George Floyd should be alive today | Nicholas Russell

Floyd is no martyr. To speak of him as such is a hollow kind of myth-making. No, if justice were true, he would simply be

Tuesday's pageantry surrounding the verdict of Derek Chauvin's trial felt like a looming hand coming down to put placating pressure on the masses like a weighted blanket. There's little to say that can be considered truly revelatory, other than to be explicit about how perverse and orchestrated these events feel. The hours before the verdict consisted of filler dispatches from every news outlet. Here's what we know so far. What you need to know. Minutes to go. The likelihood of a conviction. What makes this trial different. How ubiquitous surveillance, not fervent, sustained protest, made it possible. Testimony from black journalists. The understanding that even more psychic weight would be placed on to them in the coming days, no matter the outcome. All of this solemnly, respectfully delivered, with similar sentiments echoed on social media, yet still the anticipation generated was closer to that of a major sports event. Writer and comedian Natasha Rothwell touched on a bleak, crushing irony when she tweeted: Can't wait to find out if my life matters! ."

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