A Writer's Notebook, Day Nine-Hundred-And-Seventeen

 Yesterday, I walked in on Melissa standing before the television sobbing at the defense attorneys closing statements in the Chauvin trial.  It hurt her so to hear what they were saying, the twisting of events and logic to defend the indefensible.  Today, of course, it was revealed that the jurors saw through those attempts and found Chauvin guilty on all counts.  That is nothing, though.  It is necessary, of course, and good to see justice done, but the clear truth is that we have elements in society who want to see the status quo, specifically in terms of the way minorities and particularly black individuals are treated by our justice system, continue.  The desire to not reform our systems, the dismissal of the potential for institutional Nissan, all of it is no accident, and the Chauvin verdict cannot be seen as a true victory.  It is only victory if their is true progress, if not it was a symbolic gesture to soothe and prevent the need for real change.

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