Joel Cohen
The rubble, not merely the dust, has begun to settle. This has never happened before in America. Locally maybe, but even the Rodney King riots were nothing like this, even within California. Never before have we seen this level of looting and sometimes violent confrontation over a police killing (even if at the hand of opportunistic outside agitators, as widely reported). It erupted across the major cities in the country, and in the smaller communities. And indeed, the price for the Floyd killing and what stemmed from it is clear: virtually every American—perhaps a few police union chiefs aside — wanted all four police officers immediately charged with crimes for George Floyd’s murder. Nothing short, nothing later, would do!
Why? Is it because Americans have finally seen the light of day—that racial intolerance by police was simply no longer acceptable? Was it because everyone was so horrified by the (obviously) depraved indifference for basic human rights that maximum murder charges were essential? Or was it that so many simply feared that if maximum charges weren’t brought, and immediately, that the looting (and violence) would continue, along with curfews? And, equally important, a fear by many that the police would be unwilling to continue to risk their own safety on the streets of America.
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