Member-only story
White America Should Be Watching
The Derek Chauvin trial and the portrayal of George Floyd
Listening to a New York Times podcast covering the Derek Chauvin trial this week, I heard excerpts of the voir dire, that part of jury selection where prospective jurors are questioned about their reading habits, political beliefs, and various other convictions and opinions, so the attorneys on both sides can winnow the jury pool down to just those bland individuals who do not hold any polarizing beliefs or opinions. That they will admit to, anyway.
In the voir dire for Chauvin’s trial, the prosecutor questioned a man about whether he is a football fan. The New York Times podcast played his audio, so I got to hear him reply, without hesitation, “Yes, absolutely.” The man sounded, to my ear, White, which thought I immediately felt guilty for thinking.
“Vikings season ticket holder,” the prospective juror added.
“There are some people,” the prosecutor came back, “who have decided to not watch NFL football anymore, as sort of a protest, of players who might take a knee during the national anthem. Are you aware of that?”
“Uh, sure, yeah,” the prospective juror replied. The attorney asked him what he thought about that. “My thoughts is that players can do whatever they’d like to, voice any sort of…
