Thanks in no small part to organizers on the ground, relentless marches and peaceful protests calling for justice continued pressure on our justice system from all sectors of society, and video evidence of the crime, former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin has been convicted of the murder of George Floyd. The results of the Chauvin case would have been easily predictable were it not for the long-standing history of systemic racism in our country. It is a history filled with extrajudicial killings of people of color, predominantly Black American men, by our law enforcement apparatus and ultimately sanctioned by our justice system. Chauvin’s conviction does not change the past and whether or not it marks a long-fought pivot toward a universal justice for all Americans, regardless of race, will take decades to inform.
One thing that the Chauvin case has done is put right-wing organizations and conservative folks back on their heels. This is not the result they expected, even if they know it is the correct judgement. The thorny spot they find themselves in is one where an institution that they have blindly defended to keep a certain type of white supremacist law and order in place has returned a judgement on a foot-soldier in this racist system. A police officer doing something that has been done time and time again—killing an unarmed citizen—has been judged and punished as the crime it is. No one is taking it harder than the water-logged mind of Tucker Carlson.
The day Derek Chauvin was convicted of two counts of murder and one count of manslaughter in the killing of George Floyd, Carlson went on his show to imply that the convictions were politically motivated and that we should no longer discuss the systemic issues that led to the death of Floyd. Most importantly, Carlson wanted everyone to understand what was really lost in today’s judgement: this was a victory for liberals in their war on (white) civilization.
Carlson began his show with the sped-up drivel we have come to expect from him, saying that “the jury in the Chauvin trial came to a unanimous and unequivocal verdict this afternoon please don't hurt us.” Explaining that “everyone understood perfectly well” that there would be mob rule in our cities if the jury had not come to this conclusion. The conclusion—based on numerous witnesses, multiple cameras’ video footage, and medical experts’ testimony—is not the result of this avalanche of evidence, according to Tucky, it’s politics. And for Carlson, “politics” means liberal culture war to destroy and replace white Americans.
Then Carlson pivots the only way a vapid-minded bigot and coward can, by saying that Chauvin, depending on sentencing, could spend the rest of his life in prison, wondering aloud “Is the officer guilty of the specific crimes for which he was just convicted? We can debate all that and over this hour we will.” Spoiler alert: He won’t, and he doesn’t. This is where Carlson gives his rhetorical straw-man argument for the night, saying that “we can’t debate,” that the “mob has the right to destroy our cities not under any circumstances not for any reason.” That’s a good thing because no one was ever debating that except Carlson. And he finished by equating the public outcry and support for Floyd and his family with “an attack on civilization.”
In fact, you can go back and watch Carlson debate that very thing, saying that the mob indeed has the right to destroy our cities, back on Jan. 6, 2021, during the Capitol building insurgency. He remembered to bring up this debate just three weeks ago on his vacuum-sealed television program.
Carlson then goes on to argue that politicians like Rep. Maxine Waters, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and even President Joe Biden influenced this decision with their statements about Chauvin’s guilt. “No politician or media figure has the right to intimidate a jury.” Spoiler alert: Barf. Before we point out that Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi spoke after the Chauvin decision was handed down, let’s remember how Donald Trump—the president of the United States at the time—spoke out publicly in defense of fraudster Paul Manafort while the jury was deliberating on one of his cases, saying the case was “very sad,” and that Manafort was a “very good person.”
Carlson’s show proceeded to have guests on to “discuss” everything but the guilt of Derek Chauvin. First up was a very British-sounding reporter from the Rupert Murdoch-owned New York Post saying some of the same. Then Candice Owens—the intellectual equivalent of a methane leak—came on to demand that everyone be thrown in jail who isn’t a regular on Carlson’s show. Finally, after all of that wheel turning, Carlson had on Ed Gavin, a former New York City law enforcement official to talk about Chauvin’s actions against Floyd. It was supposed to be what passed for analysis of why the Chauvin conviction was excessive, but sadly for Carlson, Gavin thought that “the verdict was just,” calling Chauvin’s treatment of Floyd “pure savagery.”
Carlson attempts to turn the case into a conversation about police being afraid to arrest people and “the mob” looting the world. Gavin very clearly says that he isn’t arguing against the need for police to protect the public from bad actors, he’s saying that in this very specific case, it is clear that the police had handcuffed and “subdued” Floyd and then killed him. That’s not right. In fact, it is murder. Carlson, unable to argue facts, and not intelligent enough to use rhetoric to get his way around this, loses his nonexistent cool.
You can see and feel Carlson, clearly reddening with the humiliation he feels when things don’t go his way, as he tries to make his point through the uncomfortable smiling face of a truly underdeveloped emotional inner-world:
But he isn’t thanking Gavin at all. As they cut away, a clearly angry Carlson says “Nope. Done.” It’s pretty gross.
When your entire intellectual rationalization of our white supremacist judicial system is based on the belief that law enforcement is always right, and that the judicial system makes correct judgements, it is quite the conundrum when that very system reports back to you that it is racist.
YouTube Video
The addendum to the entire night was a strange last segment where Carlson got super snarky, saying that Jeff Bezos was spending money to try and embarrass people like Carlson by researching their teenage behavior. It was a strange piece that made many people wonder a) what the hell Carlson was going on about; and b) what the hell was Carlson going on about?
A side note: Carlson very clearly says that his show is a “news show, this is not a political campaign.” As many people pointed out online, this runs counter to the Fox News argument in court that shows like Carlson’s white supremacist happy hour is very much not news.
Maybe it was this story?
Dan White murdered Harvey Milk less than a decade before Carlson made this joke to add the context. Turns out Carlson was always exactly as smart as a mediocre, privileged 17-year-old can be.
One thing that the Chauvin case has done is put right-wing organizations and conservative folks back on their heels. This is not the result they expected, even if they know it is the correct judgement. The thorny spot they find themselves in is one where an institution that they have blindly defended to keep a certain type of white supremacist law and order in place has returned a judgement on a foot-soldier in this racist system. A police officer doing something that has been done time and time again—killing an unarmed citizen—has been judged and punished as the crime it is. No one is taking it harder than the water-logged mind of Tucker Carlson.
The day Derek Chauvin was convicted of two counts of murder and one count of manslaughter in the killing of George Floyd, Carlson went on his show to imply that the convictions were politically motivated and that we should no longer discuss the systemic issues that led to the death of Floyd. Most importantly, Carlson wanted everyone to understand what was really lost in today’s judgement: this was a victory for liberals in their war on (white) civilization.
Carlson began his show with the sped-up drivel we have come to expect from him, saying that “the jury in the Chauvin trial came to a unanimous and unequivocal verdict this afternoon please don't hurt us.” Explaining that “everyone understood perfectly well” that there would be mob rule in our cities if the jury had not come to this conclusion. The conclusion—based on numerous witnesses, multiple cameras’ video footage, and medical experts’ testimony—is not the result of this avalanche of evidence, according to Tucky, it’s politics. And for Carlson, “politics” means liberal culture war to destroy and replace white Americans.
Then Carlson pivots the only way a vapid-minded bigot and coward can, by saying that Chauvin, depending on sentencing, could spend the rest of his life in prison, wondering aloud “Is the officer guilty of the specific crimes for which he was just convicted? We can debate all that and over this hour we will.” Spoiler alert: He won’t, and he doesn’t. This is where Carlson gives his rhetorical straw-man argument for the night, saying that “we can’t debate,” that the “mob has the right to destroy our cities not under any circumstances not for any reason.” That’s a good thing because no one was ever debating that except Carlson. And he finished by equating the public outcry and support for Floyd and his family with “an attack on civilization.”
In fact, you can go back and watch Carlson debate that very thing, saying that the mob indeed has the right to destroy our cities, back on Jan. 6, 2021, during the Capitol building insurgency. He remembered to bring up this debate just three weeks ago on his vacuum-sealed television program.
Carlson then goes on to argue that politicians like Rep. Maxine Waters, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and even President Joe Biden influenced this decision with their statements about Chauvin’s guilt. “No politician or media figure has the right to intimidate a jury.” Spoiler alert: Barf. Before we point out that Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi spoke after the Chauvin decision was handed down, let’s remember how Donald Trump—the president of the United States at the time—spoke out publicly in defense of fraudster Paul Manafort while the jury was deliberating on one of his cases, saying the case was “very sad,” and that Manafort was a “very good person.”
Carlson’s show proceeded to have guests on to “discuss” everything but the guilt of Derek Chauvin. First up was a very British-sounding reporter from the Rupert Murdoch-owned New York Post saying some of the same. Then Candice Owens—the intellectual equivalent of a methane leak—came on to demand that everyone be thrown in jail who isn’t a regular on Carlson’s show. Finally, after all of that wheel turning, Carlson had on Ed Gavin, a former New York City law enforcement official to talk about Chauvin’s actions against Floyd. It was supposed to be what passed for analysis of why the Chauvin conviction was excessive, but sadly for Carlson, Gavin thought that “the verdict was just,” calling Chauvin’s treatment of Floyd “pure savagery.”
Carlson attempts to turn the case into a conversation about police being afraid to arrest people and “the mob” looting the world. Gavin very clearly says that he isn’t arguing against the need for police to protect the public from bad actors, he’s saying that in this very specific case, it is clear that the police had handcuffed and “subdued” Floyd and then killed him. That’s not right. In fact, it is murder. Carlson, unable to argue facts, and not intelligent enough to use rhetoric to get his way around this, loses his nonexistent cool.
You can see and feel Carlson, clearly reddening with the humiliation he feels when things don’t go his way, as he tries to make his point through the uncomfortable smiling face of a truly underdeveloped emotional inner-world:
But he isn’t thanking Gavin at all. As they cut away, a clearly angry Carlson says “Nope. Done.” It’s pretty gross.
When your entire intellectual rationalization of our white supremacist judicial system is based on the belief that law enforcement is always right, and that the judicial system makes correct judgements, it is quite the conundrum when that very system reports back to you that it is racist.
YouTube Video
The addendum to the entire night was a strange last segment where Carlson got super snarky, saying that Jeff Bezos was spending money to try and embarrass people like Carlson by researching their teenage behavior. It was a strange piece that made many people wonder a) what the hell Carlson was going on about; and b) what the hell was Carlson going on about?
A side note: Carlson very clearly says that his show is a “news show, this is not a political campaign.” As many people pointed out online, this runs counter to the Fox News argument in court that shows like Carlson’s white supremacist happy hour is very much not news.
Maybe it was this story?
Dan White murdered Harvey Milk less than a decade before Carlson made this joke to add the context. Turns out Carlson was always exactly as smart as a mediocre, privileged 17-year-old can be.