Derek Chauvin got the book thrown at him yesterday, for killing George Floyd.

Good.

By accounts, he was a bad cop, with a bad track record, and he spent nine minutes suffocating to death someone he sought to arrest.

The Left’s behavior and reaction to this all has been, well, what we’ve come to expect, with grossly irresponsible statements from Biden, Pelosi, Waters, et al the icing on the cake. Like anyone else, Chauvin was due his day in court, to be judged by a jury of his peers, rather than presumed guilty by grandstanding politicians. Nevertheless, scorpions do what they do, so we should not be the least bit surprised by their antics.

What’s unfortunate in all this is that many on the Right signaled a basely contrarian attitude about the whole affair – as if the Left’s grossness, opportunism, and abandonment of principle are sufficient reason to show some empathy for Chauvin. And, indeed, my social media feed includes some unfortunate nuggets about Chauvin being “overcharged,” some hints that Chauvin was convicted in the pursuit of societal peace rather than because he was guilty, and the like.

My unsolicited advice? Stop it. There are times to rally against injustice. This isn’t one of them, and Chauvin is an absolutely horrible poster boy for the rejection of mob rule.

This isn’t about choosing sides between cops and mobs. Anyone who’s got a shred of honesty and integrity knows there are good cops and bad cops, just as there are good and bad in any profession, job, or other endeavor. Protecting the bad harms the good, and blind, unyielding “solidarity” is what has brought society to its current fractured state.

Floyd himself is, to be frank, almost irrelevant in this bit of business. He is neither hero nor villain. Just as it’s grotesque for Pelosi to thank him “for sacrificing [his] life for justice” – Floyd would very much rather be alive, it’s grotesque to defend Chauvin on the grounds that Floyd wasn’t an angel. Police officers have been granted powers over the rest of us, and those powers (should) require a greater level of care and personal responsibility. It behooved Chauvin to do his best to arrest Floyd without doing him harm (or killing him).

Was Chauvin overcharged? Perhaps. The courts will sort that out, across appeals that will probably take years. In the meantime, unless you hold a belief against all evidence that Chauvin should not have been convicted of any wrongdoing, you should be fine with him waiting out that process where he should: in prison.

Meanwhile, to re-focus this debate where it should have stayed all along (and certainly longer than the couple weeks it took to corrupt the moment), Floyd’s death (as well as Breonna Taylor’s and those of others) should be prompting us to demand real reforms.

As Justin Amash recently posted,

Restore justice to our justice system:
End qualified immunity.
End civil asset forfeiture.
End the drug war.
End victimless crimes.
End overcriminalization.
End no-knock warrants.
End militarization of police.
End mandatory minimums.
End the death penalty.

Want to take a stand on principle? Pick one, just one of these reforms and champion it. It’s a far better use of your time than griping about Chauvin being overcharged or about cops being unfairly vilified, and it’ll separate you from the Left’s grotesqueries – which is what I surmise the Chauvin-sympathy is really all about. Don’t worry – no one will think you a woke-Lefty if you applaud Chauvin getting his just deserts.

Peter Venetoklis

About Peter Venetoklis

I am twice-retired, a former rocket engineer and a former small business owner. At the very least, it makes for interesting party conversation. I'm also a life-long libertarian, I engage in an expanse of entertainments, and I squabble for sport.

Nowadays, I spend a good bit of my time arguing politics and editing this website.

If you'd like to help keep the site ad-free, please support us on Patreon.

1+

Like this post?