Accountability matters. Black lives matter. George Floyd mattered.

by Therese Odell, posted in Uncategorized

It’s Wednesday, and I need you to see my friend’s dog:

BLEP.

Black Lives Matter

Yesterday, former police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty of murdering George Floyd in Minneapolis last year in a case that sparked outrage, protests, and a reckoning across the country and around the world. After deliberating for 10 hours, the jury found Chauvin guilty on all three charges: second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter. It is astonishingly rare for police officers to be held accountable for the violence they commit on the job, and many people were convinced this case would be no exception. The nation let out a sigh of relief yesterday afternoon when the verdict was read, grateful that a jury trusted their own eyes and believed the truth in front of them.

And much love to Darnella Frazier, the brave young woman whose video forced us all to see the truth.

However, Chauvin is just one cop in a very broken system. As President Biden pointed out, “It was a murder in full light of day, and it ripped the blinders off for the whole world to see. For so many, it feels like it took all of that for the judicial system to deliver just basic accountability.”

We have to make systemic changes so that Chauvin’s conviction is not an astonishingly rare occurrence. We can begin by getting rid of qualified immunity which protects cops from being held liable for egregious violence and brutality. We can also look at reforming police unions and reallocating resources to other agencies that can handle problems, like mental health crises, but qualified immunity is the place where we really need to begin.

Of course, not everyone believes justice was served: Tucker Carlson claimed that the only reason the jury came to their decision was that they were scared (and not because, you know, they watched a video of a man kneeling on the neck of another man for more than 9 minutes, refusing to offer aid) and had a predictable meltdown when one of his guests, a former corrections officer, criticized Chauvin; and Glenn Beck wants you to keep Chauvin’s family in your thoughts. Maybe Chauvin should have kept his family in his thoughts before he murdered a man.

Also, this is the fucking richest of rich fucking takes:

Tragically, the violence against brown and black people continues: even in the very moment Chauvin’s verdict was read, Ma’Khia Bryant, a 16-year-old Black girl in Columbus, Ohio was shot and killed by officers when they responded to a call SHE made to them after being threatened by some older kids. And in Chicago last week, the police were forced to release footage of the police murder of a 13-year-old boy, Adam Toledo, who they claimed was armed at the time. He wasn’t. (Toledo also wasn’t a “13-year-old man,” Sean Hannity.)

But you know who was armed and who had killed two people when he was arrested but was somehow taken in alive?

You know who the police arrested alive and took to Burger King after he murdered nine Black people while they were worshipping in their church?

We have so much more work to do. SO MAYBE LET’S BEGIN BY NOT GIVING BOOK DEALS TO COPS ACCUSED OF MURDERING INNOCENT PEOPLE.

Meanwhile, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association found itself in trouble again. Former President of HFPA and at the time member, Phil Berk, sent an email to the other members of the organization “quoting an article that called the Black Lives Matter organization a ‘racist hate movement’ and singled out its co-founder, Patrisse Cullors, as a ‘self-proclaimed trained Marxist.’” This, as you might imagine, did not go over well in a moment when the organization is under fire for being exclusionary and racist. (Also, Berk is the individual Brendan Fraser accused of sexually assaulting him back in 2003 … SO HOW WAS HE STILL A MEMBER OF HFPA AS OF TUESDAY?)

Two of the diversity and inclusion advisers HFPA had hired to help them navigate the mess they were already in resigned after Berk’s email became public. And a third PR company that works with HFPA is considering its options.

The board of HFPA expelled Berk from the organization after NBC threatened to pull out of the Golden Globes. But not after Brendan Fraser claimed Berk molested him. Got it. 

All Other TV News

Netflix and David Fincher are maybe in talks for a third season of Mindhunter. FINGERS CROSSED.

Days of Our Lives has stopped production as it awaits NBC’s decision as to whether it will be renewed for a 57th season. I am not a Days viewer, but my fingers are crossed for the show as we have so few soaps left.

Netflix gained 4 million subscribers in the first quarter of 2021, short of the 6 million they had projected, which sure sounds like the other streamers are starting to pull some of their market away.

Ew:

Roku will rebrand the Quibi properties they picked up as “Roku Originals.”

Music rights issues are making the shows you remember sound very different from how they originally aired. YOU CANNOT HAVE THE X-FILES EPISODE “BEYOND THE SEA” WITHOUT THE SONG “BEYOND THE SEA.”

Looks like House of the Dragon is gearing up for production in south England.

Former Real Housewives of New York cast member Dorinda Medley is leading an aerobics class for charity. If you pay extra, will she scream at you?

Morrissey continues to be Morrissey.

Going Viral

Dr. Fauci and other health officials no longer believe we will reach herd immunity, at least not through the vaccine. From The New York Times:

White House officials say they take it as a good sign that nearly 51 percent of American adults have turned out for a first dose — “a major milestone,” said Dr. Bechara Choucair, the White House vaccinations coordinator, and an indication that “there are tens of millions of people who are still eager to get vaccinated.”

But he is well aware that there will come a time when Americans are no longer fighting for vaccine slots, and when supply will exceed demand.

In some parts of the country, that point may be here. In Mississippi, which opened vaccinations to all adults a month ago, 21 percent of the population is fully inoculated. In Alabama, the figure is just 19 percent. In Georgia, home of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, just 20 percent of the population is fully vaccinated.

“There are states where they feel they have hit the wall,” said Mike Fraser, the executive director of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials. “The folks that wanted it have found it. The folks that don’t want it are not bothering to find it.”

From USA Today:

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease doctor, doesn’t want to talk about herd immunity anymore. 

“Rather than concentrating on an elusive number, let’s get as many people vaccinated as quickly as we possibly can,” he said at a White House briefing last week, a sentiment he’s since repeated.

What Fauci doesn’t explicitly state, but others do, is that with about a quarter of Americans saying they might not want to be immunized, herd immunity is simply not an attainable goal.   

“It’s theoretically possible but we as a society have rejected that,” said Dr. Gregory Poland, director of the Mayo Clinic’s Vaccine Research Group. “There is no eradication at this point, it’s off the table. The only thing we can talk about is control.”

Not reaching herd immunity is a scary possibility: people are going to continue to die unnecessarily from this disease, we will continue to see outbreaks in certain communities with the same surges and pressures on our hospitals, and it increases the chance that the virus can mutate into a vaccine-resistant form. One way you can help is if you have received the vaccine is to talk about it: post about it on social media, tell your friends and family. As more people see folks in their communities receive the vaccine, the less hesitant they become about receiving it themselves. Who knows who you might convince to get the shot.

In Development

Casting News

Mark Your Calendars

  • The Cube will premiere on TBS on June 10.
  • Oxygen will debut on Netflix on May 12.
  • Black Love returns on OWN on May 14.
  • Sardar Ka Grandson will premiere on Netflix on May 18.

R.I.P.

Monte Hellman, Director

WATCH THIS

Zero: A teenager with the power of invisibility is dragged into a small-time criminal’s plans in this new series. Netflix

Married At First Sight: Unmatchables:  16 applicants from previous seasons are given a new chance of love in this new Married at First Sight spinoff. Premiere.  9 p.m., Lifetime

The Price is Right at Night: Late-night host Lily Sing comes on down for a primetime special episode. 7 p.m., CBS

Late Night:

  • Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon: Elisabeth Moss, James Cameron, Carlos Vives, Ricky Martin
  • Late Night with Seth Meyers: Christine Baranski, Melissa Villaseñor, Emmanuelle Caplette
  • The Late Show with Stephen Colbert: Ed Helms, Susan Page
  • The Late Late Show with James Corden: Cher, Jackson Wang
  • Jimmy Kimmel Live: George W. Bush, Maroon 5
  • Watch What Happens Live: Brad Goreski, Jackie Goldschneider
  • A Little Late with Lily Singh: Teddy Swims

WEDS. 7:00 7:30 8:00 8:30 9:00 9:30
ABC The Goldbergs
(new)		 Home Economics
(new)		 The Conners
(new)		 Call Your Mother
(new)		 A Million Little Things
(new)
CBS The Price is Right at Night
(new)		 SEAL Team
(new)		 S.W.A.T.
(new)
CW Kung Fu
(new)		 Nancy Drew
(new)		 Local
FOX The Masked Singer
(new)		 News/Local
NBC Chicago Med
(new)		 Chicago Fire
(new)		 Chicago P.D.
(new)

2 thoughts on “Accountability matters. Black lives matter. George Floyd mattered.”

  1. LOL you said “It looks like You and The Witcher will be released on Netflix sometime this fall.” and I thought there was a choose you own adventure type movie or something with The Witcher

    Reply

Leave a Reply to Josh SorensenCancel reply