What does the recent conviction of Derek Chauvin mean to you personally (no commentary)

[immamac 42837]

We have a thread for discussion, this is not the thread for that. I wanted an opportunity to create a thread where people can post what this means for them personally - with no discussion or commentary, so others can gain perspective. 

For me personally this means very little and everything at the same time - I will explain. 

It means very little because without real reform this is just putting someone who very clearly murdered a man in jail. 

It means everything to me because it kept the tiny glimmer of hope I have for this country alive. Reform is still possible and could potentially be accelerated by this. If he was found innocent I'd have lost all faith in the possibility of a recovery. 

Let everyone know what it means to you. 

[futureman 22444]

I’m relieved for the store owners in minneapolis and elsewhere. 

[gsoda3 3245]

nothing, because i'm by nature cynical.  

[52-80 19147]

It’s illegal to have a mans laughter 

[GhostOfTomJoad 9323]

Personally it means I can look at my mixed race family members and not feel like I have to apologize for yet another miscarriage of justice.

[Guest]

A glimmer of hope for accountability.  Equal justice is fundamental in liberty, IMHO. 

[UTGrad98 2271]

The United States is a little less shitty than I thought it was after January 6th.

[Helobious 9450]

That Derek Chauvin was found guilty of murder.

[Wally Fairway 5541]

That it will be at least a few days (maybe) before the next round of riots, that occur after a wrongful death

[deadshank 24652]

Justice served.  

[cabowabo 4484]

That the riots won’t come until he receives his sentence. 

[hornmpa96 2618]

A murderer was held accountable by our judicial system. It’s a step in the right direction that hopefully no one is above the law.

[Celery Man 20932]

the tiniest glimmer of optimism that the window is beginning to close for police lynchings. if it's caught on tape and the act of murder is near 10 minutes long.

[Armybrat 40822]

20 minutes ago, deadshank said:

Justice served.  

This.

[AUS-97HORN 11757]

relieved we didnt have to put the entire country on riot alert for the next week.   ashamed that its come to that feeling 

[Scheiss Meister 8407]

One small victory for police accountability; lots more to go.

[JohnnyRage 1617]

America is a balancing act. Sometimes we get it wrong, but sometimes we can get it right.

[USMCHorn 1369]

That I'm glad to have been born in a age of technology that allows these shameful acts - that our community has been talking about for centuries - be seen on full display. My parents and grandparents didn't have this benefit.

I can also be proud of my service and the sacrifices my family made because of it. Jan 6 was a much different feeling.

[washparkhorn 9939]

A man, begging for his life, was murdered by his assailant. May his pleas for mercy be treated accordingly. 

[StruggleBus 3922]

A murderer was rightfully convicted of murder. That’s good. There won’t be innocent lives ruined all over Minneapolis tonight. That’s good.

It means nothing to me personally though.

[Goredho 17397]

Respect that at least in this most extreme case of documented brutality, the police finally showed they can be capable of policing themselves.  I’ll need to see a trend to feel hope.

[gmr548 16576]

The bar for convicting a cop is a nearly ten minute video chronicling the entire murder from start to finish. I am glad justice was served but I have little hope for the future. Police are the most dangerous armed gangs in America, by far.

[Sleep off ugly 279]

Glad.

[Ridingtosunset 129]

Not a lot. Glad Chauvin is facing consequences. I don't give a damn about George Floyd. This problem isn't going away. 

[Nicole44 22057]

That there is a reason to hope that we can make some lasting change. That we take the momentum of today and it will serve as an inflection point to bring us closer together as human beings. My hope anyway. 

[ChickenSandwich 9828]

Happy our justice system worked even with outside interference. Pissed that interference gives him a sliver of hope to appeal. His hope should be gone.

Not the hope of an appeal, which will fail, but all of the hope left in his soul. 

Edited April 21, 2021 by ChickenSandwich

[High Plains Drifter 11031]

 

I really expected a hung jury because odds are at least one out of 12 is going to be a total ____________( I'm not even sure what word to put here, but look at the forums at Texags to see the type of people I mean.

So when the guilty verdict came, I expected to feel glad, or something. But I only feel sad. I mean, justice was served, and at this point, that is the best outcome we could have hoped for.

Dude ruined his own life, killed a man, I can't imagine the pain Floyd's family has gone through, not to mention the scars the 9 yr old and 17 yr old who witnessed it and then had to testify will bear; all because he was too... scared? angry? full of hate? to just ease up and sit Floyd against the car, or at least allow paramedics to treat him after he became unconscious.

Just a fucked up, sad deal all around.

 

 

[PenelopeWitherspoon 19100]

Heartbroken because I told my parents they are unwelcome in my home after my dad said Chauvin being convicted was a miscarriage of justice.

[Bernard 879]

It proves that video cameras can sometimes overcome police lies. It means that every cop should have a camera toting civilian recording every single encounter between cops and civilians.

Bernard 

[bolverk 29655]

It gives me hope my country is still progressing, albeit in fits and starts, toward that promise of "justice for all" in the pledge that I recited so often as a child endures.

[cactusflinthead 27598]

Torn between being glad that the smug prick is going to prison and the fact that a 15 yr old girl was killed as a result of calling the police in Ohio within minutes of the decision.

There's a long way to go.

[tantric superman 4667]

Sorry.

How it affected me?  I was expecting this -- I mean, 9 and hald minutes of kneeling on someone's neck as they plead for their life is going to lead to something.  

I do wish, however, that those who wanted a conviction were a bit more circumspect in their comments prior to the verdict, both because I think there will be rank hypocracy in terms of the argument about appeal, and also just that people should do a better job in how they speak about a case pre verdict, because the more careful and solemn people are in terms of issues like this, the more bang a jury doing its job has. 

[MissingInAction 25013]

Personally I know I will be dealing with the dr beepers in my world. Everyone who knows me is aware of my feelings, and there are some that look for any opportunity to challenge me with their ignorance.

[Hook1997 5351]

Glad justice was served and as long as a camera is present it will continue to be, body cams now days will help continue that.  With that said you will never get rid of the small percentage of cops who take force and their little man syndrome too far no matter what you try to teach them or if a camera is present or not.

Edited April 21, 2021 by Hook1997

[mchookem 16322]

um, so ANYway...i probably mostly feel relief.

i believe justice was served, as they say. i hope he also gets an appropriate sentence. but it feels like we are in such a precarious balance with everything... this is just one thing that happened to tilt a different way this time.

i i'm not convinced it's a pattern. yet.

 

[Michael Knight 12977]

What does it mean to me personally? Nothing for I am not a black man nor do I believe this conviction will change anything. Already people are talking about justice and accountability as if there's such a thing as justice for the dead. And accountability requires both parties to be in the same community, cops are not a part of the black community they are occupiers of it so they aren't accountable to any of them. This result will allow people to point and say the system works and move on with their lives.

[Brew 3049]

Based on posts I have seen here and other places, a sense of sadness for where we are as a country still.

[DaggerHorns 3082]

Only time I’ve been in Minnesota was a connecting flight. I didn’t know Derek or George. I bet if they met each other at a bar during the early 90s, they probably wouldn’t have much problem with each other.

[Kyrie Eleison 9312]

it’s going to have a dramatic effect on my job as a criminal defense lawyer, both good and bad.

[SKJ 1311]

It means to me that MAYBE,  just MAYBE,  my mixed race children will have a future where policing is more safe for them. 

I'm not sure it will happen,  but it's the first piece of hope that my "talk" with them will be in vain

[Al_4_ISU 12451]

2 hours ago, Scheiss Meister said:

One small victory for police accountability; lots more to go.

This.

I think the carte Blanche previously afforded American police has been a huge part of the most divisive issues in this country.  Having some measure of accountability will help mend this.

[JimmyJames 12271]

Never been to Minnesota but I hear the people are nice.

Well except for Derek Chauvin. But it looks like don’t have to worry about that one anymore.

[Stunns38 3460]

Small victory but I don’t think(don’t expect) things will change structurally. Verdict surprised me though.

[Hairy Biped 585]

I'm relived that justice was served, but I don't think there's much to be happy about.  Chauvin ended Floyd's life and ruined his own and countless others' lives and nothing will undo that.  Hopefully it leads to more accountability in similar situations and better policing in the future, but I have practically no reason to believe it will.  Until we reduce the influence of police unions, improve screening and selection processes for applicants/hiring, amend training procedures and end stupid policies like qualified immunity that shield bad cops from being held responsible for their actions, the issue will persist.  

[WhatTheBuck 28775]

It doesn’t do anything for the 15-year-old girl who was shot and killed by police in Columbus tonight. This is breaking news and the body cam video hasn’t been released yet. It’s supposed to come out soon. This link says she was 16 but the local news and press briefings are saying she was 15.

https://www.10tv.com/mobile/article/news/local/16-year-old-girl-shot-and-killed-by-police-officer-in-southeast-columbus/530-c77bb47e-97d1-47b5-8ed8-099c105a0f20

The bodycam video is up on that page. It’s not pretty. 

Edited April 21, 2021 by WhatTheBuck

[Murfdogg21 4412]

I feel optimistic that cops may start thinking twice before violating the rights and lives of citizens. 
I feel worried that with more convictions of cops in cases where the deceased was resisting arrest, fighting the cops, stealing the cops’ weapons, attempting to speed off in a car, etc. we will see more criminals that are fearless to engage in such antics when being arrested. 

[SKJ 1311]

6 minutes ago, WhatTheBuck said:

It doesn’t do anything for the 15-year-old girl who was shot and killed by police in Columbus tonight. This is breaking news and the body cam video hasn’t been released yet. It’s supposed to come out soon. This link says she was 16 but the local news and press briefings are saying she was 15.

https://www.10tv.com/mobile/article/news/local/16-year-old-girl-shot-and-killed-by-police-officer-in-southeast-columbus/530-c77bb47e-97d1-47b5-8ed8-099c105a0f20

And then the hope becomes null and void. 

I would never say I regret my children,  but sometimes I regret bringing them into this world where I have actual trepidation letting my 15- year- old son go out and hang out with his friends at night. 

I dunno,  I'll shut the fuck up about it,  but it's a real fear of mine...

[Michael Knight 12977]

 

[NotActuallyALonghorn 4975]

It gives me a slight glimmer of hope. I know they say that white people don't really experience racism in America, and they don't nearly to the extent that a colored person does, but anybody who says that has never been in a mixed relationship in certain parts of America. Some people will hate you just for mixing with another race. But this gives me hope that I don't have to worry so much about interactions my wife or children might have with law enforcement. 

[Lat22 4010]

Nothing, but I'm glad that dirtbag cop is off the street.