Monkey's Dad's definitions

Darnella Frazier

The young woman whose eyewitness video of the George Floyd killing by former police officer Derek Chauvin in Minneapolis on May 25, 2020, became a crucial artifact of American history. She was awarded an honorary Pulitzer Prize on June 11, 2021.

Only 17 at the time, Darnella Frazier is to the Floyd killing what Abraham Zapruder was to the assassination of John F. Kennedy, an accidental bystander with a camera, a vital witness to an historic moment. Ms. Frazier's video of the arrest, which recorded Floyd's plea - I can't breathe - as Chauvin knelt on his neck for more than 9 minutes, sparked protests across the country. A witness at Chauvin's murder trial, Ms. Frazier expressed regret for not physically confronting Mr. Chauvin. “It’s been nights I stayed up apologizing and apologizing to George Floyd for not doing more and not physically interacting and not saving his life,” Ms. Frazier said.

Darnella Frazier, who was 17 when she recorded George Floyd's murder in Minneapolis last year, was awarded a special citation by the Pulitzer Board. Her video played a major role in igniting a global protest movement against police violence, and was used as evidence in the trial of Floyd's killer.

Pulitzer officials who give out the prestigious prize in journalism and the arts said Frazier's recording highlighted "the crucial role of citizens in journalists' quests for truth and justice."

by Monkey's Dad June 12, 2021

appandectomy

The surgical removal of all traces and knowledge of a pandemic, allowing the patient to move freely about, without mask, without distancing, without concern for the safety of others.

That guy walking right up to you, coughing and passing you by an inch? He's had an appandectomy, with nothing left for him to worry about, except the tilt of his 'make America great again' hat.

by Monkey's Dad July 29, 2020

congrenegation

Forbidden gathering of ten or more people.

Laws of congrenegation went into effect, in an effort to slow the spread of the virus.

by Monkey's Dad March 22, 2020

empathology

The debilitating capacity to feel what another person is experiencing.

Although she herself was still healthy, safe and cared for, she had completely stopped eating, knowing how many others were hungry, isolated and suffering from the illness, immobilized by her empathology,

by Monkey's Dad March 16, 2020

anxiety tornado

A sweeping, fast moving state of anxiety that arrives without warning and takes everything in its path with it.

He had made an offhand remark, a minor joke, but to her it incited an anxiety tornado, swirling, uprooting, splintering and lifting her self-worth and sense of security with it until she felt herself to be an emotionally wrecked trailer park.

by Monkey's Dad August 15, 2021

good cop bad cop

A long-time tactic employed in police interrogation, to force a suspect to drop his guard and open up. Now, a duality threatening the fabric of American social justice.

Standing in a line of peaceful protestors seeking acknowledgment of racial injustice, unsure as to whether the well-armed men before him would protect him or attack him, he saw clearly - the good cop bad cop routine had taken to the streets.

by Monkey's Dad June 13, 2020

theatricoretical

An old-fashioned idea that a newly-released film would play in 'theaters' - places where people once congregated to experience laughter, joy, tears and fear together.

The movie's production budget had been huge, its theatrical release now only theatricoretical. It would be seen in the privacy and safety of people's homes, earning pennies on the dollar.

by Monkey's Dad March 22, 2020