{"id":43487,"date":"2021-04-24T10:45:23","date_gmt":"2021-04-24T17:45:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/?p=43487"},"modified":"2021-04-24T10:45:23","modified_gmt":"2021-04-24T17:45:23","slug":"everyday-erinyes-263","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/2021\/04\/24\/everyday-erinyes-263\/","title":{"rendered":"Everyday Erinyes #263"},"content":{"rendered":"

Experts in autocracies have pointed out that it is, unfortunately, easy to slip into normalizing the tyrant, hence it is important to hang on to outrage. These incidents which seem to call for the efforts of the Greek Furies (Erinyes) to come and deal with them will, I hope, help with that. As a reminder, though no one really knows how many there were supposed to be, the three names we have are Alecto<\/span><\/strong>, Megaera<\/strong><\/span>, and Tisiphone<\/span><\/strong>. These roughly translate as “unceasing,” “grudging,” and “vengeful destruction.”<\/p>\n

The trial of Derek Chauvin is now over. The verdict was on one level expectable (God knows there was more than enough evidence and it was very clear), and yet, in our unwell society, unexpected. Let’s look at some takeaways while it is fresh in our minds.
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Why this trial was different: Experts react to guilty verdict for Derek Chauvin<\/h1>\n
A woman reacts to the news that Derek Chauvin was found guilty on all three counts in the murder of George Floyd.
\nScott Olson\/Getty Images<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Alexis Karteron<\/a>, Rutgers University – Newark <\/a><\/em>; Jeannine Bell<\/a>, Indiana University<\/a><\/em>; Rashad Shabazz<\/a>, Arizona State University<\/a><\/em>, and Ric Simmons<\/a>, The Ohio State University<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Scholars analyze the guilty verdicts handed down<\/a> to former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in the 2020 murder of George Floyd. Outside the courthouse, crowds cheered and church bells sounded \u2013 a collective release in a city scarred by police killings. Minnesota\u2019s attorney general, whose office led the prosecution, said he would not call the verdict \u201cjustice, however\u201d<\/a> because \u201cjustice implies restoration\u201d \u2013 but he would call it \u201caccountability.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Race was not an issue in trial<\/h2>\n

Alexis Karteron, Rutgers University – Newark<\/strong><\/p>\n

Derek Chauvin\u2019s criminal trial is over, but the work to ensure that no one endures a tragic death like George Floyd\u2019s is just getting started.<\/p>\n

It is fair to say that race was on the minds of millions of protesters who took to the streets last year<\/a> to express their outrage and pain in response to the killing. Many felt it was impossible for someone who wasn\u2019t Black to imagine Chauvin\u2019s brutal treatment of George Floyd<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But race went practically unmentioned<\/a> during the Chauvin trial.<\/p>\n

This should not be surprising, because the criminal legal system writes race out at virtually every turn. When I led a lawsuit as a civil rights attorney challenging the New York Police Department\u2019s stop-and-frisk program<\/a> as racist, the department\u2019s primary defense was that it complied with Fourth Amendment standards, under which police officers need only \u201creasonable suspicion\u201d<\/a> of criminal activity to stop someone. Presence in what police say is a \u201chigh-crime area\u201d is relevant to developing reasonable suspicion, as is a would-be subject taking flight when being approached by a police officer. But the correlation with race<\/a>, for a host of reasons, is obvious to any keen observer.<\/p>\n

American policing\u2019s most pressing problems are racial ones. For some, the evolution of slave patrols into police forces<\/a> and the failure of decadeslong reform efforts<\/a> are proof that American policing is irredeemable and must be defunded<\/a>. For others, changes to use-of-force policies and improved accountability measures<\/a>, like those in the proposed George Floyd Justice in Policing Act<\/a>, are enough.<\/p>\n

Different communities across the country will follow different paths in their efforts to prevent another tragic death like George Floyd\u2019s. Some will do nothing at all. But progress will be made only when America as a whole gets real about the role of race \u2013 something the legal system routinely fails to do.<\/p>\n