CLANCY OVERELL | Editor | CONTACT
White Americans, from the College lawns to the Oval Office are today cheering at the news that they will never have to confront the term ‘Black Lives Matter’ ever again.
This comes as a US jury finds former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin unequivocally guilty of the murder of George Floyd, whose death sparked worldwide protests, violence and a furious re-examination of racism and policing.
Even President Joe Biden is getting in on the fanfare today, by making sure there were cameras present when he decided to call the grieving family of George Floyd to let them know that he too believes a man should be sent to prison for murdering another man.
Today White America enters a new dawn, where they never again have to think about the fact that their experience with law enforcement is wildly different to any families in some of those suburbs where it is a lot more difficult to vote on election day.
That’s because one of the four cops involved in the killing of Floyd has been found guilty of murder, the second ever police officer to be convicted of this crime in Minnesota history. That now means the systemic racism faced by black and brown Americans is a thing of the past.
Chauvin, who pinned Mr Floyd to the ground with his knee during an arrest last May, was found guilty on all three charges against him — second-degree murder, third-degree murder and manslaughter — and could be sent to prison for decades when he faces sentencing in two months.
It appears lost on the apathetic suburban American masses that their might be some sort of systemic problem with their justice system, when so much of the black population were preparing to have their hearts broken by a not-guilty verdict.
The collective relief felt by White Americans comes in the wake of the traffic-stop shooting of Daunte Wright by an officer in a Minneapolis suburb last week which sparked protests as the greater Minneapolis area nervously awaited the outcome of today’s trial.
This also times with the Chicago police review board releasing body camera video of a police officer’s fatal shooting of a 13-year-old boy late last month.
Australians are also urged to not beat their chests over how dangerous the American justice system is for black people until one person is convicted for the 476 Indigenous deaths in custody since 1991.
