Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Derek Chauvin: The Great White Defendant
Townhall.com ^ | April 22, 2021 | Larry Elder

Posted on 04/22/2021 6:09:36 AM PDT by Kaslin

In the brilliant novel "The Bonfire of the Vanities," author Tom Wolfe describes what he calls the intense media interest in covering "The Great White Defendant."

A review of "Bonfire" explains: "The overarching theme of the book is the search for the great white defendant. The vast majority of defendants in New York City are minorities, arrested for killing another minority. The vast majority of the cops and prosecutors are all about the press and their careers. One drug dealer killing another drug dealer is not going to get you any attention; it's a dog-bites-man story -- no story. What you want is a man-bites-dog story. Therefore, subliminally, the police, prosecutors and press are always looking for a great white defendant who will make their careers."

Nobody, Wolfe writes, gets upset about massive media coverage of The Great White Defendant. Blacks enjoy watching media coverage of well-off white men, in this case a Wall Street trader, accused of serious wrongdoing, in this case murder. Guilty whites are used to perpetuate the systemic racism media narrative. And the media feel noble when pushing it. Win, win, win.

This brings us to the trial of Derek Chauvin, the white ex-Minneapolis cop convicted of murdering George Floyd, a Black man who initially resisted arrest.

Cable channel HLN has covered the trial from gavel to gavel. When bumping in and out of commercial breaks, HLN displayed a graphic, accompanied by foreboding music, showing two fists tearing an American flag in half, with the caption "America's Very Soul Is on Trial." Black Lives Matter activist Maya Echols, in a since-deleted TikTok video, said: "If George Floyd's murderer is not sentenced, just know that all hell is gonna break loose. Don't be surprised when building are on fire. Just sayin'." And Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., says she is "hopeful" of a conviction, but if not, Waters said: "We've got to stay on the street and we've got to get more active, we've got to get more confrontational. We've got to make sure that they know we mean business."

No, America's "very soul" is not on trial.

An individual ex-officer, Chauvin, who is white, stood trial for allegedly murdering an individual suspect, Floyd, who is Black. Nothing more, nothing less. Indeed, the lead prosecution, in his opening statement, stressed that "the Minneapolis police department" is not on trial, just solely this defendant. Furthermore, many studies find cops more hesitant, more reluctant do use deadly force on a Black person than a white person. The facts simply do not bear out the Democrats' and media narrative of anti-Black police "systemic racism." According to The Washington Post, in 2020, the police shot and killed 18 unarmed Blacks. That represents one-quarter of 1% of the approximately 7,000 yearly Black homicide victims. And this does not include Blacks killed by police through other means, although the total is likely not much higher since most suspects killed by police are shot.

By elevating the Chauvin trial into a referendum on cops in general and on America in particular, the media and irresponsible incendiaries like Echols and Waters make violence more likely if the state had failed to convince 12 jurors of Chauvin's guilt. Inevitably, as buildings and businesses burn, someone on the left reminds us that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. called riots "the language of the unheard."

The King quoters omit two things. First, at the time King said that, many doubted the credibility of investigations, given that whites ran the investigations. Today, most big cities have or have had Black mayors, Black police chiefs, Black prosecutors, Black leaders of city councils and Black superintendents of schools. Who, then, is not hearing the unheard? Second, King also called riots "self-defeating and socially destructive." King said: "I will continue to condemn riots, and continue to say to my brothers and sisters that this is not the way."

Waters voted to impeach then-President Donald Trump a second time for allegedly "inciting an insurrection" in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6. If the state had failed to convict Chauvin, a distinct possibility given the state's heavy burden of proof, would media similarly accuse Waters of incitement to riot?


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: derekchauvin; georgefloyd; maxinewaters; mlkjr

1 posted on 04/22/2021 6:09:36 AM PDT by Kaslin
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: Kaslin

If George Floyd had stood up and allowed himself to be cuffed like the cop did none of this would have happened.

2 posted on 04/22/2021 6:12:28 AM PDT by billorites (freepo ergo sum)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin

OJ was acquitted of murder because he is black. Chauvin was convicted because he is White. Nothing has changed since 1995.


3 posted on 04/22/2021 6:13:02 AM PDT by I want the USA back (Voltaire: To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin

The jury should have been moved out of Minneapolis (judge denied), sequestered (judge denied) - and BLM and anti-fa crushed by law enforcement for violence and threats of violence.

The jury heard everything on the news and were obviously afraid of being doxxed if they rendering the wrong verdict, according to the mob.

This entire affair was a complete travesty of justice.


4 posted on 04/22/2021 6:29:40 AM PDT by Bon of Babble (Rigged Elections have Consequences)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: I want the USA back
OJ was acquitted of murder because he is black. Chauvin was convicted because he is White. Nothing has changed since 1995.

Not true.

Releasing the accused on the putative grounds that the evidence was arguably "not sufficient" to convict him "beyond a reasonable doubt" is NOT the same as convicting someone despite the lack of evidence serving to prove his guilt "beyond a reasonable doubt."

The latter is far worse. We are thus closer to "Peak Wokeness."

Regards,

5 posted on 04/22/2021 7:15:45 AM PDT by alexander_busek (Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: Bon of Babble

Thanks to the trial judge (and Maxine), there is a very strong chance the conviction gets tossed. Next trial will likely be in rural Minnesota, which is very red. A jury in that region may have different ideas about Chauvin’s crimes and guilt. I still expect him to be convicted, but not on all three charges.

Wonder how much rioting and mayhem will follow a conviction on just the manslaughter charge, since BLM and Antifa are aware there are lots of guns in the red section of Minnesota, and people willing to use them to defend life and property.


6 posted on 04/22/2021 7:57:38 AM PDT by ExNewsExSpook
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: alexander_busek
As I recall, they found OJ's blood at the murder scene, and blood from both of the victims in OJ's car.

OJ was acquitted because Detective Mark Fuhrman used the N-word in a taped interview, ten years before the murder.

7 posted on 04/22/2021 8:17:33 AM PDT by zeestephen
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: ExNewsExSpook
"Thanks to the trial judge (and Maxine), there is a very strong chance the conviction gets tossed. Next trial will likely be in rural Minnesota, which is very red."

I could be wrong, but would there be another trial?

Wouldn't that be double jeopardy?

I think it's up to the appeals courts to toss or not toss the *conviction*.

If this was a mistrial, which it should have been, then there would have been another trial.

8 posted on 04/22/2021 10:06:02 AM PDT by boop (Joe Biden is a racist.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: I want the USA back

Today, most big cities have or have had Black mayors, Black police chiefs, Black prosecutors, Black leaders of city councils and Black superintendents of schools.


9 posted on 04/22/2021 7:31:19 PM PDT by MarvinStinson ( )
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: ExNewsExSpook

Waters voted to impeach then-President Donald Trump a second time for allegedly “inciting an insurrection” in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6.

If the state had failed to convict Chauvin, a distinct possibility given the state’s heavy burden of proof, would media similarly accuse Waters of incitement to riot?


10 posted on 04/22/2021 7:33:32 PM PDT by MarvinStinson ( )
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: boop

Pretty good chance (IMO) that the appeals court sets aside the conviction. At that point, prosecutors have the choice of re-trying the case or letting Chauvin walk. No way the Dims who run Minnesota (and need the minority vote) will let that happen. So, prosecutors refile the charges, but there will be a change of venue, particularly if the appeals court cites pre-trial publicity as a reason Chauvin didn’t receive a fair trial. If that happens, the former cop will be convicted of manslaughter by a jury in rural Minnesota.

Lest we forget, Scott Peterson is up for re-trial in California, after a string of victories in the appellate process last year. And Chauvin has much stronger grounds for an appeal than the guy who murdered his pregnant wife over a decade ago.


11 posted on 04/22/2021 9:02:41 PM PDT by ExNewsExSpook
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson