What Goes Around Finally Came Around
Were you delighted when the news hit today that O.J. Simpson received a xxx to life sentence for his thuggish behavior commanding his henchmen to conduct a hotel room robbery of sports memorabilia some of which were once O.J.’s loot he was forced to sell off.
In what has come to be called “O.J. III,” Simpson was found guilty amidst some controversy that this trial was staged as an attempt to impose “justice” on Simpson for beating his murder rap where he brutally sliced up Ron Goldman and almost beheaded his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson.
His subsequent trial became one of the most outrageous media spectacles of the age where an ineffective judge and poorly organized prosecutors clearly outmatched by the all-star legal team Simpson had assembled knew all the right buttons to push to ignite the passions of the mostly African American jury where the justice system itself was put on trial and O.J.’s situation was but a sidebar.
Were you delighted when the news hit today that O.J. Simpson received a xxx to life sentence for his thuggish behavior commanding his henchmen to conduct a hotel room robbery of sports memorabilia some of which were once O.J.’s loot he was forced to sell off.
In what has come to be called “O.J. III,” Simpson was found guilty amidst some controversy that this trial was staged as an attempt to impose “justice” on Simpson for beating his murder rap where he brutally sliced up Ron Goldman and almost beheaded his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson.
His subsequent trial became one of the most outrageous media spectacles of the age where an ineffective judge and poorly organized prosecutors clearly outmatched by the all-star legal team Simpson had assembled knew all the right buttons to push to ignite the passions of the mostly African American jury where the justice system itself was put on trial and O.J.’s situation was but a sidebar.
All of us remember as the news broke on Simpson's possible connection with the double murder. How could this be? Not "The Juice" the fellow football fans saw run freely through defenses as one of the sport's most successful runners of all-time. After that, the media spotlight beckoned as he played in an assortment of comic movies including the Naked Gun series and was a charismatic football analyst even surving on Monday Night Football. Where was the racism in any of that? O.J.s greatest fan base was mostly white males from their teens to middle age. He simply radiated a sense of cool. How could he be a killer.
Then there was the Bronco chase and the rest is history.
Folks far from the urban realities of Los Angeles, essentially all white members of the population were outraged at Simpson’s acquittal. The evidence against him, no matter how poorly presented, was overwhelming. How could any rational person not weigh the evidence and not find this monster guilty?
Well for starters, two words, “Rodney King.”
The nation’s second largest city had a long history of racism, incompetence, and plenty of episodes that would not only destroy any confidence the African American community in Los Angeles, in fact, it would be logical to assume law enforcement was biased against them.
No matter how much things have changed even with the euphoria felt by many Blacks, there are many hard realities that thirteen years after Simpson’s arrest have not been resolved. White America will never accept that there are some aspects of being a minority that will always be beyond their grasp to understand.
The O.J. Simpson trial, rightly or wrongly, was a message to the ruling class. Injustice is alive and well in the nation’s second largest city. Sadly, one injustice, acquitting Simpson of double murder, stood as a statement against other injustice. A murderous monster, an absolute narcissist and sociopath was set free. Simpson was given a chance to prove himself a worthy citizen given this unusual chance but his conduct since then has proven his true inner nature living hedonistic, self-indulgent behavior ever since having many embarrassing episodes which further demonstrated his demonic character.
So finally, Simpson will do hard time and the world is a better place for it. What goes around comes around. Still, as much as this writer delights in seeing Simpson “get his,” how much of our joy in seeing Simpson finally face what he has escaped justice could be an exercise in our own schadenfreude?
Folks far from the urban realities of Los Angeles, essentially all white members of the population were outraged at Simpson’s acquittal. The evidence against him, no matter how poorly presented, was overwhelming. How could any rational person not weigh the evidence and not find this monster guilty?
Well for starters, two words, “Rodney King.”
The nation’s second largest city had a long history of racism, incompetence, and plenty of episodes that would not only destroy any confidence the African American community in Los Angeles, in fact, it would be logical to assume law enforcement was biased against them.
No matter how much things have changed even with the euphoria felt by many Blacks, there are many hard realities that thirteen years after Simpson’s arrest have not been resolved. White America will never accept that there are some aspects of being a minority that will always be beyond their grasp to understand.
The O.J. Simpson trial, rightly or wrongly, was a message to the ruling class. Injustice is alive and well in the nation’s second largest city. Sadly, one injustice, acquitting Simpson of double murder, stood as a statement against other injustice. A murderous monster, an absolute narcissist and sociopath was set free. Simpson was given a chance to prove himself a worthy citizen given this unusual chance but his conduct since then has proven his true inner nature living hedonistic, self-indulgent behavior ever since having many embarrassing episodes which further demonstrated his demonic character.
So finally, Simpson will do hard time and the world is a better place for it. What goes around comes around. Still, as much as this writer delights in seeing Simpson “get his,” how much of our joy in seeing Simpson finally face what he has escaped justice could be an exercise in our own schadenfreude?
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