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An overwhelmingly majority of Americans support the guilty verdict that was reached in the Minneapolis trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin, who killed George Floyd one year ago, by kneeling on his neck for nine minutes while the Black man begged for his life. At Fox News though, the trial outcome was met with hysterical condemnations — it was an "attack on civilization," Tucker Carlson warned. It was "mob justice," announced Candace Owens.
The trial’s conclusion did not spark civil unrest. Instead, solemn scenes of candlelight tributes played out across the city. Robbed of the chance to demonize the Black Lives Matter movement — robbed of the chance of scaring viewers into thinking community activists would soon be banging down their doors and ransacking their Main Streets — Fox News reacted to the verdict with frustration and rage.
The aggravation sprang from the fact that the network desperately wanted to air scenes of mayhem from Minneapolis following a 'not guilty' verdict, and to spend the week denouncing Democrats and President Joe Biden for lawlessness on the left.
It's a chilling reminder that Fox News isn't merely a "conservative" media outlet that provides a GOP perspective on the news. It's a dangerous propaganda machine whose goal is to undermine American democracy. It's driven by a blood lust for conflict and feeds off civil unrest if it can cast progressives as villains.
Attacking Democrats for Black Lives Matter protests has become a hallmark of Fox News programming in recent years. Last spring, Rupert Murdoch’s incendiary cable network spent weeks claiming the police's use of excessive force against peaceful protesters was justified in order to quell threats posed by anti-fascist activists who allegedly stood poised to demolish cities across the country. Last May, following the spread of Black Lives Matter protests, Carlson aired a 25-minute, race-baiting monologue condemning BLM as a "mob" that would soon "come" for his loyal viewers.
A would-be crisis like unrest in Minneapolis this week was why Roger Ailes created Fox News in the first place— to give the conservative movement an oversized microphone that could distort the national conversation, while putting Democrats on the defensive with endless, baseless allegations. The network's business model is based on fear and grievance. But the jury's swift verdict in the Chauvin trial robbed Fox News of all of that. The anger and frustration was palpable.
And it wasn't just Fox News. The entire right-wing echo chamber denounced the verdict, not because commentators could point to any reason why Chauvin should have been found not guilty after being videotaped killing Floyd in slow motion. They were furious because they hated the idea of a Black victim getting justice, and Black activists posting a courtroom victory:
• The Trial Was a Disgrace (Townhall)
• Vile Response to the Derek Chauvin Verdict (New York Post)
• Americans Can't Trust the Jury's Chauvin Verdict (The Federalist)
• Chauvin Trial Unleashed the Dogs of Thuggery and Revolution (American Thinker)
In truth, most of the conservative media paid little attention to the Chauvin trial while it was unfolding because they couldn't find anything to grab onto. (Fox News mentioned "Chauvin" one-fifth as often as did CNN and MSNBC, according to TVeyes.com.) The trial was unique because instead of it sparking a debate about police tactics, and Minneapolis top brass defending their officer, the trial featured the city's chief of police testifying against Chauvin, as did his fellow officers.
By correctly turning its back on Chauvin, the Minneapolis police department robbed Fox news of its preferred angle — liberals vs. law enforcement. That explained the network's passing interest in the trial itself.
As for the verdict, the GOP just hated the idea that a jury needed only 11 hours of deliberation to convict a white officer. Right-wing pundits rendered their garments insisting it was "mob" justice — that jurors were terrified of delivery a not guilty verdict because protesters would then burn the city. (It was "jury intimidation," cried Carlson.)
But there's zero evidence this week that any jury felt pressured. And there hasn't been a single, serious legal analyst who has made a compelling argument for why the jury should have set Chauvin free. It was an open-and-shut case.
The conservative Washington Times conceded, "The guilty verdict against former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin on all counts was correct, based on the evidence" — and then promptly attacked the "theatrics" of Democrats surrounding the trial.
Make no mistake, Fox News was hoping Minneapolis erupted this week. They’re rooting against America.
💵 GOOD STUFF:
Elections matters, part infinity.
From the New York Times' " Biden Will Seek Tax Increase on Rich to Fund Child Care and Education":
The next phase of President Biden’s $4 trillion push to overhaul the American economy will seek to raise taxes on millionaire investors to fund education and other spending plans, but it will not take steps to expand health coverage or reduce prescription drug prices, according to people familiar with the proposal.
The president will also propose eliminating a provision of the tax code that reduces taxes for wealthy heirs who sell assets they inherit, like art or property, that have gained value over time. And he would raise revenue by increasing enforcement at the Internal Revenue Service to bring in more money from wealthy Americans who evade taxes.
☀️ FUN STUFF — BECAUSE WE ALL NEED A BREAK
Common "What Do You Say (Move it Baby)"
Common can do it all — actor, rapper, and writer. His latest is the perfect R&B spring breeze you've been waiting for.
We did lots of living and lots of giving
A higher vibration but it's not religion
I wanna pour into the riches of your being
We don't diss each other even when we disagreeing
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The week Fox News craved street violence in Minneapolis