In all honesty, I'm worried as I've never been

[onethatcares]

as I watch the trial and hear the testimony and realize there are people out there that think that nothing wrong was done during this murder of George Floyd.

I weep for the country I believed in.

I really don't know how to express what I feel except I believe justice for all

[SoCalDavidS]

1. Yeah, I Pretty Much HATE This Country

I'm waiting for my parents to pass before I leave, but I sincerely hope that I have the opportunity someday, before I get too old. I'm 54 right now.

[vlyons]

5. Hatred and anger are poison

I have decided, once and for all, whether the stupidity, anger, and ignorance I perceive in others are the actual causes of my annoyance—warranting my criticism, resentment, and retribution—or rather are the causes only of their own suffering, and so deserve nothing but my compassionate and skillful response. If I do not decide this, from the core of my heart, I shall remain only half a virtuous and decent person, at best.
It is our strong presumption and habit to imagine that the words and actions of others are based on the same defiled thoughts and motivation as our own, like the baby deer in my yard stamping her hoof defiantly at her reflection in the glass door of the temple.

Willingly suspending the belief that everyone I meet necessarily thinks like me is the glass doorway that allows entry to the halls of grace and devotion, wherein a realized being may transfer her blessings.

[SujiwanKenobee]

41. Good post

I am primarily a lurker, but your post really resonated with me. I checked some of your other comments to see if there was a philosophical pattern (which there was). I appreciate reading enlightened views that aren't dredging up emotional reactions from people, rather a mental/spiritual approach. Thank you for this. Suji, once from Texas too.

[vlyons]

42. Thank-you

It is a challenge to see the degenerate and harmful behavior of others without despising them back.

[qazplm135]

23. I'm sorry but I don't understand that

1. America does a lot of bad things. We have a lot to improve and answer for. Point blank. Having said that, name an issue America has that most other countries also don't have whether it is is racism, misogyny, anti LGBT, corporate control or you name it. There aren't many, and some that are worse.

2. This only gets fixed because people fight for it. Stay. Vote. Fight. Volunteer if you can.

[SoCalDavidS]

25. Denmark? Australia? New Zealand? Finland? Netherlands?

Just rattling off some countries. I don't know much about them, but I do know an awful lot about America.

It's not like we're suddenly acting differently. It is who we are and who we've always been.

Ask the Indians, or Blacks, or Hispanics. Our history speaks for itself. And the last 4 Years speaks volumes.

[qazplm135]

30. I'm one of "the Blacks"

so I know our history well. I've experienced plenty of bad from America, I also recognize its potential, and what it can be, and I choose to fight for that.

And you think the countries you listed off don't have problems?

[SoCalDavidS]

31. Define "Problems"

I can tell you that Finland & Denmark are the #1 & #3 countries people are Happiest in. The U.S. is 17th.

They don't have countless Gun Deaths every day. That don't have Sedition, or assaults on their Capitols. They don't elect leaders like Drumpf, and almost re-elect him.

No country is "perfect," but some are far less perfect than others. The U.S. is not the wonderful place it's made out to be, in comparison to other countries around the world. Investigate opinions of the U.S. around the world, and you will see that's accurate.

We're not South Korea. We're not Russia. But we're closer to them, than we are to many other countries. And that's a fact. For example, see history November 2016 - January 19, 2021.

[qazplm135]

34. lol where did I make out the US

to be "a wonderful place?"

Guess I'm confused why you stopped at Jan 19th. Did something change then?

I'm pretty sure they have other problems. It's fine to say "we ain't the number one country." I, nor anyone else on here made that claim...nor is it all that relevant or interesting.

Like I said, we are closer to those countries than we are Russia, and I'd rather stay and fight to make us closer to those countries than abandon it.

[Treefrog]

29. Have you looked into the immigration requirements for whatever country you think is perfect?

Good luck!

[Claustrum]

2. it's because of the narrative that's fed to them, rather than they form their own opinion

watching the whole video. They are told that the police is just doing his job while the "evil", "suspicious" evildoer is resisting arrest. I suspect many of them never saw the whole thing.

Nevermind that no one should ever be sat on their neck for over 8 minutes. But they will not hear about that fact.

[Solly Mack]

3. That realization, once it is felt, once it has been experienced

will always be with you.

Weep, but then get angry. And fight against the hate and willful ignorance that would call the murder of a black man justice.

[PortTack]

15. This!

[wnylib]

18. When compassion for the victim

turns to anger at the perpetrator, then it provides the energy necessary for fighting back. But fight back out of love for people being harmed instead of from hatred for the one(s) doing the harm. It's healthier and sustains deep convictions better.

[jcgoldie]

4. I fear trumpkins on the jury ignoring evidence...

...and the powderkeg that could erupt if there is no justice in this high profile case that everyone is watching.

[riverwalker]

22. Prosecution was good at sniffing out Trumpers

I watched all the jury selection. I don’t know why, but I have faith in this jury to do the right thing. I pray I am right.

[Captain Zero]

27. But aren't they only allowed to dismiss so many

With no excuse?

[jcgoldie]

43. Thats reassuring

My wife was watching the trial yesterday and she said it was very emotional and upsetting. When I got home the MSNBC trial reporter was reporting that several of the jurors were not watching the videos. I could not tell if the implication was that they did not care or that they were too emotional for them to look...

[a kennedy]

6. I pray with MN being mostly blue, that the jurors will FIND HIM GUILTY. 🤞🏻 🤞🏻 🤞🏻

[Laura PourMeADrink]

9. I agree. If you cut through all of it and down to his actually

leaving his knee on Floyd's neck, even when he was losing consciousness, with people screaming to check his pulse, there is absolutely no other choice than to convict of murder 2, disregard for human life.

[wnylib]

19. He should be convicted of murder, but I am

betting he will be convicted of manslaughter at most.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

32. How does that work I know he is charged with murder 2

Jury can come back with manslaughter?

[wnylib]

38. He has more than one charge.

Murder is one of the charges. Manslaughter is another charge made against him. The jury must return verdicts on each charge, e.g. not guilty of murder, but guilty of manslaughter. Or vice versa. I think there is a third charge, too, but not sure. Would need to look it up.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

39. Three charges. IMHO he will be found guilty of Murder 3

https://www.khou.com/article/news/verify/verify-derek-chauvin-trial-george-floyd-death/507-afa13e1a-d761-4c1c-b426-25cad4a09039

[dclarston13]

7. My concern with all these trials

Is that if a person has a criminal record for anything even a minor offense, then a good portion of the general public just doesn't care cause its one more criminal gone. The pretty reporters will speak in panicked tones about a persons previous arrest for disorderly conduct or something similar to add to that overall perception, or god forbid, he had drugs in his system. You know? They should drug test all cops involved in a violent encounter, that would be surprising I bet.

[stillcool]

8. the news is unwatchable for me

even the most mundane is too loaded emotionally. Maybe it's the last 20 years of bullshit that has taken its toll, but the lack of hope, truth, or belief in basic decency is paralyzing. I can't decipher if it's me, or if the world outside of me really is that toxic.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

10. Yes. And it's getting so hard to even remember what pre-9-11 life was like.

[onethatcares]

11. can we get through the toxitity?

I hate no one. I would rather help than hinder but giving dollars to so many charities is a wasted way of keeping wealthy people wealthy instead of lifting our brothers up and helping them be the person they can be.

How to do that is beyond my paygrade but I am a good learner.

[stillcool]

35. what a great username for you...

can't ask for more than that.

[MissB]

12. I just don't know how anyone can watch a single video of this

And not come away with the word “murder”.

[dianaredwing]

14. I just keep thinking

What I would do if this were my son or brother. I don't have a gun for only one reason. I can't help but admire the strength of the witnesses and the family. If I were a super hero I would bash in the face of every smug white supremacist without a second thought because they are all at fault, each and every one of them. If that officer isn't found guilty that may be the final nail in our country's coffin because morally we are dead.

[WarGamer]

16. Here's the problem.

It's all about how the laws are written.

Questions like "Was that knee to the neck hold authorized by the Department? Did Chauvin receive training in that hold?"


And then proving malice for the 3DM count...

My prediction is... at BEST they get a guilty finding on the 2D Manslaughter and the Murder counts end up hung.

REALLY hard to find 12 people with no bias

[richdj25]

17. You shouldn't be concerned.....

This country has been showing indifference towards black folk since Plymouth Rock. Many believing nothing wrong was done, in the name of murder is expected.

[slumcamper]

20. Yes, but it has ALSO EXPOSED OUR FOE.

Those who are unmoved, untouched, dead to the world of emotions...require an intervention.

[orleans]

21. what is really outstanding to me as i watch this

is the HUMANITY of these witnesses
they cry for a man they never met, they cry for a man they saw being murdered, they feel guilt at not having done more to help the stranger.
and that humanity gives me hope. not just for the outcome of this trial, but for the future.

[Chipper Chat]

24. I just can't watch any of this trial.

I have enough stress already. Last night I turned off the TV and put in a cd called GREATEST HITS OF 1939. so refreshing. I loved MOONLIGHT SERENADE by Glenn Miller and ALL THE THINGS YOU ARE by Tommy Dorsey.

[babylonsister]

33. Ahhh, you just

reminded me of my dad. He loved the big band era.

[TeslaNova]

26. I hate to see what happens if he is acquited

This reminds me a little of the Rodney King beating, and look what happened when those pr*cks got off. This is even worse. But I actually do think he will be found guilty.

[Raine]

28. Luckily I've never come across anyone who defended Chavin

even conservatives.

[Kaleva]

36. I don't think Native Americans, Blacks and others ever really believed in the country you did.

[summer_in_TX]

37. I've been feeling a great deal of soul-searching and grief this year.

I learned of the murder of George Floyd during a Zoom book club from our only black member. She kept her eyes carefully looking out the window most of the hour. She said that one of the many effects the killing had on her was worrying about her brothers. It didn't matter that they were doctors in their 60s. They were still vulnerable to the terrorism and murder that happened to George Floyd. I had a visceral sense of her anguish even though she was trying hard not to show it.

About that time I read The 1619 Project (NYT). Written by a young black reporter who couldn't understand why her dad believed in and loved the American experiment. She documented the long, tragic history of whites terrorizing and murdering blacks in it.

I don't know how I had managed to fool myself up until that point. But I held the words of the Declaration of Independence as sacred, that all men [mankind] are created equal, with liberty and justice for all. I was a supporter of the Civil Rights Movement and counted the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as a personal hero and I thought that we had made great progress toward that ideal, with backsliding and the occasional police violence not withstanding.

This year has opened my eyes painfully to just how very far from the truth that illusion was. The truth is that black people live every day between anxiety and terror, and never can forget the danger that comes with the color of their skin. I can hardly bear that realization and the terrible shattering of the idealism I held about the United States and our ideals of welcoming the refugee, and providing a land of opportunity for all. It breaks my heart — but my heart needed to be broken wide open to see the truth. I hope that with so many seeing the truth finally, that maybe that is the catalyst for real change. But we are in a very perilous place in our history. I can and do pray that the forces of good prevail.

[moondust]

40. I worry

that it may not be just this trial for which the unanimous jury system no longer works. I'm concerned that the U.S. has become so deeply divided with so many Americans seemingly no longer committed to Truth and Justice that the unanimous jury system may frequently no longer work, just as supermajorities and filibusters in the Senate no longer work. Some fundamental changes may be needed to avoid widespread gridlock and failure.

I hope I'm wrong.