Why Americans Are Dying Younger and Gov. Abbott Wants to Pardon Murderer of BLM Protestor
GOP Loves Leaks But Boebert Is Obsessed with Urine, Plus Laura Nyro Sings
A Brief Word about Justice…
One of the most popular movie genres is the revenge story in which someone who has been grievously wronged eventually punishes (I mean really punishes) the person who committed that wrong. Sometimes the avenger is a trained vigilante like The Punisher or Batman, and sometimes the avenger is an average person, as in Death Wish or 9 to 5. This genre has popularity because it taps into that need for justice that we all crave—and far too often see ignored. Those we put our faith in to uphold justice—law enforcement, the legal system, and politicians— too often seem to thwart justice for us to continue to keep that faith.
Learning that the world is not fair is a moment when we lose our innocence; choosing to try to make it fair anyway is when we become adults. Of course, in real life, individuals seeking revenge is a horrible idea because it often leads to more and greater injustice. At least in fiction we can experience the satisfaction of justice that sometimes eludes us in real life.
Which brings me to Astraea. She is a Greek goddess of justice, the last to live among humans. Disgusted with the greed and avarice of humanity, she left Earth to become the constellation Virgo. The myth tells us that one day she will return to bring utopia to humans. What bothers me about that myth, and others like it, is that she leaves just when people most need her. If people were already intent on doing good, we wouldn’t need her. It’s like a doctor leaving because there are too many sick people, saying, “I’ll come back when you’re all well again.”
Which brings me to Fīat jūstitia ruat cælum, Latin for “Let justice be done though the heavens fall.” It first appears in English in 1601, was used by nineteenth century abolitionist Charles Summer, and appears in 1860 on the flag of the Alamo City Guards Texas Militia. Basically, it implies that we should seek justice, no matter the cost—because the cost of not doing that is worse for all of us.
Justice is simply treating all people fairly under the law and providing all people with equal opportunity. However, seeking justice isn’t on everyone’s agenda. For many Republicans, the maxim is “Let the bottom line rise though the heavens fall.” To them, justice is a caste system that serves those at top because their bank account or religion or skin color proves they deserve it.
Conclusion? We mere mortals are responsible for justice. As Paul Simon reminds us in “The Boy in the Bubble”: “The way we look to a distant constellation/ That's dying in a corner of the sky.” We can’t look to the constellations to save us. We have to do the heavy lifting ourselves. And we have to be dedicated to bringing justice to all people, “though the heavens may fall.” That way we don’t have to wait for Astraea to bring us utopia; we’ll have created it ourselves. That’s the only way we’ll be worthy of it.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott Is Trying to Pardon a Man Convicted of Murdering a BLM Protester (Time)
SUMMARY: “The fate of an Army sergeant Daniel Perry, who was found guilty of fatally shooting a protester at a Black Lives Matter demonstration in 2020, is up in the air as the Texas pardon board reviews the conviction for a possible pardon at the governor’s request and Perry’s attorney pushes for a retrial.
“Texas Gov. Greg Abbott believes that Perry should be exonerated based on Texas’ stand your ground law, which allows using deadly force to defend yourself if you feel you’re in danger.”
MY TAKE: After my introductory remarks about justice, we have this outrageous case in which a jury found Perry guilty of murdering a BLM protestor, Garrett Foster. Witnesses said Foster, who was legally carrying a gun, did not point it at Perry. Perry initially said in a police interview that Foster didn’t point the gun at him, though later he said he did, and therefore he feared for his life, and shot at him five times. There’s no new evidence that exonerates Perry or questions the jurors’ decision. Abbott just wants to free a White man who shot a BLM protestor, which panders to White racists as well as to “stand your ground” gun enthusiasts. What a fine leader.
In March, Texas executed Arthur Brown Jr., a Black man who many considered innocent, which could have been proven, defense attorneys claimed, by evidence that Harris County prosecutors hid (“Texas executes Arthur Brown Jr. for Houston slayings despite claims of innocence, intellectual disability” The Texas Tribune). They also argued that Brown was intellectually disabled to the point that executing him would have been unconstitutional. Nope, said the courts.
I’m not here to retry Brown or Perry. But Abbott trusted the jury in one case but not another. Doing so benefits him politically. A Black man is executed and a White man who murdered a protestor may go free just because the governor likes his politics. After all, Perry did tweet that “protestors, anarchists, agitators, looters or lowlifes…” would not be subject to the same treatment as demonstrators in New York or Seattle. “Send them to Texas we will show them why we say don’t mess with Texas.”
I guess he showed Foster. And now Abbott will show the rest of America what justice means in Texas.