The real lesson of the Derek Chauvin Trail

The real lesson of the Derek Chauvin Trail.
By David LEE

Political scientist Professor James Kurth pointed out in his 1994 essay, “The Real Clash,” that in contrast to other major civilizations, Western civilization “is the only civilization that is explicitly non-religious or post-religious”. Kurth stated that the West has adopted very secular ideologies, “post-religious” ideologies, and forsaken its Christian roots. While there are “Confucian, Islamic and Slavic-Orthodox” civilizations, labels that suggest a religious or philosophical foundation, Western civilization is identified in terms of “geographical direction,” connoting “something bland and even insipid, with no content at all”—a “real anomaly,” which ignores that fact that Western civilization, the civilization created by European people, is the “most powerful and most pervasive civilization of them all.” The United States in fact saw itself at the head of “Western civilization,” the “defender of the faith,” beginning in the 20th century, leading “Western civilization” to victories over Germany and Japan in World War II and over Soviet Communism in the Cold War. Today, because of a number of socio-economic, industrial and academic trends, the “faith” has transformed into secular notions such as individualism, liberalism, human rights, equality, democracy and free markets. “Multiculturalism” has replaced shared culture and history, both of which were key elements of the nations of “Western civilization”. Indeed, as Kurth has noted, “Western civilization” to orthodox intellectuals and the mainstream media is “an oppressive hegemony that should be overturned.”

Kurth went on to critique political scientist Samuel P. Huntington’s thesis, that conflicts of the future will be between the great major civilizations or cultures rather than between political entities. However, Kurth has suggested that the next conflict will be between those who fervently embrace secular notions and those who firmly embrace pre-modern, Christian-based values. It should be very apparent to anyone with any knowledge of 20th century history that extremist secular ideologies such as communism and national socialism have lead to millions of deaths. After the collapse of totalitarian central authorities, multiethnic states have fragmented into smaller states defined by ethnicity. Multiculturalism and other secular ideologies can only exist with the backing of the state.

Open conflict between pre-modern conservatives and post-modern liberals has been underway in the US at least since the 1960s. In the 1960s, feminists encouraged Western women to use birth control and abortion and to reject as “oppressive” and “antiquated” traditional female roles. As increasing numbers of Western women (as well as men) are declining to start families and have children, births have dropped below replacement levels, threatening the sustainability of Western welfare states. The post-modern liberal solution: increase immigration from non-Western countries. The intellectuals and media have prepared Westerners for eventual replacement of their own indigenous culture with an alien one by ceaselessly promoting the glories of “multiculturalism”. The core tenants of multiculturalism include all ethno-cultural groups are equal, marginalized groups should be held up to be idolized and that it is one’s duty to do embrace other groups at the expense of one’s own group.

A good example of the idolization and elevation of another group over one’s own is the recent conviction of a white former Minneapolis police officer, Derek Chauvin, for the death of a black American, George Floyd. An April 21, 2021 article in the Mainichi Shimbun gushed that Chauvin’s conviction “gives hope to Black America”.

The post-modern role of the media is not to report facts but to elevate the marginalized. We have heard solemn proclamations from the media that Floyd was a “gentle giant” and that he was “turning his life around”. On hearing that he was “turning his life around,” one should ask why he was trying to “turn his life around”? What did he do that was so bad? George Floyd was a convicted felon and served prison time. He was previously arrested for drug possession, theft and for armed robbery in which he and his gang lied his way into a home and Floyd threatened the female victim with a gun. In 2020, he died while being subdued by Chauvin. Before his death, Floyd was attempting to buy cigarettes with counterfeit currency. Also, according to the official autopsy report, he was on fentanyl, methamphetamine and marijuana. He also had signs of significant heart disease. Despite signs of ill health and an abundance of narcotics in his blood, the Mainichi Shimbun boasted that with Chauvin conviction, “one white police officer” was held “accountable” for an “unambiguous act of murder.” Martin Luther King III, son of American civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr., chimed in: “We have to constantly stay on the battlefield … and make demands.” During the trial, black US Representative Maxine Waters demanded Chauvin be found guilty, and that “we’ve got to get more confrontational.”

An “autonomous zone” was set up by black activists around the site where Floyd died in May 2020, “George Floyd Square”. Since then, police have been prevented from responding to emergency calls within the “autonomous zone” because of barricades set up by black activists. Special instructions “for white people in particular” concerning behavior within the “autonomous zone” have been prominently displayed at the entrance. Minneapolis officials have so far declined to close down “George Floyd Square”.

While it is interesting that black people, including “peaceful” black activists, have recently declared war against white Americans, and that they are now demanding that justice be tipped in their favor because of their race, this mindset has existed since the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the start of reparations—specifically to black people—in the form of government-mandated affirmative action. They now destroy statues of great American heroes with impunity. The state, then, is absolutely required to enforce multiculturalism, to enrich a marginal group over the majority.

What should really be of concern, however, to those living in nations based on secular values of “Western civilization” is that “George Floyd Squares” are going to spring up throughout Western cities, as surely as mushrooms appear after a rainstorm. The vehicle by which social chaos will arrive will be multiculturalism.

The international media, including the Mainichi Shimbun, has perennially derided the US, a nation founded by Europeans, as an extremely violent and racist country. One should remember, however, that European countries are safer, in terms of fewer violent crimes, than countries in which blacks are the majority. Within the US, rates of violent crimes committed by black Americans are significantly higher than those of white and Asian Americans. This holds true even at similar levels of income and poverty. With respect to “racism,” blacks are more likely to attack whites (and Asians) than the reverse. Furthermore, the conventional wisdom that the American judicial system is “racist” is wrong: between 2002 and 2013, blacks were less likely to be incarcerated compared to whites, for a number of crimes including manslaughter, auto theft and drug offenses. When will the Mainichi Shimbun ever get around to reporting facts instead of heaping praise on convicted felons?

A more important question is what will happen to Western countries when their borders are opened wide for non-Westerners? Most Japanese people, who have fully embraced multiculturalism, admire their “native” sports stars, like Naomi Osaka. Naomi Osaka, a Japanese citizen, has stated that she is first and foremost “a black woman.” She also has also supported “Black Lives Matter,” an organization that promotes “independent black political power and black self-determination,” reparations and abolition of policing and prisons. Black Lives Matter and white anarchist fellow travelers were at the center of numerous riots and arsons in the US in 2020. Is Japan looking forward to more multiculturalism?