USA TINDERBOX — The Weekly Opine

America explodes following another murder of an unarmed black man by rogue cops. (Photo credit CNN screenshot)

Thug cops, protests overshadow the pandemic

For the past week-and-a-half, the reaction to the reaction following the premeditated murder of George Floyd, by thug cop Derek Chauvin, has been as varied as popsicle flavors in a 24-pack.

Premeditated you ask? No doubt. Derek Chauvin, with 17 complaints during a controversial 19-year career as a Minneapolis copper, surely dreamt, hell, planned for the day he would have the opportunity to kill a black man. Same goes for Jason Van Dyke (Laquan McDonald), Darren Wilson (Mike Brown), Daniel Pantaleo (Eric Garner), and many/most of the other cops who murdered black Americans.

You can bet the house that racist, ex-L.A. detective Mark Fuhrman spent many an hour fantasizing about hiding behind his badge and killing black people.

While we are talking cops, please put away the ridiculous trope that 99.9% of cops are good cops. In the Laquan McDonald case, 16 cops participated in falsifying records to cover-up Van Dyke’s crime. (Even Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel fell in line, concealing game-changing video evidence for over a year until after his reelection. Which makes Emanuel a special kind of sinister.)

In the George Floyd case, all four officers are guilty of murder, including the one officer who stood by watching the other three pinning Floyd down. So, you can take your 99.9-percent-good-cop-bullshit and smack a bad cop upside the head with it.

Not surprisingly, as pundits gather in cable news studios, the favored voice to quote from the civil rights-era is that of Martin Luther King Jr. Most Americans find it more comforting to wax about the non-violent, less-threatening MLK. On the other hand, Malcolm X carried a ferocity that would never have been turned loose on the famous “March on Washington.”

King gave a magnificent speech that still stirs the soul (but no longer the imagination) 57 years later. If given the chance, Malcolm X surely would have tested another course. Alas, we will never know. What we do know is the systemic racism both men fought to eliminate, until their untimely deaths, has not come close to being retired. If evaluated honestly, it is apparent America falls short for far too many citizens. COVID-19 has also laid bare extreme inequality in this country.

Ronald Reagan’s farewell address made famous the oft-repeated line about America being a “shining city upon a hill.” Those are the words of a talented speechwriter. Words meant for the privileged, and to inspire brave soldiers headed to conflicts that are often the result of fabrication.

Derek Chauvin and three other cops are responsible for what happened last weekend. Not Antifa and not “outside agitators.” Four thug cops caused this mess. (Photo credit MSNBC screenshot)

“By any means necessary”

In 1960, Martinique intellectual Frantz Fanon uttered the phrase “by any means necessary” during a speech titled “Why We Use Violence.” Those words gained pop culture status when Malcolm X spoke them in 1964. Essentially, it means that when pushed to the brink it’s OK to take off the gloves.

Another famous quote, from the great orator Popeye the Sailor Man says, “I’ve had all I can stand, and I can’t stand no more.” That is what you are seeing across America in the aftermath of another thug cop killing an unarmed, unresistant black man.

The inescapable, graphic video of Derek Chauvin murdering George Floyd is so sickening and egregious (and premeditated) that only one public response was suitable. I agree that looting and burning are not justifiable. However, if they become accouterments that help garner undivided attention to ending the long-held presumption that black lives do not matter, well, it is a reflection of “by any means necessary.”

Traditionally, peaceful protesting is not welcome, either. According to Gallup polling, when MLK gave his famous speech at the Lincoln Memorial, only 23% of Americans viewed the peaceful “March on Washington” favorably. Colin Kaepernick and other NFL players peacefully, silently taking a knee? A Kaiser Foundation poll revealed 58% of whites said it was “never appropriate.”

Laughably, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell offered protestors words of support, apparently unable to connect the dots between Kaepernick taking a knee and today’s protests. (The NFL did, after all, blackball Kaepernick.) It makes you wonder what the hell Jay-Z is doing to earn the money the NFL is paying him to guide the league away from stupidity.

Recall last Friday’s press conference, orchestrated by Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman. Clearly appearing as if doing his job was bothersome, Freeman laid out a well-worn strategy of slow walking the investigation, including not even charging that thug Chauvin, despite overwhelming probable cause. Freeman mumbled something about lack of evidence and possible evidence proving no crime occurred. No. He. Didn’t.

Everybody knows none of us would have made it home for supper, if we did to George Floyd what Derek Chauvin and the other thug officers did. Thankfully, a brave 17-year-old girl stood strong and recorded it all.

After Freeman reminded us cop investigations can take up to a slow walking year, it should not have been surprising that Friday night delved into “by any means necessary,” culminating with the burning of Minneapolis’ 3rd Police Precinct station. The same station where Chauvin and his accomplices made a mockery of their oath to serve and protect.

We may not like it, but it was necessary that a literal explosion of public anger be the answer to the cold-blooded, first-degree murder of George Floyd. Anything less would have been unacceptable and unpatriotic.

The perfunctory 15-block march from a church to a park, replete with speeches and songs, was not in the cards last weekend. Peaceful, turn the other cheek marching was for another day. Sometimes, when you turn the other cheek you end up with two black eyes.

Bridges along the Chicago River stand in repose, raised to block protestors from reaching central downtown Chicago. (Photo credit The Weekly Opine)

Magically, last Saturday morning after a night of complete destruction, the Hennepin County slow walk became a track meet, resulting in Chauvin charged with murder, albeit two rungs lower than merited. Freeman, obviously agitated at having to be involved, gladly passed the baton to Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison.

Ellison merged into the fast lane, upgrading third-degree murder to second-degree. Hopefully, Ellison eventually lands on the deserved first-degree murder charge against Derek Chauvin. Additionally, the three other cops are now charged with aiding and abetting murder. Whoosh!

As we learned from the Rodney King debacle, there will be burning and looting one way or the other. If inevitable, better to burn and loot upfront. In the Rodney King case, burning and looting after the verdict could not change the outcome. In Minneapolis (and across the country) burning and looting hastened murder charges against Chauvin. And serve as a reminder what will happen if Chauvin escapes conviction.

Bubbling over

It is convenient to derisively call protestors (and free thinkers like Bernie Sanders) revolutionaries. However, some of us recall what we learned about the American Revolution. The 13 colonies successfully freed themselves from tyranny emitting from England. This was not achieved by beating the British playing a game of croquet. It was violent, bloody, and real. A revolution.

Even cable news hosts, arguing against the intensity of the response last weekend, often referenced MLK’s acknowledgment of the inevitability of destruction at times like this. “A riot is the language of the unheard,” King told 60 Minutes in 1966. Like colonists in the 18th Century, black Americans in particular but also marginalized Americans of all races are not being heard.

Backs against the wall, protestors of all races had a Popeye the Sailor moment last weekend. Protestors, including those who fomented destruction, looting, and burning buildings, have had it. It is that simple. As a protestor sign put it, “This system cannot be reformed. It must be overthrown.” If you decry rioting, then help fix the justice system.

Do not try and deflect, blaming outside agitators. There is no proof Antifa is stirring the pot. Furthermore, none of this occurs if, a) Derek Chauvin did not murder George Floyd and b) America had long ago righted the wrongs of systemic racism. With each passing day of injustice meted out against black folks, the words in the lofty Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution fall like meaningless leaves in autumn.

Look at the past few weeks: Discovery that father-son vigilantes murdered a black jogger, Ahmaud Armery, in Georgia last February. The duo is just now charged with murder, only because their accomplice posted video of the crime. Christian Cooper, bird watching in Central Park, essentially had death threats made against him, when a white woman who was breaking the law called police and lied by saying Cooper was threatening her. Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old black woman in Louisville, awakened after midnight and murdered by white cops.

George Floyd’s murder was the match that lit the tinderbox. Seeing a white cop’s knee on Floyd’s neck, callously snuffing out his life, ignited four weeks – and 400 years – of pent up rage.

Peaceful protests are in vogue as pressure builds for justice for all. This sign suggests the stove still simmers. (Photo credit CNN screenshot)

Keep marching and simmering

Michelle Durpetti, co-owner of Chicago restaurant Gene & Georgetti, told the Chicago Tribune she can repair damage to the venerable steakhouse but there is a “much larger discussion that should be happening.” Durpetti expressed “compassion” about the fear, anger and grief blacks feel. She said, as a white woman, she recognizes “there is anger and people are experiencing things [she] will never understand.”

I absolutely feel badly for business owners like Michelle Durpretti who have been impacted by protests. But my feelings for business owner’s does not remotely compare to how bad I feel for my race – black people – who have been mistreated on this continent for four centuries.

Last weekend’s eruption got everyone’s attention. Sustained, peaceful marches will keep the pressure on. Stay focused, leaving space for a detectable simmer just beneath the surface. Thankfully, marches have been mostly peaceful this week.

An exception was when Chump Trump emerged from the White House bunker where he’d been hiding. In an act of pure cowardice, Trump channeled Bull Conner and ordered government forces to use tear gas against peaceful protestors. How deranged is that? The mentally ill U.S. president spraying law abiding citizens with tear gas!

Previously, I opined in this space that if you are still with Trump you are greedy, crazy, and/or racist. Today, another category: If you still roll with Trump, you are anti-America.

Remember, what counts most is voting in November, from the presidential contest down to local judges. We must rid America of terrorists masquerading as Republicans, intent on destroying the United States.