Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Evangelical
Relieved and Grieved: My reflections on the Derek Chauvin verdict

Relieved and Grieved: My reflections on the Derek Chauvin verdict

Last updated on: April 21, 2021 at 7:42 am by Rob Dalrymple

Relieved and Grieved: My reflections on the Derek Chauvin verdict 2021-04-21T07:42:00-08:00 Rob Dalrymple

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

I am relieved and I am grieved.

I am relieved that a semblance of justice has taken place.

I am grieved because this is only one instance of thousands and tens of thousands in which justice has not been rendered.

(There would be no need for the Equal Justice Initiative if there was already equal justice).

I am grieved because justice on a daily basis is still not equitable.

I am grieved for the thousands of people of color that have been lynched and found no justice.

I am grieved because regardless of what happened in the courts yesterday, a man is still not coming back to his family. He never will.

I am grieved today because a man is going to spend a long time in prison (yes, it may be just, but it is still tragic).

I am grieved because I know this verdict has not changed the daily reality that people of color face.

I am grieved because racial injustice reminds me of my own culpability.

I am grieved today because I still fear for law enforcement officials across the country. I believe that most of them are not racists. They have devoted their lives to a life of social service. They work in difficult circumstances and face horrendous incidents almost every day. And though they do this as public servants, they are too often deemed the enemy.

I am relieved because I hope that this case marks a watershed moment in our history.

I hope so.

I hope so for the sake of the people of color who have not experienced the same benefits of the rule of law that I have.

I hope so also for law enforcement officials. After all, if all unjust acts are punished as criminal acts, then, perhaps, the few law enforcement officials that have racial hatred in their hearts will not be tempted to contravene the law.

I am grieved today because we must acknowledge that one case does not establish the norm. It might simply be an exception.

I am grieved because I know that racial injustice flows downstream from racism. And one verdict will not eradicate racial hatred. I fear, in fact, that this one verdict may foster more racism.

I close with this thought:

I have been blessed to travel much of the world: Central America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Africa. My experience is that the US’s greatest feature is the rule of law. In saying this, I recognize that I speak as a well-educated, middle-class, white, male.

You see, though I am relieved that justice has been served, I am grieved because I know that the rule of law that I experience is not the rule of law that many others experience. I hope this event marks the beginning of a long road to difficult changes.

If you have been blessed by this post and would be willing to give a tax-deductible contribution in order to support determinetruth ministries and make possible future posts like this, you may do so by following this link: https://tithe.ly/give?c=3648601

If you would like to have Rob speak at your church or organization please let us know by filling out the contact info on the Contact me tab on this site.

George Floyd

Justice

Racism

Previous Post

April 20, 2021

Women, Injustice, and the Bible: Women-injustice#3; Justice#14

Next Post

April 21, 2021 Relieved and Grieved: My reflections on the Derek Chauvin verdict

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category 000 1 Cor 11:17-34 1 Corinthians 1 John 1 Peter 1 Thessalonians 1 Timothy 10 Commandments 2 Corinthians 2 John 2 Peter 2 Thessalonians 2 Timothy 3 John 666 Abortion Acts 2:42 Ahmaud Arbery AIPAC All Saints Day America antisemitism BDS Beast Betting Bible Bible study Biblical Interpretation Biden Book of Acts Boycott Campus Protests Catholicism Ceasefire Chavez Ravine Christian Nationalism Christian Zionism Christianity Today Christmas Church Colossians Communion Convict Leasing Covid-19 Craig Blaising creation Crucifixion Daoud Nassar Deception Deconstruction Democracy Devotional guide Discipleship Easter Eden Education Election End-times Ephesians Eschatology Ethnic Cleansing Evangelicalism Evangelicals Evolution Fall Famine Fascism FIFA Freedom of Speech Galatians Gary Burge Gaza Gaza; Genocide; Boycott Genesis Genocide George Floyd Global Warming God's will Gospel Gospel of John Gospel of Luke Gospel of Mark Gospel of Matthew Government Grace Great Prostitute Hamas Harris healthcare Hebrews HeGetsUs Holy Spirit Holy Week Honor Father and Mother ICJ Immigration Indigenous peoples day Iran Israel Israel Palestine Itamar Ben Gvir James Jesus Joel Willits Jude Just war Justice Kamala Harris Kingdom Of God Kings and Queens land of Israel Law (OT) Lazarus Les Miserable LGBTQ+ Love Luke Mahmoud Khalil Man of Lawlessness Mark Mark of the Beast Marriage Martin Luther King Jr Mercy Mexican Repatriation Military-Industrial-Complex Ministry Mission Money NAFTA Nakba Netanyahu New Creation New Testament Nicaragua Nicodemus Non Violence Occupation Pacifism Palestine Parable Paul Peace Pentecost Peonage Philemon Philippians Politics Poor Power Prayer Pride Month Priests Pro-life Propaganda Prophesy Prophet Qatar Queen Elizabeth Racism Reconstruction Redemption Reformation Resurrection Revelation Roe v Wade Romans Romans 13:1-7 Rome Russia Sabbath Samaritan Seals Sermon Settlements Slavery Spiritual gifts Taxes Tent of Nations Terrorism The Beast Theology Titus Torture Trump truth Ukraine Uncategorized Veteran's Day War Warsaw Ghetto wealth Wedding Women World Cup 2022 Worldview Worship Wrath Yemen Zionism

Select a Month September 2026 May 2026 February 2026 November 2025 October 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 August 2018 June 2018 May 2018 March 2018 September 2017 July 2017 May 2017 November 2016 October 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who restored water to Jericho by throwing salt into a spring?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Elijah Jonah Naaman Elisha

Support this
Column