My high school language tests would often ask us to "compare & contrast" two characters or situations in a literary work. Following that format I have been observing the response to the verdict in the trial of Derek Chauvin and comparing it to the response to the 2008 election. As I recall the reaction to the election of Barack Obama bordered on euphoria, and justifiably so. The question "could a person of color be elected President?" had been unequivocally answered in both the popular vote and the Electoral College. Some went so far as to say we had finally put racism in America in its place - on the ash heap of history. And yet, eight years later we elected Donald Trump in spite of - some say because of - his undisguised appeals to the racism and bigotry lurking just below the surface in our society. He had majorities in the House and Senate which he wasted no time in exploiting to pander to his base as if he had a popular mandate. Eight years later, he retains his hold on the Republican Party and on his base. Americans appear sobered by this sequence of events resulting in a more measured response to the Chauvin verdict. The initial euphoria in some quarters was quickly tempered by the realization that this could have turned out differently; that Justice (traditionally blind) had to have a live video recording of the crime for a guilty verdict to be rendered by a jury. The defence threw the proverbial kitchen sink at the prosecution, trying to introduce "reasonable" doubt with improbable causes of the death of George Floyd. Fortunately, the video laid Chauvin's crime bare - the Emperor indeed had no clothes. And it's not as if there is a lack of more such cases waiting to be heard in the courts, ensuring this issue will be simmering for a long time. But already reactionary elements in Republican-controlled legislatures across the country and in the media are gearing up to oppose or water down proposed reforms to law enforcement policies while at the same time pushing legislation to restrict minority voting rights, making protesting a crime and making running protesters over with you car not a crime. President Biden is right to pursue action in Congress on this front. It remains to be seen if Senate Republicans will use their 50 votes to prevent passage of these measures. If they do, we may see attempts at compromise and appeasement which I feel voters are in no mood for. I think Democrats should reject such tactics and trust the voters to speak even more decisively than they did in 2020. One thing Democrats should learn from Republicans over the past decade or two is that when you are in the majority, voters expect you to deliver on your promises. Compromise may be in your DNA as a politician and may sound reasonable in the press, but it will not play well on Main Street. When it comes to law enforcement and voting rights, we the people will not handle disappointment well.
- drrama7