What's the Difference Between Jordan Neely and George Floyd?

     One was killed by a cop. The other by a vigilante.

     And at least Derek Chauvin and three other cops went to prison over Floyd's murder. So why hasn't Daniel Penny been charged?

     George Floyd was killed over a counterfeit $20 dollar bill that he may not have even known was counterfeit. Then the claustrophobe panicked when they tried to stuff him into a police car. 8 minutes and 46 seconds later, he was a corpse. The Minneapolis cops wouldn't even let EMTs anywhere near him. Riots and protests broke out all over the nation. This was the precise reason why Colin Kaepernick and other NFL players began taking a knee.

     If anything, Daniel Penny's vigilantism was worse. He is not tasked with maintaining law and order within the city of New York or any other, yet he had Jordan Neely in a chokehold for nearly twice the time George Floyd had Derek Chauvin's knee on his neck. And, like Chauvin, Penny looked directly at the camera filming him without the slightest amount of shame.

     It was Jordan Neely's misfortune to be riding on the same F train car as Daniel Penny, the man who killed him. Neely had been acting erratically on the car, demanding food and water from strangers. He threw his jacket. He raised his voice. Fifteen minutes later, he was dead.

     This is the inevitable result of black men acting badly and with anger. White people like Penny can't tolerate that. They're hard-wired to neutralize the "threat" immediately and with prejudice. And, these days, they will always have supporters, fans, even. Candace Owens said Neely had it coming to him.

     What she hasn't explained was why the Medical Examiner ruled Neely's death a homicide. Shouldn't homicides be followed up with prosecution?

     In Brian Garfield's Death Wish, which spawned a six film series starring Charles Bronson, New York City's authorities went after Paul Kersey, his character. And Kersey was a sympathetic figure, as in the movie his wife was murdered and his daughter was raped. 

     Nowadays, we're seeing none of that, Penny suffered no such loss and the city seems to be getting the dry heaves at the thought of prosecuting him. The highest-ranking city authorities are now on the side of the vigilantes. Professional self-loathing black man, Mayor Eric Adams, seems quite content to blame Neely's death on his behavior. He also seems content with the fact that there wasn't a transit cop anywhere near the car where the murder took place, with the assistance of other passengers. (Tell me, Tucker, is that how white men are supposed to fight?) And that Penny was allowed to walk after taking a human life.

     The problem isn't vigilantism or racism but, as Adams is fond of saying, black men acting badly. The young man was homeless, thirsty and hungry. His mother died when he was very young. He was a young man who was utterly and completely failed by the system while he was alive. And he's still being failed by the system in death.