#48: The Derek Chauvin Trial...Haven't we Heard this Story Before?

In this episode, I talk about the trial of Derek Chauvin, and the defense's ironic argument that the system is at fault. Derek was following his training, and he actually could have used more force than he did, according one defense witness. All of this feels eerily familiar. For decades, "Reality" TV shows like COPS have shown us spectacles of law enforcement wherein a resisting suspect is hogtied ("hobbled"). We have listened as officers responded to suspects screaming, "I can't breathe!" with the heartless line, "if you are talking than you can breathe." We have watched as suspects who are caught with drugs are made to look like fools, trouble-makers and worthless criminals, just because they had drugs. And it has worked. Many citizens feel as if our current prison-industrial complex isn't big enough! If we want to stop cases like George Floyd's from happening again (and again...), we have to make systemic changes. And we can't do that until we acknowledge that it is, indeed, happening over, and over, and over. Support the show