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mousme Before I launch into a more boring ramble about my life, I want to make sure I actually write about what happened yesterday which I didn't have time to get to before D&D.
I will put this behind a cut because there is material here potentially triggering for BIPOC friends who don't necessarily want to read even an abbreviated account of the story of George Floyd yet AGAIN.
So, context for my own benefit, because I wasn't using LJ this time last year and when I come back to this entry I may not remember the important bits. Right now that seems impossible, but history has proved to me that my brain suuuuucks at remembering things. Last year on May 25th, 2020, a 46 year old black man named George Floyd was killed in Minneapolis, Minnesota, when a white Minneapolis Police Officer named Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck while Floyd was prone on the ground with his hands cuffed behind his back for nine minutes and twenty-nine seconds. Three other officers assisted him: J. Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane helped restrain Floyd, while Tou Thao prevented bystanders from intervening on Floyd's behalf.
Link to full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_George_Floyd
Anyway, yesterday was the conclusion of Chauvin's trial. The jury deliberated for a very short time, and came back with a guilty verdict, which is honestly pretty fucking surprising, given how many white cops have literally gotten away with murder these past years.
While this was happening, sixteen year old Ma'Khia Bryant, a black girl living in Columbus Ohio, called the police to tell them she was being threatened. When police arrived on scene she was holding a knife and was in the middle of what they are alleging is an altercation with two other girls. The police officer responding to the call then shot Bryant four times, killing her (though not instantaneously).
I'm writing about both events because the Chauvin trial could look like a victory, a win for the "good guys," but in reality nothing has changed. Many people who are more knowledgeable than I about these things have pointed out that corrupt systems will sometimes sacrifice one of their own, one who has been deemed to have gone "too far" even by their standards, because that actually helps to uphold the corrupt system. It seems as though Chauvin was just such a sacrifice.
This isn't to say that progress isn't being made. It's just notable that the people I have seen who are most happy and relieved by this verdict are white people. The black community are grieving and angry, and have rightly pointed out that this is not justice. Justice would be George Floyd still being alive. It would be black people being able to go about their daily lives without fear of violent death at the hands of the people who are supposed to protect them (although it should be noted that the police don't *actually* have a protection mandate in many States, but rather a mandate to uphold the law, which is splitting hairs pretty finely but is nonetheless relevant in these circumstances).
Those of you who've known me for long enough will know that, as a Quaker, I firmly believe in the total abolition of the carceral state. Punitive justice isn't truly justice, and I believe we can do better. I have personally only scratched the surface of abolition, so I can't speak authoritatively on what that would look like, but I have a summer reading list that I may or may not get to depending on whether I ever muster the concentration to be able to read ever again. *sigh*
And NOW, the boring stuff about me. I had a serious, but SERIOUS, executive function fail this week. It was 1pm today when I realized I hadn't taken my meds since last week. *headdesk* That explains in part why I could not get my act together this week, holy shit. So I took my meds then, and suddenly I was all HYPERFOCUS FOREVEEEEERRRRRRR until after 7pm.
My week is still a bit of a shambles, but I got more done this afternoon and evening than I had since last week, so I am calling it at least a partial win. Tomorrow I will try again, and at the very least try to remember to take my damn meds on time. I have a fuckton to catch up on, but at least if I take my meds I'll have a fighting chance at it.
I will put this behind a cut because there is material here potentially triggering for BIPOC friends who don't necessarily want to read even an abbreviated account of the story of George Floyd yet AGAIN.
So, context for my own benefit, because I wasn't using LJ this time last year and when I come back to this entry I may not remember the important bits. Right now that seems impossible, but history has proved to me that my brain suuuuucks at remembering things. Last year on May 25th, 2020, a 46 year old black man named George Floyd was killed in Minneapolis, Minnesota, when a white Minneapolis Police Officer named Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck while Floyd was prone on the ground with his hands cuffed behind his back for nine minutes and twenty-nine seconds. Three other officers assisted him: J. Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane helped restrain Floyd, while Tou Thao prevented bystanders from intervening on Floyd's behalf.
Link to full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_George_Floyd
Anyway, yesterday was the conclusion of Chauvin's trial. The jury deliberated for a very short time, and came back with a guilty verdict, which is honestly pretty fucking surprising, given how many white cops have literally gotten away with murder these past years.
While this was happening, sixteen year old Ma'Khia Bryant, a black girl living in Columbus Ohio, called the police to tell them she was being threatened. When police arrived on scene she was holding a knife and was in the middle of what they are alleging is an altercation with two other girls. The police officer responding to the call then shot Bryant four times, killing her (though not instantaneously).
I'm writing about both events because the Chauvin trial could look like a victory, a win for the "good guys," but in reality nothing has changed. Many people who are more knowledgeable than I about these things have pointed out that corrupt systems will sometimes sacrifice one of their own, one who has been deemed to have gone "too far" even by their standards, because that actually helps to uphold the corrupt system. It seems as though Chauvin was just such a sacrifice.
This isn't to say that progress isn't being made. It's just notable that the people I have seen who are most happy and relieved by this verdict are white people. The black community are grieving and angry, and have rightly pointed out that this is not justice. Justice would be George Floyd still being alive. It would be black people being able to go about their daily lives without fear of violent death at the hands of the people who are supposed to protect them (although it should be noted that the police don't *actually* have a protection mandate in many States, but rather a mandate to uphold the law, which is splitting hairs pretty finely but is nonetheless relevant in these circumstances).
Those of you who've known me for long enough will know that, as a Quaker, I firmly believe in the total abolition of the carceral state. Punitive justice isn't truly justice, and I believe we can do better. I have personally only scratched the surface of abolition, so I can't speak authoritatively on what that would look like, but I have a summer reading list that I may or may not get to depending on whether I ever muster the concentration to be able to read ever again. *sigh*
And NOW, the boring stuff about me. I had a serious, but SERIOUS, executive function fail this week. It was 1pm today when I realized I hadn't taken my meds since last week. *headdesk* That explains in part why I could not get my act together this week, holy shit. So I took my meds then, and suddenly I was all HYPERFOCUS FOREVEEEEERRRRRRR until after 7pm.
My week is still a bit of a shambles, but I got more done this afternoon and evening than I had since last week, so I am calling it at least a partial win. Tomorrow I will try again, and at the very least try to remember to take my damn meds on time. I have a fuckton to catch up on, but at least if I take my meds I'll have a fighting chance at it.
