Snow, Daffodils, WInds

 See title

Guilty on All Counts

 You might think that I jumped up and down in celebration as the verdicts were read at the Derek Chauvin trial.

I didn't.  I sat in a state of emotion that is difficult to describe.  Frozen while tears welled up and streamed down my face.

Despite news anchors describing the crowd reaction as jubilant, I saw many in the crowd experiencing the same sort of emotion.

I did some research on Derek Chauvin before the verdicts arrived, and discovered that he had been involved in several incidents where he had received awards:

He had been involved in three police shootings, one of which was fatal.^{[25][26][27][28]} He received a medal for valor in 2006 for being one of several officers who fired on a suspect who pointed a shotgun at them, and another in 2008 for a domestic-violence incident in which he broke down a door and shot a suspect who reached for his pistol.^[29][30] He received a commendation medal in 2008 after he and his partner tackled a fleeing suspect holding a pistol. He received a commendation medal in 2009 after working off-duty as a security guard for a nightclub.^[24]

 

^{Chauvin's expression as the verdicts were read showed , IMO shock and horror.  I believe he thought he was going to get off with a pat on the back.}  

^{That is because this type of violence by law enforcement has been rewarded and encouraged-that is why we need real policing reform.}  

^{RIP George Floyd.}

 

April Tuesday

 The jury is deliberating in the Derek Chauvin trial.  I would like to correct an earlier post when I said that Chauvin had his hand in his pocket during the murder of George Floyd.  An outline of Chauvin's position during the trial shows his black gloved fist resting on his left hip.  

In the original video his hand blends in and was not visible to me.  I would apologize for my crude interpretation, but in my mind that is and was the only rational explanatioin for his expression facing the camera while he slowly suffocated a human being.

Since Chauvin refused to testify, we do not know what he was thinking, or what his motivation was during the video. He does not appear to be angry, caught in some sort of beserker rage.  He is calmly staring at the camera and group of bystanders.

Is he challenging the group to intervene?  One would think he would crack a satisfied smirk at their helplessness.

Is he then a cold blooded killer?  He stayed in position three minutes after Floyd was dead and showed no remorse while waiting for first responders.  He refused aid for Floyd from a bystander who was an off duty first responder.  

Did we get Chauvin's background?  We heard about Floyd's history, did we get to hear Chauvin's history?  Early in the case someone had come forward and suggested that Chauvin and Floyd had history, but that went away and was retracted very quickly.

It is much easier to kill something with a gun.  One bad moment and a squeeze of a trigger and that bullet cannot be recalled.  But over 9 minutes of suffocation-and there was no doubt he was being suffocated as he cried, "please officer, I can't breathe," TWENTY times.

One can only draw the conclusion that when Chauvin got FLoyd on the ground his intent was to put an end to his life.  Once that mission was accomplished, he showed no remorse and prevented any action from bringing aid to Floyd.  In fact, staying on his windpipe for three minutes after he died was insurance that Floyd would never get up again.

I sincerely doubt that all 12 jurors will find Chauvin guilty on any count.

Yesterday the Willow and friend were at an intersection in a Maine city when a convoy of vehicles with flags and Trump signs blew through a red light in front of the police station and no action was taken.  

I try to understand such blind devotion to such a terrible human being whose policies and actions put the whole country in danger on many levels, from climate change to insurrection.  

The only thing I can come up with, which was the same conclusion regarding the devotion to our former Governor Paul LeRage-their outspoken advocacy towards racism.  Finally closet racists had someone in charge to openly express their personal views. 

What other conclusion can one draw, when Trump supporters openly display symbols of racism?  Even up the road some local dimwit, who is actually in a position of power via the local volunteer fire department, displayed a homemade sign several months ago..."All lives matter."

I wonder how that person would be feeling if it had been a black cop and a whte person?