Who knew a glove could become more famous than me?
Yep, that's right, OJ Simpson dominated TV screens everywhere. You had to have been living under a rock that was under a cave that was under an elephant's rump to have not known him. Eight media-obsessed months later and he was acquitted. Millions of Black jaws dropped in reaction. Johnnie Cochran became THE defense attorney to end all defense attorneys.
Then comes 2008. Right on the coattails of Black folks collectively orgasming across the country electing the First Black President, OJ gets himself into some hot mess. Long story short, he is sentenced to up to 33 years in prison for trying to get his stuff back (aka armed robbery).
So, I summarize the past several years of the OJ to say this. This post isn't to defend him or his actions. Honestly, if I were him and had The Man's tracking device permanently attached to me, I wouldn't have penned a book entitled If I Did It. I'd also probably would've retrieved my things a tad bit more politely. You know, tried my bestest (yes...-est) to abide by the law. But, I digress.
And as far as the murder trial itself, it doesn't matter if I believe he did it or not (Honestly, I have no idea). The point is, as always, race was a gray issue in regards to OJ. What bothered me the most was not whether he was innocent or not, but the racial implications surrounding the case. The media had a field day with the "Black guy kills White woman" story. And when he was acquitted, the equivalence of the Republican Rally when Obama won was plastered over America. Except much angrier.
Against my better judgement, I have been watching the Nancy Grace coverage of the OJ sentencing.
She probably doesn't like Orange Juice.
Yes, apparently, "Black Man Gets His Comeuppance" takes precedence over her muchly favored "Where's Caylee" case. Let's just say that the comments allowed on her program are tinged with such passive-aggressive racism, my racism radar (called race-dar) was pinging. And her silly and ignorant teasing of OJ's tears and insults thrown his way, which are all masked as "being real" reminded me why I don't watch her show.
So, OJ coverage over the years has left me wondering.
Am I supposed to ignore the blatant stereotyping within the OJ saga just because he may have possibly "did it"? Am I supposed to ignore the fact that people are doing everything short of actually stating "Ok, so this trial IS the payback for his unjustified acquittal" just because he may have possibly "did it"? Am I supposed to ignore the "coincidental" (yeah, it's in quotes for a helluva reason) timing of this sentencing just because he may have possibly "did it"? Am I supposed to ignore the obvious racial/social issues surrounding this case just because he may have possibly "did it"?
Maybe I don't have to wonder after all.
And with that, I'm thirsty...
Love ya like Angelina Jolie loves kids,
Cheekie
Posts
6 comments:
One of my friends joked that OJ getting sentenced pacifies the white folk angry about Barack winning, and pacifies the Black folk who've been angry for a while about racism and stereotypes makin life difficult. Said it should just be wash. I thought that was interesting...and yes, I did laugh.
Slim: Hahaha! Yeah, we've all been talking about the "perfect timing" of this event. It's like, "Oh no you don't Black folk, you can't have EVERYthing now!". And of course, it makes us even, I guess. ;)
LOL Slim.
OJ should have sat his butt down somewhere. He could have bought him a house in the country and lived a quiet life. He should have known some people would be after him--he gave them the ammunition.
YOu're not supposed to through this word around,but it fits OJ--he's a fool. Was this whole fiasco fair? No. There was not one black person on the jury and I have friends who live there, so I know they could have had at least one. It was a setup from the beginning--and he just fell for it. I don't care what the judge says. He's not really going to jail for this crime; he's going to jail because some people feel like he got off for the other crime.
The sad thing about this is does the "CRIME FIT THE TIME" I just wanna know.... He got how many years for what?????
PS. can't stand Nancy Grace.....errghhh
Sheila: Yeah, after the big murder trial, I thought that was exactly what OJ was gonna do. Sit his butt down somewhere. He's just a pawn in this sick game. He fell for it hard! And people HAVE to say that this isn't for the last trial, but we all know the real deal.
DC Diva: Exactly! People have gotten less time for actual murder! I also can't stand Nancy Grace. She's the type that thinks she's being "real" even though she ain't talkin' about nothin'! I tried to get the best picture to represent her. With her mouth wide open.
Post a Comment