We hear a lot about polarization. And then there's reality. Poll done after the unrest shows *only* 4% says Chauvin, the police officer who killed Floyd, should not have been charged; 77% thinks authorities were too slow to arrest him and 47% would like a *more* serious charge.

Not saying there are no issues. But the public is united that a cop putting his knee on an handcuffed man's neck to torture him to death isn't okay, and knows what's up with the color of his skin. But here's where it then goes: News coverage and social media: riots riots riots.

This will be followed by months of propaganda—riots, riots, antifa, riots, antifa—and that's how the underlying remarkable unity will not result in comprehensive police reform—the direction you'd think things might have gone when 96% of the public wants the killer charged.

I'm not naive about our divisions or the depth of structural racism. But it's also politically organized, stoked, fed into various mechanisms till we get where we are. It's true for so many issues where public is fairly united. Minimum wage. Student debt. Taxing the rich. etc.

Anyway, here's the poll. https://docs.cdn.yougov.com/098uixfv4a/20200531_yahoo_race_and_justice_toplines.pdf

Many dynamics—how human attention works; how media functions; how social media makes money—is moving us away from political action on a central truth: there is near unanimous agreement in this country that George Floyd's killer should be charged. Strong ground for police reform.

We should wake up to headlines and posts that say "The country is unanimously outraged by Floyd's murder. The way black people are treated by the police is unacceptable. Yes, mass protests are continuing." And then, the rest. The rest is news, but only as part of the main news.

It's often said that news follows the unexpected. "Man bites dog." Ok. Amidst all the polarization, in a poll taken after the unrest, 77% said the authorities were *too slow* to charge the police officer who killed Floyd. 96% agree he should be charged. Why isn't this big news?