FSTDT

Dr. Michael Baden determined that George Floyd died by cop. That, the courageous onlookers who filmed the snuff film could have told him.

The nation's foremost forensic pathologist was called in to weigh-in scientifically and independently on the demise of the Minneapolis man, whom millions across the world have, by now, watched slowly suffocate to death on camera, May 25.

"Look at him. Get off him now. What is wrong with y'all. Leave him. You're killing him. Bro, he's not moving. Check his pulse." Blood is bubbling out of his mouth. These good Samaritans loudly protested this police porn. There was a trickle on the asphalt, as Floyd likely lost control over bodily functions, near the end.

Dr. Baden, who confirmed mechanical asphyxiation due to pressure on the neck and back, was asked to perform an independent autopsy because the initial, official one was comical, suggesting the cops' actions were secondary complicating factors.

The Hennepin County medical examiner made it sound like George Floyd should have been able to endure 8 minutes and 46 seconds with a knee on his neck and three Minneapolis police officers pushing down on his diaphragm, subsequently reducing blood flow to the brain. Floyd failed that fitness test because he was on drugs, drunk, COVID-positive and in really bad physical shape.

I'd hate to have my physical fitness and sobriety tested that way.

The reality is that millions around the world witnessed George Floyd expire on camera because he was made to star in his own State-sanctioned snuff film.
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The truth is that conservatives, like liberals, refuse to candidly confront the indisputable realities of race and crime in America, reducing, instead, the reality of crime to a political theory – too much welfare, too little capitalism, not enough Trumpism.

The statistical relationship between race and crime, however, is as strong as the relationship between Derek Chauvin's knee and the late George Floyd's neck.

This correlation, writes Unz Review editor Ron Unz, "so substantially exceeds the poverty/crime relationship that much of the latter may simply be a statistical artifact due to most urban blacks being poor." To discount the immutable reality of race and crime in urban America is to discount "the real-world impact of these grim statistics."

Never, ever are righteous individuals within a community to be fingered for what the wicked among them do. Still, seekers of truth should be able to talk about trends within communities without fearing a loss of reputation and marginalization. These are the sort of trends social science measures. Or, once measured.

As I put it in the book "Into the Cannibal's Pot: Lessons for America from Post-Apartheid South Africa":

"Provided they are substantiated by hard evidence, not hunches, generalizations are not incorrect. Science relies on the ability to generalize to the larger population observations drawn from a representative sample. People make prudent decisions in their daily lives based on probabilities and generalities. That one chooses not to live in a particular crime-riddled county or country in no way implies that one considers all individual residents there to be criminals, only that a sensible determination has been made, based on statistically significant data, as to where scarce and precious resources – one's life and property – are best invested." (pp. 41-42)

Not too long ago, while doing research on a collaborative project, I came to the inescapable conclusion that the nation's educational establishment has betrayed our young men.

The research led me to co-author a novel, "The Hunt" – more on this in a minute.

The betrayal begins with the books teachers assign in high school and college. These books are routinely effete, feminist, anti-Christian, socialistic and often gay.

Collectively, they do better a job of teaching a young male to be a metrosexual than to be an a man.

I do not exaggerate the problem facing young men in school. To see what educators would like our young people to read, I chose an article titled "20 Contemporary Books for Your High School Reading List" from a random Google search.

Here are some samples. In "Bless Me, Ultima," described as "a classic piece of Chicano literature," the protagonist learns a new kind of spirituality from a faith healer.

"The Hate U Give" tackles "themes of racism, police brutality, and societal injustice."

"Unwind" tells the story of the Second Civil War, which apparently was "fought over reproductive rights."

"Monster" tells the story of Steve Harmon, "a teenager from Harlem on trial as an accomplice to murder."

"Fast Food Nation" attacks elements of the food industry, "including the exploitation of minimum wage workers."

"The Things They Carried," a book about Vietnam, "will educate your students on the horrors of war."

"Nickel and Dimed" spurs "conversations about the causes and effects of income inequality."

"The Other Wes Moore" explores "the ways in which education, socioeconomic disparity, and parental support shape the individual."

"The Handmaid's Tale" describes a theocratic regime in which "women have no autonomy and are instead assigned to specific societal roles."

"Little Bee" stimulates discussion "about globalization and ways we can better protect the innocent."

The other 10, although not as overtly political, deal with cancer, "spirituality and nature," cloning, "well-meaning white parents," postcolonialism, "the harsh realities of poverty," more cancer, "dating, abuse, and identity," and American-style "fascism."

The one worthy book, Cormac McCarthy's "The Road," may be the single bleakest book I have ever read. Even by post-apocalyptic standards, it is a total downer. The movie version makes "The Walking Dead" look like "Hello, Dolly."

Given the books young people are assigned, It should not surprise that girls are an incredible 10 times more likely than boys to pick up a book and read it on their own.

Reading leads to better academic performance down the road. As of now, women receive very close to 60 percent of all academic degrees awarded, a disparity whose social consequences are even greater than the academic ones.

In creating "The Hunt," I harkened back to the books I was assigned to read in high school. I still remember them: "Call of the Wild," "Red Badge of Courage," "Annapurna," "Kon-Tiki," "Mutiny on the Bounty," "Men Against the Sea," "Huckleberry Finn" and "Lord of the Flies."

These books not only captured our attention and held it, but they also helped us boys envision our lives as men. We saw how courage, perseverance and self-reliance worked in the real world and why they remain essential virtues.