing his knee into George Floyd’s neck to say -there’s nothing you can do about me killing a Black man- was not someone to intervene with beyond recording). They refuse to recognize that a man’s drug use doesn’t justify his murder by police (even if he would have died six hours later from the drugs in his system, an officer is not warranted in squeezing the life out of that man).

As white Americans, if we continue to be beholden to a system that protects us regardless of what it does to our neighbors, our defense of that system will contribute to the perpetuation of that system. Transformation of this system can be possible following the jury’s decision today if we want it. If we stop with the “bad apples” defenses and look to fix the rotten tree that continues to bear bad fruit because of the poisoned soil in which the tree was planted and the tainted water from which it drank, we can begin that transformation. We need to recognize that the system of policing was started as a way to enforce slavery and has been fed from that day with the belief that Black people (specifically men) are the main targets of that enforcement. Moving forward the protection of our neighbors must be what we are beholden to, not the system charged with the protection.

Accountability was found in this case but, the fact that another Black man died at hands of police during this trial a mere ten miles away must remind us that the tree is still rotten. And, the defense of that action is being done in the very same ways of this case. In this case it took extra videos, witnesses, public reaction, and the condemnation of fellow officers to shine the lights of justice on the darkness of the incident. Qualified immunity, a system that defends itself, and people that blindly defend the protections provided by that system are objects that stand in the way of justice. As long as there are objects that continue to shade some people from the light of justice, true justice will continue to allude America. When the shadows from justice disappear, America will finally be free.