Chauvin trial IV: Fair trials?

Let us say that the Chauvin trial ([1], [2], [3]) was fair—despite my considerable misgivings.

Will this still be the case with future trials of a similar nature? (Including, but not limited to, the trials against the other three officers from the Floyd-incident and any further trials concerning Chauvin.) Unlikely:

As I read today, one of the pro-Chauvin experts is attacked over his testimony in a manner that could have grave consequences for his career and is likely to have a severe chilling effect on other expert witnesses.

Of course, in a next step, and looking at many other similar societal trends, we might see more or less any trial with a potential Leftist angle influenced in an undue manner (even the many judicial-activist judges aside), because witnesses might not dare speak up, experts might not dare give testimony, jurors might not dare vote according to their actual beliefs, etc. In reverse cases, a DA might not dare prosecute even grossly criminal Leftist behaviors or grossly criminal behavior by Leftists.

Indeed, going by other readings, any type of support of those the Left has condemned, even prior to any trial, likely even absent criminal accusations, can have horrifying consequences. I have, for instance, heard at lest one account of someone being fired over a trivial monetary contribution to the defense of Kyle Rittenhouse. (As well as several accounts of crowdfunding attempts for him and/or other similar cases and causes being canceled by the respective platform.) This while Rittenhouse, let alone his supporters, is still unconvicted, is still entitled to due process and the presumption of innocence, and while the facts presented so far point to legitimate self-defense and an acquittal in a fair (!) trial.

Once someone is in the gun sights of the Left, he can lose any chance at a fair trial, monetary help (trials are expensive), expert testimony, etc. that even a hardened criminal of a politically neutral or pro-Left nature has access to.

Then we have to factor in complications like firings over expression of non-PC opinions, even when these opinions are factually sound; firings over the opinions of spouses; attempts to de-platform those with non-PC opinions; attempts to shutdown alternative platforms (e.g. Parler); etc.; etc.; etc;

What is happening in the U.S., and increasingly other parts of the world, is disturbingly similar to what happened in e.g. the old Communist dictatorships or “Nineteen Eighty-Four”, with that mentality of “either you are with us 100% or you will be utterly destroyed”. Indeed, in the U.S., more or less the entire “Bill of Rights” is under attack.

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Riots and whatnot, Chauvin trial III / Follow-up: Utterly insufficient data, insight, and thought

For now, I will not comment further on the verdict or trial, as my take is sufficiently documented in Parts I and II.

However, it is time to revisit another quote from [1]:

Of course, if [Chauvin] is acquitted, we can cue the next round of riots … (“Racist jury!”, “Racist justice system!”, etc.)

While I have yet to hear “Racist jury!”, we do have riots, threats of violence, “Racist justice system!”, “Systemic racism!”, etc., etc., etc.—despite a conviction!

This shows how far the U.S. and the U.S. racial debate has descended, and it shows how dangerous it has been for politicians to not just treat e.g. BLM and Antifa with silk gloves, but to actually encourage their outrageous, anti-democratic, and criminal behavior. (Recent statements by Maxine Waters (?) are possibly the most horrifying in the mainstream, but the problem has been extensive for at least the past year.)

Moreover, it well exemplifies two problems that I have seen again and again in various incarnations of the Left:

Firstly, it is insatiable. Fulfill Leftist demand A to get some peace and quiet, to reach a compromise, whatnot, and it will gobble A down and raise demands for B and C.

Secondly, the more powerful the Left is, the more dominant its ideas are, etc., the more strongly rhetoric like “we X* are oppressed and society must be reformed” will be, the stronger the complaints about alleged “Rightwing” extremism, etc. A good example is the German “Rechtsruck”** propaganda, which is raised as a specter as soon as the voters or the more Conservative parties do not toe the Left-of-center line.

*With X e.g. “the workers”, “the women”, “the Blacks”.

**See a few earlier texts, including [2].