It is easy to assume that the conviction of a white supremacist for the murder of white women, resulting in life imprisonment, is nothing more than white people punishing their own for killing their own. It is meaningless to the black children who are being murdered, or the brown infants in cages because the white nationalists the vehemently support Trump, and form 40% of the country, are still free to so do.
However, I think it provides a sliver of hope in that historically the murder of white people fraternizing with black people and enabling their protests were considered acceptable losses.
Look at the case of James Reeb who was brutally beaten by white supremacist and later died of the injuries. This was in 1965, just over 50 years ago, and there are still likely a lot of people around who can tell the first hand story. His crime was fraternizing with black people while they marched from Selma to Montgomery. Four men were indicted for the murder, and all were acquitted. Of course they were, because he would not have been dead if he had not been with the black people plotting an insurrection.
The white hospital that refuse to treat him and likely lead to his death due to his injuries, as far as I know, was never sanctioned.
So yes, this might look like white people protecting white people from white people who went too far. But really what we are seeing is white people admitting that this white women did not deserve to die simply for advocating for equal rights for everyone. That, on this point, that non-white people might have the right to be treating equally, is something the white nationalists can agree to disagree.
It is in fact a landmark and frankly welcome conviction.
Plus she did not die because white nationalists christian hospitals thought that their religious principles were more important than her life. Which is something that we still need to fix, but that is another diary.