Past and Present

I saw the news this week about a terrible attack on an Asian American woman in New York; it happened in broad daylight in front of witnesses who didn't help her. I haven't watched the video because the description sounds bad enough, and I worry for my elderly parents because parts of DFW can be redneck and intolerant. I will say, though, that people should not jump on the fact that Brandon Elliot is Black. He doesn't represent all Black people any more than Tou Thao, who helped Derek Chauvin murder George Floyd, represents all Asian Americans. Focus instead on the racist rhetoric that fueled this Anti-Asian violence. (And focus on the mentality of the police to kill with impunity.)

The Derek Chauvin trial has been televised this week, but I dread watching it, because I am really not sure that the verdict will be just. I remember years ago, when the LAPD beat up Rodney King, people really hoped that the video evidence would be enough to convict the police officers. When it wasn't, the fury exploded into riots in 1992. I do worry that the same thing could happen again. The world hasn't changed much since then despite numerous horrifying videos. (Hell, even all the video evidence of January 6th wasn't enough for the Senate Republicans who refused to convict Trump!)

I remember during the L.A. riots after Rodney King, there were also racial tensions between Asian immigrants and Black residents who resented them for past issues; rioters targeted Koreatown for destruction, and police abandoned the area. Pitting minorities against each other doesn't help any of us, and in fact it distracted from the problem about police brutality, which continues on, 30 years later, with still no end in sight. Wow, I'm old. But the racism in America is much older, of course.

Biden nominated some diverse candidates for judges this week. I hope he can keep nominating candidates to fill all the vacancies so we can reverse the Trump trend and possibly, finally, get more justice in our court system. But something's gotta be done about the police.