Derek Chauvin faces 75 years in prison, taking on the blame "for all"

The trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin, in which he was accused of the murder of African American George Floyd, ended in complete triumph for the prosecution. Chauvin has been found guilty of all three charges against him – unintentional second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter.

To say that such a jury verdict was already expected would be to show off your "wisdom" after the battle. Although the media and public opinion were unfavorable to Chauvin, the US judiciary is renowned for its independence and unpredictability. There is real competition between the parties in the courts, and it often depends more on the level of preparation of the parties than on the objective circumstances of the case.

The fact that three charges of different severity were filed for one offense shows that the prosecutor's office was not convinced that the jurors would find Chauvin guilty of the most serious - second-degree murder (intentional murder during another criminal activity, without prior intent), so he was also charged just in case with third-degree murder (murder without intent to kill) and manslaughter (unintentional killing). With the hope that he will be found guilty of one of these. The jury was intolerant of Chauvin and found him guilty of all three offenses. Thus, the final punishment could be a combination of these three (?!) offenses for up to 75 years in prison. The penalty will be decided within eight weeks.

There is no point in talking about the process itself and the arguments of the parties, because: 1) a lot has already been written about it (in Latvian); 2) the social context is more important for this case, the most visible manifestations of which are street activities with BLM slogans and Floyd icons. These activities marked a new level of racial equality in US society, where the slogan "all (not just black) lives matter" is already considered racist, evil and hateful.

It is not for nothing that I use the words "hateful" and "evil", because they are words that connect distant events in the United States that affect us little with social trends in Latvia. The use of these words in various inflections, both there and here, deliberately stigmatizes all those who will dare to disagree, even in the smallest detail, with the "general line" set by the left radicals. It is consistently emphasized that the only motivation for people to have different views from these radicals is hatred and evil. There is no other motivation and you should not even look for it, because everything must be black and white. No doubts. Opponents are evil, and they are driven by hatred in their evil. That's it.

In Chauvin's case, this attitude means that his actions with Floyd in the particular episode were not motivated by any motives other than racist hatred and inherent "evil." The fact that Floyd was a drug addict, was under the influence of drugs and tried to give a teenaged shop assistant obviously counterfeit $20 banknote should not even be mentioned, because it automatically smells of racism and victim-blaming.

The idea that Chauvin and his three colleagues, who will be tried in August, could be motivated by a dislike for the criminal's shameless behavior; the desire to stop a drug addict whose behavior is socially dangerous; that they were motivated by a desire to protect the rest of society from the types that make people afraid to walk the streets in the evenings, not only did not show up but even more so, expressing such an idea alone would count as "evil and hateful."

I will not for a moment try to "teach" how Americans should think or judge. I respect the decision of the jury and do not intend to justify what Chauvin did. No matter what, Floyd is dead, and this death was deliberately or unknowingly facilitated by Chauvin's actions. Another thing is that the reaction of the US society to this jury verdict, in my opinion, also makes our society look more critically at the social development trends of the most developed countries.

A large crowd had gathered near the courthouse in Minneapolis, which welcomed the judgement with loud applause. There is no doubt that if the verdict were to acquit, there would be widespread protests across the country with a high probability of escalating into riots. By no means can we object to the possibility of protesting. It is an inalienable right of human beings. But don't say that those who, with tacit support, pretend not to see looting and destruction under the guise of these protests are "forces of light" motivated by an uncontrollable love of justice, but those who see and talk about these atrocities are "forces of darkness," obsessed with hatred and evil. The real situation on the streets, rather than the theoretical picture conjured up by the media, suggests the exact opposite. Various Floyds pose a greater threat to society than Chauvins.

US President Joe Biden has already hurried to announce that the jury verdict is a giant step towards justice. He called Floyd's brother Philonese and invited him and other Floyd's relatives to visit the White House. It can be assumed that this whole Floyd affair, the raising of his relatives to celebrity status, and this verdict is indeed a big step towards justice and racial equality, but at the same time, it must be understood that officer Chauvin drew the unfortunate lot to be the sacrificial lamb on this symbolic altar of equality, not through his own fault, and he will have to take on the blame for all the victims of real or imagined racism with a long prison sentence.

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