I can’t believe the jury did the right thing. I am so happily shocked. I cried. I figured they’d just deepthroat the boot and maybe convict on the manslaughter charge. I am so relieved. I am so happy for everyone who fought in the streets to get us to this point. I’m so relieved for his family.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/apr/20/derek-chauvin-verdict-guilty-murder-george-floyd
One of my coworkers likes watching Fox News to see the crazy when important things happen. And he said crazy Judge Jeanine was even saying this was the right verdict. Maybe someone slipped her an edible or something because I am shocked she was actually being decent.
Thank you Minneapolis jurors for doing the right thing!
Good – it’s about time one of these juries did the right thing.
Thank goodness.
There’s a long road ahead toward reform and actual justice, and this is the first step.
A reminder how much these types of outcomes rely on the courage of bystanders and everyday people:
In a lot of ways, cellphones are more powerful than guns.
I’m incredibly happy and surprised and trying not to be cynical in thinking the clock is always right two times a day. Even my hardcore republican coworker said that it was the right verdict and the officers with him should be charged too after I walked him through all his, but he was on drugs, but he wasn’t really crying for his mother, but… I want to hope this is a sign of good things to come and real change but it is going to take more than the easiest one to get right to prove it.
From a pro photographer, whose pictures changed our world, the very highest praise & regard;
Says something about the state of the world that I was actually surprised. But, good. GOOD.
Came out of a meeting and heard it on NPR in my car and burst into tears. Some correspondent said this is either the 7th or 8th time in US history a cop has been convicted of murder for a kill on the job. I know there is a lot to do moving forward but I hope this marks something new. Fingers desperately and cautiously crossed.
I am a little annoyed at people shitting on this moment saying things like, “it should’ve been a given/shouldn’t be so rare/don’t celebrate.” They’re right about all those things but we need to take a moment and respect the tremendous sacrifices that were made to get justice for him. People died, they burned down their own cities, and his family and community has gone through hell displaying strength and grace in the face of grief. It’s OK to view this as a victory even if all the problems aren’t solved.
I can’t find it right now, but I saw a Tweet that said, essentially: “Yeah, the world’s still shit and the system is still messed up. Allow yourself the grace to pause and celebrate for one day.”
Those tweets about this being the 7th conviction made me a good bit heartsick.💔
Because this is the second Minnesota cop to get convicted for killing someone on the job.
49 other states, DC, 16 territories, & *how many* other “dependent areas” fall under our control?
And *FIVE* of those cops are from all those other places🙃
And, tbh, had the other MN incidence where the cop was convicted *NOT* been a Black Somali cop killing a white woman (i.e., had their races been switched!), the cop probably would have gotten away with it.🙃
2/7ths Minnesota cops 😕
And Noor was only found guilty *just UNDER* two years ago…
April 30th, 2019.
Although, many of us have been talking about it today, over on Twitter…
Had Noor been acquitted back then? most of us believe Chauvin would have walked today.
The Yanez case (The cop who murdered Philando Castile) seemed to start the process of us FINALLY starting to bring these killer cops to some actual justice.
The Noor case showed we CAN get convictions, if they’re charged correctly (Noor got convicted for the Murder 3–“Depraved Heart,” although they didn’t trot out that phrase as much in THIS case, as in his! And Manslaughter 2, like Chauvin)…
Chauvin is finally showing that YES, you CAN get busted, when you go too far.
We definitely need to bust MORE of these assholes, though.
But, Chauvin’s is the case that’s showing our attorneys here that YES, you can even lock up the white guys when they murder someone.
I have to challenge this impulse in myself. I had a zoom call with friends tonight and I talked about feeling empty at the Chauvin verdict. To be very honest about my own feelings (and please understand I am not at all disparaging people taking joy in the verdict), it just feels like it’s too little too late. I see the police testifying against Chauvin. I see the conservatives saying that this bad apple was rightfully convicted. It feels like an excuse. It feels like they’re sacrificing him to act like this isn’t a systemic problem. His lawyer argued he was just doing his job. I agree with his lawyer – Chauvin was doing what he was trained to do, which was to kill Black people.
I vacillate between cynicism and optimism, sometimes hourly, and today is a cynical sort of day. My friends very rightly pointed out that cynicism is a bad strategy if you want to see change. I’m trying.
I totally understand & have similar feelings. I always ask people why someone would want to be a cop? My feeling is usually it is about the feeling of power over people. Most are narcissistic sociopaths. My hope is after all the current attention of all these cases & the “revelation” of all the white supremacist cops, Dems having power, we might have a chance to change policing. Let’s hope! I see the younger generation ready to run with it & that gives me hope.
I think that’s part of it, but not all of it – lots of people become cops because of the power trip. But I do believe lots are also there for good reasons. Have you seen the Trevor Noah clip about good apples? Ultimately his point was that there are good people who are cops, but they don’t push back against these cases because they are the system, as designed, and the system is more powerful than any individual.
https://m.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DFhhBocZnkoQ&ved=2ahUKEwjIqcXbuo_wAhWUGVkFHTd8ATgQwqsBegQIBBAF&usg=AOvVaw3gytEeOI6PZwUSp1fetW5R
Ugh sorry, bad link.
Let’s try that again
https://youtu.be/FhhBocZnkoQ
good
tho…im kinda getting annoyed at the ex cop found guilty shit i keep seeing
i mean sure…its technically accurate..but still…it was the same with whatsherface the one that mistook someone elses appartment for her own to murder someone…and the one that couldnt tell the difference between a taser and a gun
its like the media cant wait to fall over themselves to say its not a cop anymore
i dunno…im seeing a pattern here and i dont like it
Tbh, if I were a more religious sort, there’s a part of me which would be thinking that maybe, just maybe, Mr. Fritz asked one last favor he was owed, when he got to those pearly gates yesterday😉
Because My Mr. Fritz WAS always a fighter for the underdogs, and the folks who didn’t get dealt the best cards, or got the fairest shakes💖
This was a really sweet tweet thread about him, and it epitomizes everything I’ve always heard about our Mr. Fritz;