Ahead of Chauvin verdict, Republicans attack a familiar target: a Black woman

View in browser   April 20, 2021 As the country awaits a verdict in the murder trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer charged with killing George Floyd, Republicans have pounced on a familiar target: a Black woman. "This weekend in Minnesota, Maxine Waters broke the law by violating curfew and then incited violence," House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said on Monday in response to Waters' comments telling protesters to keep up their demonstrations. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Sen. Ted Cruz have also accused the California Democrat of promoting violence. But here's what Waters actually said: "We've got to stay on the street. And we've got to get more active. We've got to get more confrontational. We've got to make sure that they know that we mean business." Waters did not actually call for violence. Still, Republicans piled on, and Waters told theGrio, "I am nonviolent. I talk about confronting the justice system, confronting the policing that's going on. I'm talking about speaking up. I'm talking about legislation." Whatever happens with the Chauvin verdict, you can bet Republicans are going to keep going after Waters. —Inae Oh Advertisement   How Brazil’s Far-Right Extremists Learned From Trump Insurrectionists on Parler A new study raises concerns about radicalization ahead of Brazil's presidential elections in 2022. BY ISABELA DIAS   Social media influencers are spreading wild rumors about COVID-19 vaccines and periods BY KIERA BUTLER Ahead of Chauvin verdict, Republicans attack a familiar target: a Black woman BY INAE OH If you thought "4/20" was named after a police code, think again. The real story is way better. BY JAELYNN GRISSO One trial can't change American policing BY NATHALIE BAPTISTE Advertisement   A year later, it's still impossible to tell how many food workers are contracting COVID-19 More than 50 food and meatpacking plants have had repeated outbreaks of the virus. But a full picture of the problem remains elusive. BY LEAH DOUGLAS   Support from readers allows Mother Jones to do journalism that doesn't just follow the pack. Donate SOME GOOD NEWS, FOR ONCE Behold 4/20, Which Means More Than You Think Historically, April 20 means one thing above all: observing, as one does, the anniversary of the first pasteurization test, named after Louis Pasteur, whose invention in 1862 improved food safety by eliminating pathogens and extending shelf life. 4/20 is also the 119th anniversary of Marie and Pierre Curie’s Nobel-winning work on radioactivity, and it's the day, in 2008, when Danica Patrick became the first woman to win an IndyCar championship. Vibraphonist Lionel Hampton would be 113 today, and it’s the 516th anniversary of something graver—the banishing of Jews by Philibert of Luxembourg at the instigation of a bishop. It’s also the day when the verdict in Derek Chauvin’s murder trial is expected. 4/20 means many things to many readers, a reminder to expand, not cement, our intuitive understanding of calendar and culture. Your banner day, your dominant chord, and your frame of reference and salience lead only so far. But on pasteurization day, another pattern emerges: In language lies history. Eponyms like “pasteurization” get stripped of capitalization through culture: "petri dish,” named after Julius Richard Petri; “saxophone,” Adolphe Sax; “diesel,” Rudolf Diesel; “mausoleum,” Mausolus; “nicotine,” the French ambassador to Portugal Jean Nicot, all associations faded by familiarity. As Lawrence Weschler once wrote, “Wasn’t it Pound, I think, who said, ‘Culture is what happens when we begin to forget sources’—maybe not, maybe it was somebody else.” Pound, or Weschler—maybe it was somebody else—was right to a degree but wrong in a deeper political sense. Culture is what gets elided, erased, or transmuted, not made, when we (“we”?) begin to forget sources. But in the spirit it’s meant, it's wisdom. You don't need to know Nicot to mark yesterday's nicotine news: The Biden administration is considering making tobacco companies reduce nicotine levels in all US-sold cigarettes so they're no longer addictive, according to the Wall Street Journal's Jennifer Maloney. I’ll believe it when I see it, or see it when I believe it. Lastly, 4/20 is about a plant. Have a nice day. Send good news to recharge@motherjones.com. —Daniel King Did you enjoy this newsletter? Help us out by forwarding it to a friend or sharing it on Facebook and Twitter. Donate Subscribe This message was sent to franchmaverickk.secretwords123@blogger.com. To change the messages you receive from us, you can edit your email preferences or unsubscribe from all mailings. For advertising opportunities see our online media kit. Were you forwarded this email? Sign up for Mother Jones' newsletters today. www.MotherJones.com PO Box 8539, Big Sandy, TX 75755