Updated October 3, 1995 by Rebecca L. Eisenberg
Hello, and welcome to Rebecca's Rants! Tired of having to hear ordinary opinions on events? Then you've come to the right place! With Rebecca's Rants, you can hear mine! The following points of view are mine and mine alone. If you care to respond, you may do so by writing to mars@bossanova.com, and maybe I will even post my response to you here!
This week's topic: How Not To Kill Your Wife And Her Boyfriend And Get Away With It.
Okay, it is no secret to those who know me that I believe that O.J. Simpson killed Nicole and Ron. But the truth of the matter is that he was acquitted. (If you have not heard that yet, you must live under a rock.) Since I am not yet tired of the subject, I thought I would give it a shot. In my mind, some still-interesting questions are: Why? and Was justice done? And, finally, Who does Kato's hair?
Well, I think a lot of things, ... but the thought of this week is: O.J. was not acquitted because he is Black. O.J. was acquitted because he is rich. Most other African-American defendants (and defendants of all races, for that matter) could not afford such a pricey palette of prestigious pundits. Could you imagine the "police scandal" defense being used on a poor African American defendant being represented by a public defender? I think not! So, I find it offensive, IMHO, that the public can conclude that he was acquitted on basis of race. As Marge Piercy spoke eloquently: "Race was the vehicle by which class struggles were played out." (Or something like that.) So that is MHO as to why.
Was justice done? That is the harder question, particularly because I believe that he did it. IMHO, the verdict had at least something to do with the jury's antagonism toward the LAPD, and, in particular, to Mark Fuhrman. Well, I have to say that much of the anger of the African American community is justified. African Americans have had a long history of being treated unjustly by the police and by the justice system. Perhaps it was this justifiable anger that led to the acquittal. If that is the case, I think we all have a lesson to learn ... about our urgent need to create a system of justice that treats all individuals with the same amount of respect and honesty. Clearly, we are far from there. It is pretty pathetic, actually.
Finally, I hope that we will not take home as a message that other batters can get away with it, just because O.J. Simpson got away with it. If nothing else is consolation to survivors of battering relationships: he did spend a year and a half in jail, with his entire future on the line. So he did not escape scot-free. Had he not had the extensive history of punching Nicole, breaking down her doors, and pushing her out of moving cars, perhaps he would not have been the only known suspect and locked in jail without bond during the pendency of the trial. So, was justice done? The question, placed in its context, almost makes no sense at all.
A few gripes though: In response to the comment that O.J. "would not, could not, did not kill Nicole" -- stated both by Johnnie Cochran, and, (not) coincidentally, in O.J.'s letter read by his oldest son -- get a better line. O.J. would, and he could ... and he probably did.
In response to Kato's hair -- great job! I will miss Kato's hair.
Finally, I end with a poem, sung to the tune of "The Beverly Hillbillies":
Let me tell you a story about a guy named O.J. Who drove off in his bronco, but could not get away. The cops locked him up, and accused him of a crime. But -- yep! -- he got off, and is not now doing time. Denise Brown is numb, Ron Goldman's dad is pissed, On Nightline the experts certainly will be missed. But I can tell you, for me, it is a lot more fun, Rather than to watch OJ's face, to watch Bev. Hills 9-0-2-0-1.
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