The Goat Pen

Jungle Rat wrote: ↑Tue Apr 20, 2021 1:00 pmBigot

There ARE bigots in the world, many of them in the United States. I am not going to make the uneducated and uninformed Ann Coulter response and say "...well I don't know any racists, so there aren't any..." because I can say rat, I have known racists. I have known them. And my sin, (my "bigotry" if you will) was remaining silent in the presence of true racism.

I am not going to get into the details of my work history beyond saying that from age 18 to age 22, I worked (full time) in a warehouse to pay my way through university. I worked full time on two different shifts (transitioned from the 3rd shift to the 1st shift) and transitioned from picking and shipping TO filling and receiving. And in doing so, I got to know many warehousemen on both shifts all of them many years, (in some cases, decades) older than me. And the guys on the nightshift were the newbies who were only working temporarily for the company whereas the guys on the day shift were the "lifers" (in a prison sense.) All except me, because I eventually graduated university.

Of the lifers, these guys were pretty much all white, all Irish, and (most of them) hated black people. They hated them. They had NO USE for them, none. N1--er this and N1--er that, rat, I heard that every day from these guys. Fuck that n1--er. I heard it so much, I turned a deaf ear to it. Now remember, I was a very young adult there, just a much older kid. I was a big kid, they couldn't physically muscle me but I was still intimidated by my co-workers. They were very union and they would have worked together to alienate me if I had said anything to management about their racism. And they were openly racist (there were no blacks on the day shift) so they would joke about it all the time at break. I couldn't believe what I was hearing day in and day out.

But I said nothing. I remained silent. And I left and never came back to that place.

Point it this, there are REAL bigots out there in the world. Real ones. And the ones who DO judge someone based on nothing other than skin color, well, these people don't generally take offense to being called bigots. The guys in the warehouse, they were openly and happily racist with one another. They bragged about it, laughed about it. They never took offense, they took PRIDE in their racism. I didn't hate them for it rat. Instead, I felt sorry for them. I felt sorry for them because this was going to be their life and there was no one that was ever going to cure them of their ignorance.

But I still have a sin of bigotry. My sin was remaining silent in the presence of racism (tolerating it) out of fear that I would get my ass whooped or (if not that) alienated by the lot of them.

Summary description of each juror without naming their names. After reading this, what do you think?

https://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2021/04/ ... is-future/

IB. I didn't read it all.

sardis wrote: ↑Tue Apr 20, 2021 1:36 pm Summary description of each juror without naming their names. After reading this, what do you think?

https://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2021/04/ ... is-future/

I don't know what to think.

Jungle Rat wrote: ↑Tue Apr 20, 2021 1:41 pm IB. I didn't read it all.

There is not a lot there. Please, (I am asking, not telling) go back and read the whole thing.

Bigot

Lazy

So what conclusions am I supposed to draw from that list of jurors?

hedge wrote: ↑Tue Apr 20, 2021 3:47 pm So what conclusions am I supposed to draw from that list of jurors?

Beats me. I couldn't draw any.

That they sure can figure it out quickly

Took 10 hours. Verdict is in. It will be read in 2 minutes.

that fast of a verdict, the liquor stores are safe tonight

eCat wrote: ↑Tue Apr 20, 2021 4:44 pm that fast of a verdict, the liquor stores are safe tonight

10 hours seems reasonable

I don't think not guilty was ever in the equation, a hung jury was the best the defense could hope for, IMO - and in 10 hours its clearly not that

guilty all counts

Told ya. In a bunch less words.

Welp, that is that

If I am a cop and they are trying me for the murder of someone I was trying to arrest who wound up dying, and I am claiming not-guilty (the way Chauvin was), I am going to want to be cross-examined. I am going to want to take the stand, and have my words come under critical inquiry. I am going to answer the questions while looking at the jury (if possible.) I am going to want to sit there and defend myself in my words and I don't give a damn if my defense counsel tells me not to do so. Seriously, what difference would it have made for Chauvin? Given the guilty verdict, he had nothing to lose.

To me, to NOT take the stand in my own defense (the way Chauvin refused to do) makes me almost feel like he was hiding something. So yeah, I guess I am a little surprised by the verdict, but not shocked.

Monday Morning Quarterbacking. Maybe he'll try next time. Or maybe he's guilty and he knows it.