Today is an auspicious one. No matter which way you read it or celebrate it, or smoke it, today has been one helluva day!
Waking up and after watching a bit of the news, wondering if the jury in the Chauvin case would have a verdict or if their deliberations would take longer. Then the MITM came in and asked if I'd read the NYT yet. When he found I hadn't, he told me that Idriss Deby, the president of Chad, was dead after a "clash with rebels" near the Libyan border. This is the country that the MITM used to work in (remember deepestdarkestafrica?) Deby was a dictator and, to my mind, a destroyer, not a savior or a just leader, of his country, so while his death will be immortalized and he will be lauded, the movement to supplant his son, the new ruler, will be quick.
But, here, in America, the first steps towards healing, justice, and accountability for all came around 5PM Eastern daylight time. This country was prepared for the worst, a not guilty verdict because, sadly, that is what we've come to expect. Today, that changed. It changed so much that even Chauvin was surprised to hear he wasn't acquitted! You could see the expression on his face. I have to admit, but I was among those who expected him to be found not guilty but hoped I was wrong. It is a sad reality for POC to expect, as we say, the short end of the stick when it comes to justice, especially when it comes to criminal justice. So, you know I was pleasantly surprised, as was everyone watching TV or following live feeds on a computer. This verdict will not bring George Floyd back to his family, nor will it erase the trauma experienced by those who stood on the sidewalk and watched, while they pleaded for the police to stop, George Floyd's life end.
I don't know why all of this happened today, but it did. Will Chad have a more equitable future for all its citizens? If history is any guide, the odds are against it. Will America be better for this verdict? Perhaps, but it is a start and we can not and will not go backwards from it.
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A little levity:
There's a site on Instagram called "Overheard in L.A." and I have one:
Guy: Idriss Deby died.
Gal: Oh no! That's horrible!
Gal: Wait, wait, I thought you said Idriss Elba died! Dude, I work in Hollywood, don't scare me like that!