This morning I listened to the crew at “Morning Joe” reminisce about the O. J. Simpson trial. They enjoyed schmoozing about how the trial changed the media and people’s viewing habits. Elsewhere yesterday, I saw O.J.’s now-undisputed murders of Nicole Brown and Ronald Goldman become one event in a series of “retrospectives” on his career. Many of the headlines referred to “accusations” or “acquittal,” leaving those who weren’t grown-ups during that year with the impression of his innocence. The picture of Johnny Cochran embracing a relieved Simpson was the mainstay of imagery from the trial. The mainstream media writes history through headlines and images; now yet another chapter will get blurred.
Let me just say that some headlines made me smile yesterday, and this was at the top of the list. I feel the same about the story involving this guy. I was on a federal jury once (it's all it takes) and watched exactly what you are describing play out. I was the lone dissenter and made us all have to return to continue deliberations. That night I laid out all the facts on paper that we knew to be true to present to the others, and each and every one of the 11 jurors saw the light and thanked me. I do not hold juries in very high regard just from my one experience. Thank you for writing this.
These sentences should be cast in stone, should be spray painted on any rocket that alien life forces might read, should be memorized by school children everywhere to recite after the first morning bell: “The mainstream media of course didn’t discuss how pivotal the televised trial was as a key moment in the cultural dissolution of respect for fact, and the increasing dominance of repeated “narrative” and attention-grabbing “optics.”
Once again your perspective and cultivated sense of history strikes a chord. So grateful to have your perpective countering the ongoing gas lighting of social media.
When this happened, I was home on leave from my US Navy station in Japan.
My mother told me about it, and my newsman instincts immediately said, "Where was O.J.?"
"Oh, no, he wasn't there. He was in Chicago at the time."
"Oh, yeah, sure," I said, with cynical disbelief.
I was right.
As the case became a circus, I was stunned by its increasing craziness...the cartoon characters, like Kato Kaelin...Hertz putting Al Cowlings in the driver's seat for a bizarre freeway chase...the Kardashian family suddenly becoming important...an overwhelmed Judge Lance Ito...late-night comic Jay Leno with "Marcia Clark and the Dancing Itos"...racist cops...angry lawyers writing post-trial memoirs...and something called Faye Resnick authoring "The Private Diary of a Life Interrupted," which described how she and Nicole Simpson went to nightspots without wearing panties to help get the point from men, how she seduced Nicole, attributing her wild sex life to growing up in an abusive Jehovah's Witness home, and finishing up with a photo spread in Playboy.
I feel like too much is made of a relatively simple miscarriage of justice. The Juice was wrongly acquitted by a mostly black jury as a reaction to the racism of the LAPD, as exemplified by Mark Fuhrman and Stacey Koon.
I am generally a radical individualist, but this is one of those few cases where I make an exception and say that Southern California deserved the unjust outcome as a penalty for the genuine brutal systematic (not to be confused with systemic) racism of the LAPD.
There are a couple of people in this conversation who seem to want me to explain how race and gender figured in to the Simpson trial. And because I’m not willing to squeeze what I’d take several weeks to discuss in a class into a comment, have accused me of evasion. Those who actually know my work know that I don’t go for simplistic explanations or reductive generalities. So when I respond that it’s too complex to go into in a thread like this, that’s AN ANSWER not an evasion. I spent decades of my life writing about gender and race. I’m not going to boil complex issues down to a bite-size chunk just because you have a bone to pick with feminists (or the kind of feminist you assume I am.)
No it did not generate “racial division.” It revealed one side of the division that was already there. It revealed some of the hatred and resentment millions of blacks felt towards white people and this country, and the pleasure they felt at being able to partake in a small gesture of payback. Also revealed who these feelings were much more powerful than any empathy they might have had for a rich white woman who was a victim of abuse and murder.
this event...then Bush/Gore...then 911 seemingly dream-like with improbability flying ike an arrow shot from the quiver of those who for decades tore into fabric of the Liberal consensus zeoing in on the bullseye of our myopic madness: Trump
What does OJ Simpson have to do with Gender, Feminism, or Race for that matter? I am so tired of this nonsensical navel-gazing by fools thinking they see great wisdom in the tea leaves of race and gender. OJ Simpson was a bad guy (probably suffering from a personality disorder like Narcissism). It doesn't matter if he was white, black, or other. He killed a man and a woman in a jealous rage. Not really that uncommon except he was a Football star and he had the money to fool 12 people too stupid to get out of jury duty.
Everything after that was just a groundswell of intersectionality proponents looking for meaning through their lens of race and gender which is neither helpful, factually accurate nor productive.
Justice was not served by his trial and anytime there is a miscarriage of justice there is a societal injury. None of it is related to misogyny, race or gender.
It did happen with Nicole! Not only that but Nicole was a wealthy woman with a network of wealthy friends and family. She was not in need of Social Services to provide her a shelter. She could have up and left for the 4 Seasons at any moment, or left for a safe spot with any of her posh friends. She chose to go back to that household and remain with that idiot.
“Allow repetition to take the place of responsibility to fact, history, truth.”
Boom. There it is.
Let me just say that some headlines made me smile yesterday, and this was at the top of the list. I feel the same about the story involving this guy. I was on a federal jury once (it's all it takes) and watched exactly what you are describing play out. I was the lone dissenter and made us all have to return to continue deliberations. That night I laid out all the facts on paper that we knew to be true to present to the others, and each and every one of the 11 jurors saw the light and thanked me. I do not hold juries in very high regard just from my one experience. Thank you for writing this.
These sentences should be cast in stone, should be spray painted on any rocket that alien life forces might read, should be memorized by school children everywhere to recite after the first morning bell: “The mainstream media of course didn’t discuss how pivotal the televised trial was as a key moment in the cultural dissolution of respect for fact, and the increasing dominance of repeated “narrative” and attention-grabbing “optics.”
What a horrible story it was. I remember when I read about it. Poor Nicole.
Once again your perspective and cultivated sense of history strikes a chord. So grateful to have your perpective countering the ongoing gas lighting of social media.
When this happened, I was home on leave from my US Navy station in Japan.
My mother told me about it, and my newsman instincts immediately said, "Where was O.J.?"
"Oh, no, he wasn't there. He was in Chicago at the time."
"Oh, yeah, sure," I said, with cynical disbelief.
I was right.
As the case became a circus, I was stunned by its increasing craziness...the cartoon characters, like Kato Kaelin...Hertz putting Al Cowlings in the driver's seat for a bizarre freeway chase...the Kardashian family suddenly becoming important...an overwhelmed Judge Lance Ito...late-night comic Jay Leno with "Marcia Clark and the Dancing Itos"...racist cops...angry lawyers writing post-trial memoirs...and something called Faye Resnick authoring "The Private Diary of a Life Interrupted," which described how she and Nicole Simpson went to nightspots without wearing panties to help get the point from men, how she seduced Nicole, attributing her wild sex life to growing up in an abusive Jehovah's Witness home, and finishing up with a photo spread in Playboy.
I feel like too much is made of a relatively simple miscarriage of justice. The Juice was wrongly acquitted by a mostly black jury as a reaction to the racism of the LAPD, as exemplified by Mark Fuhrman and Stacey Koon.
I am generally a radical individualist, but this is one of those few cases where I make an exception and say that Southern California deserved the unjust outcome as a penalty for the genuine brutal systematic (not to be confused with systemic) racism of the LAPD.
The Simpson trial was a precursor to what has become commonplace. Political/social spectacles are big sellers.
With pleasure! Your work has been pivotal not only in my research but in my life.
8 x the police were called for domestic violence at that house.
There are a couple of people in this conversation who seem to want me to explain how race and gender figured in to the Simpson trial. And because I’m not willing to squeeze what I’d take several weeks to discuss in a class into a comment, have accused me of evasion. Those who actually know my work know that I don’t go for simplistic explanations or reductive generalities. So when I respond that it’s too complex to go into in a thread like this, that’s AN ANSWER not an evasion. I spent decades of my life writing about gender and race. I’m not going to boil complex issues down to a bite-size chunk just because you have a bone to pick with feminists (or the kind of feminist you assume I am.)
No it did not generate “racial division.” It revealed one side of the division that was already there. It revealed some of the hatred and resentment millions of blacks felt towards white people and this country, and the pleasure they felt at being able to partake in a small gesture of payback. Also revealed who these feelings were much more powerful than any empathy they might have had for a rich white woman who was a victim of abuse and murder.
Didn't the black feminist who favored OJ (a "brother") teach you something about the primacy of blood ties over the abstract kinship between women?
this event...then Bush/Gore...then 911 seemingly dream-like with improbability flying ike an arrow shot from the quiver of those who for decades tore into fabric of the Liberal consensus zeoing in on the bullseye of our myopic madness: Trump
What does OJ Simpson have to do with Gender, Feminism, or Race for that matter? I am so tired of this nonsensical navel-gazing by fools thinking they see great wisdom in the tea leaves of race and gender. OJ Simpson was a bad guy (probably suffering from a personality disorder like Narcissism). It doesn't matter if he was white, black, or other. He killed a man and a woman in a jealous rage. Not really that uncommon except he was a Football star and he had the money to fool 12 people too stupid to get out of jury duty.
Everything after that was just a groundswell of intersectionality proponents looking for meaning through their lens of race and gender which is neither helpful, factually accurate nor productive.
Justice was not served by his trial and anytime there is a miscarriage of justice there is a societal injury. None of it is related to misogyny, race or gender.
Why do you so desperately need it to be?
It did happen with Nicole! Not only that but Nicole was a wealthy woman with a network of wealthy friends and family. She was not in need of Social Services to provide her a shelter. She could have up and left for the 4 Seasons at any moment, or left for a safe spot with any of her posh friends. She chose to go back to that household and remain with that idiot.