Justice for One is Not Justice for All
The Chauvin verdict is worth celebrating but not evidence that the system works
Sampling error.
It’s what you’re guilty of when you draw conclusions about something based on a limited number of examples that point in a particular direction.
For instance, most serial killers are white. But serial killing is also a rare enough event that predicting the race of the next serial killer on that basis can easily turn out wrong. Same with predicting who the next terrorist attacker will be based on 9/11, or Tim McVeigh, for that matter. It’s what you engage in when you say that since you know someone who held off a home invader with a gun, gun possession is, therefore, a good bet for personal safety. If you get a hole-in-one today on your municipal golf course and conclude that you’re ready for the pro tour because of that par-3 chip shot on the 9th hole, well, again, that’s sampling error.
And make no mistake, it is most certainly in evidence if you conclude, based on the Derek Chauvin verdict, that the American system of justice works.
After all, even a broken clock is right twice a day. And even an unjust system can occasionally render salutary outcomes. Brown v Board, we should recall, was decided amid a vicious and racist…
