Tags
Climate Crisis, Collective Guilt, Derek Chauvin, George Floyd, Institutionalized Systemic Racism, Police violence against blacks, Racial injustice and inequity, Restore our Earth
Photo Credit: KTIV Television
Guilty. Guilty. Guilty.
On Tuesday, April 20, I was relieved when the jury declared Derek Chauvin guilty on all three counts for the death of George Floyd. Would the Floyd family have obtained justice without national and international outcry? However, there was no justice for George Floyd. Trading with a twenty-dollar counterfeit bill was all it took for his summary execution by a knee chokehold. The CEOs on Wall Street, who took down both the US and global financial systems and destroyed the lives of millions of workers and mortgage holders, were too BIG even for a trial much less the death penalty.
Considering that the police continue to kill blacks without due process, I think it foolhardy to believe that Chauvin’s guilty verdict is any sign of progress towards police reform. While institutionalized systemic racism persists, police killings of black and brown bodies will persist.
How complicit and guilty are we as a nation in the training given to our police force that has no qualms in eliminating black and brown offenders, however trivial their alleged crime?
Our centuries old, racist, social-economic system extends way beyond policing. This entrenched system determines where we live, the schools our children attend, our access to a healthy diet, the health care we receive, our exposure to toxic air and water, and much more. We need to address these inequities in our policies and actions to Restore our Earth, not just for a few but for the 99 Percent.
For how long can we continue to enjoy the benefits of an unjust and inequitable system and not share collective guilt?
Three Worlds One Vision 
Recruiting lots of police officers from a number of different ethnic backgrounds is a must, but everybody must be trained not to be a racist. And the ones who don’t like that leave.
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If only it were that easy, John!
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Although some research reveals infants demonstrate a preference for caregivers of their own race, any future racial biases and bigotries generally are environmentally acquired. Adult racist sentiments are often cemented by a misguided yet strong sense of entitlement, perhaps also acquired from one’s environment. One means of proactively preventing this social blight may be by allowing young children to become accustomed to other races in a harmonious manner.
At a very young and therefore impressionable age, I was emphatically told by my mother (who’s of Eastern European heritage) about the exceptionally kind and caring nature of our Black family doctor. She never had anything disdainful to say about people of color; in fact she loves to watch/listen to the Middle Eastern and Indian subcontinental dancers and musicians on the multicultural channels. This had a positive effect upon me. Had she (for whatever reason) told me the opposite about the doctor, however, I could have aged while blindly linking his color with an unjustly cynical view of him and, eventually, all Black people.
Some people — who may now be in an armed authority capacity — were raised with a distrust or blind dislike of other racial groups. The first step towards changing irrationally biased thinking can be the awareness of it and its origin. Until then, I believe, such biased sentiments should either be kept to oneself or counselled, especially when considering the mentality is easily inflamed by anger.
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I believe there are those who genuinely pursue and attain their position of authority with the sole purpose of assisting their fellow human beings. I further believe, however, that many law-enforcement employees — be they private-property security, community police, prison guards or heavily-armed rapid-response police units — also target such fields of employment for authority/power reasons, albeit perhaps subconsciously.
Those that do get into such a profession of (potential or actual) physical authority might do some honest soul-searching as to truly why.
Meanwhile, some people who may now be in such an armed authority capacity were reared with an irrational distrust or blindly baseless dislike of other racial (etcetera) groups.
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The Chauvin verdict is primarily due to the composition of the jury IMO. None of the analyses I’ve seen recognizes that having several black and mixed race jurors made an acquittal much less likely. If the jury was all white from a rural area, the outcome probably would be different.
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That’s a great point, and thanks to media coverage, it’s impossible to find a jury that doesn’t know what has happened before they were selected
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I agree that an all white jury from a rural area would’ve delivered a different verdict. For their protection, the judge hasn’t approved releasing the names and faces of the jurors.
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He deserved it.
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The verdict does not bring Mr. Floyd back. It does not right that wrong. Perhaps we need to redefine keeping the peace, so that it includes a peaceful life for people of color.
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Rebecca, from what I’ve observed over time, we can legislate terms of peaceful cohabitation between rival groups. Changing ingrained attitudes is another kind of beast.
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‘For how long can we continue to enjoy the benefits of an unjust and inequitable system and not share collective guilt?’
Rosaliene, a powerful question and one many of us do not even want to address. Your post raises many serious ethical issues and discrepencies within the justice system. From the UK we watch in bewilderment and disbelief at certain news from America; the power of the gun lobby is extraordinary and unfathomable, the acceptance of the high number of mass shootings and death rate, the continued fear that so many of your popoulation have to live with. It seems to be more than in many years a society broken into so many disparate parts with various protection, or lack thereof, for each. How does one heal it?
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Annika, thanks for sharing your thoughts on this issue. It’s a constant struggle for millions of Americans who want real change within the justice system and an end to the mass killings. Sad to say, powerful corporate interests holds nation down under a knee chokehold. As I see it, we can begin to heal when the minority power elite lose their dominance over society and the world.
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Will that shift of power from the minority dominance be peaceful or not? Hopefully the past year will have made a difference in many areas of our lives including this one.
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Great question about collective guilt. Even if we do our best to disassociate ourselves, unjust systems are weeds which need to be pulled
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An excellent analogy! What’s more, it’s the kind of weed that requires constant vigilance, since it keeps coming back.
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Thank you. And definitely. It’s also like *cough cough uproot it!
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Your angst, your concerns, echo my own. I think that, as a result of Derek Chauvin’s ‘guilty x3″ verdict, some changes will be made. I think that most police officers want to do the right thing. But … is it enough? Will it stop the killing of unarmed Black men by white chauvinist arrogant officers? Probably not. Sigh. Time will tell. I hang my head in shame at what this nation has become … or perhaps always was.
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Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Jill. The legacy of slavery still influences our lives, whether knowingly or not.
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You are so very right about that, and there are some in this country who, I believe, would be happy to go back to the days of slavery. Sigh.
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Sadly true, Jill 😦
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Chauvin-verdict almost coincides with the fatal shooting of a South African man in Hawaii on the 14 April 2021 by US Police, an innocent guy for that matter! I don’t know what to call that because we also have cases of Black Police fatal – wounding the Black victims. I’m only happy that justice is being served!
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Justice is, indeed, being served in George Floyd’s case. Hawaii, too!?
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Indeed, there is reason to believe this is only a one-off, but we do need the hope and courage to do our part to end the tragedy of the black experience. An eye-opening PBS documentary on the subject of the long reach of forms of US slavery into the 1940s is called “Slavery by Another Name.” I’d add it to the formal education of everyone.
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I agree, Dr. Stein. We have to keep up the struggle to make black lives matter and end the police violence.
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As I’ve seen police continue to kill black and brown people AFTER the video of Chauvin murdering George Floyd came to light, AFTER the protests, and AFTER the verdict, I was shocked and confused, thinking. why does this keep happening? Now, I’m understanding that these murders have been going on for a very long time, and, even if there are good cops, racism is still systemic, and it’s only now that the truth is coming out. I hope the clarity of evidence will be lead to change. But it’s going to take a lot of work. Collective guilt points to collective responsibility.
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Thanks for sharing your thoughts, JoAnna. “Why does this keep happening?” The cops get away with such behavior. They operate under a different set of rules. Impunity breeds contempt for the law.
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One way the murdering of people may stop, by police, and mass shootings, when, someone “Has a bad day” and decide to write off as many innocent, people with his guns, as he is able to, it’s to legislate new laws that do not protect policemen, from being put on trial anytime they shoot a person, regardless of the circumstances, and let the jury decide if he/she is guilty, or not, and of course, tougher laws for gun control, period.
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I’m in favor of your proposals, Burning Heart. The members of our police force should not be above the law.
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The problem with race is that it’s a social construct and not a logical reasoning thing. People tend to believe more in social construct than in common sense. That said we have to replace the old beliefs with the new ones through cultural conditioning and we start with the system. The superiority of the white race still pervades even a lot of systems in Africa. It’s so so sad
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Thanks for sharing your vision as an African woman. It is, indeed, sad that racism has created such an ingrained divide among us as a species. It serves only those who benefit from the system, as intended.
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Thanks for sharing!!.. Change will only come when the people work together to make change,. no matter the issue.. most of the time the leadership merely reflects the ideology of the people that put them in power… for some, they will deny change, mainly because of fear… every generation goes through change and as is said “Rome wasn’t built in a day” but believe that change is in the winds, helped by today’s technology… 🙂
Until we meet again..
May you always be blessed
with walls for the wind,
a roof for the rain,
a warm cup of tea by the fire,
laughter to cheer you,
those you love near you,
and all that your heart might desire.
(Irish Saying)
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Thanks for dropping by, Dutch 🙂 Change will come, but will it come fast enough to avoid the fall.
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Well, the verdict was a relief, but what was not good was how we were worried about it in the first place. I mean, should there even have been a question?! So to answer your question, yes, we’re all guilty. Not sure if you’ve read, “Stamped from the Beginning,” but it is so eye-opening for me. Have a good day, Ros.
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Yes, Pam, it does say something when our response is one of relief. I’ve added “Stamped from the Beginning” to my To Read List. Thanks for the referral.
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It’s jam-packed full of history, Rosaliene.
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Excellent!
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🤗
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Laws can’t change what is in people’s hearts. I fear our racism is just who we are. I’m a bit jaded this morning.
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I agree, Don, we cannot legislate tolerance and acceptance. But your openness in exchanging views with me, a descendant of African slaves from the Caribbean (Guyana), goes a long-long way in bridging the divide between us. Blessings to you and your bride ❤
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Tolerance is be bare minimum. We can’t reach the bare minimum. From the old white guy from the Deep South. Blessings to you my transplanted Caribbean friend.
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🙂
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So true!
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So glad you stopped by, Carol 🙂
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💜
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Well said Rosaliene. I really appreciate your analysis of the deeper issue. When will it end indeed.
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Thanks very much.
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Well said Rosaliene! “How complicit and guilty are we as a nation in the training given to our police force …” I read your post even as I am preparing a piece in this vein for later in May. Reminded of something famously said by Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel:
“…morally speaking, there is no limit to the concern one must feel for the suffering of human beings, that indifference to evil is worse than evil itself, that in a free society, some are guilty, but all are responsible.”
We must deal with our complicity.
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Thanks for reading and sharing your thoughts, Rusty. Indeed, me must deal with our complicity.
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your land, so fraught with guilt
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Thanks for dropping by, David 🙂 Until we own this guilt, we will not be able to heal and move forward.
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Rusty, thanks for sharing my post on your blog 🙂
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