Who killed George Floyd? Chauvin or chauvinism?

When I first read the name of the Minneapolis officer who knelt on George Floyd's neck until he could breathe no more, it sounded vaguely familiar.

It was the second time round that I made the connection. 

Derek Chauvin. 

The last name is part of an 'ism' that we have known for a while, mostly as male chauvinism.

Turns out this school of thought -- Chauvinism -- has an interesting history. 

Nicolas Chauvin was a legendary, possibly apocryphal, French soldier and patriot who is supposed to have served in the First Army of the French Republic and subsequently in La Grande Armée of Napoleon. His name is the eponym of chauvinism, originally a term for excessive nationalistic fervor, but later used to refer to any form of bigotry or bias (e.g., male chauvinism). -- A-ha!

Chauvin was supposedly born in Rochefort, around 1780. He enlisted at age 18, and served honorably and well. He is said to have been wounded 17 times in his nation's service, resulting in his severe disfigurement and maiming. For his loyalty and dedication, Napoleon himself presented the soldier with a Sabre of Honor and a pension of 200 francs.^[1]

Chauvin's distinguished record of service and his love and devotion for Napoleon Bonaparte, which endured despite the price he willingly paid for them, is said to have earned him only ridicule and derision in Restoration France, when Bonapartism became increasingly unpopular.

Chauvinism is now defined by the Cambridge dictionary as:

the strong and unreasonable belief that your own country or race is the best or most important

While Wikipedia describes it as: 

Chauvinism is a form of extreme patriotism and nationalism and a belief in national superiority and glory. It can also be defined as "an irrational belief in the superiority or dominance of one's own group or people".

In the Floyd case, all the connotations of the term seem to have converged in the name of that one officer who killed him.