GUILTY

I’ve recently competed binge-watching “The People Vs. OJ Simpson” on FX.  All in all, a pretty darn good series; well-acted, well directed and, in short, riveting. 

 

For those of us who remember the whole OJ circus as it was happening, the series really brings it all back. And when I say that, I mean the entire society-splitting, infotainment industry-spawning, cross-racial “spokespersoning” crazy stew. And it also brought back an over-arching truth to my mind that feels as accurate today as it did 20 years ago: EVERYONE, EVERY SIDE WAS GUILTY AS HELL.

 

·         Yes, OJ was guilty of murder.

·         Yes, his defense team were guilty of repeatedly playing the race card.

·         Yes, the prosecution was guilty of not being as talented as the defense team.

·         Yes, Mark Furman was guilty of being a colossal racist and a complete werewolf of a human being.

·         Yes, white America was guilty of proselytizing to black America about how it should and should not react to the case, the verdict and OJ.

·         Yes the LA Police Department was guilty of being completely untrustworthy at best and brutally racist and corrupt at worst.

·         Yes, every white person with a microphone and a TV or radio segment was guilty of acting as a non-credible spokesperson for how blacks think about black men and the legal system.

·         Yes, the vast majority of America was guilty for completely misreading the true nature of the verdict; the jury acquitted a famous celebrity who happened to be black, not a black person who happened to be famous.

·         Yes, every news network and news outlet was guilty of exploiting a tragedy for ratings and money and yes, every network decision maker was sleazy for doing so.

·         Yes, ESPN and similar organizations were guilty of launching their current fixation with mind-numbingly stupid off the playing field issues like “Deflate-gate” because of the success of OJ coverage.

·         Yes, America is guilty of a vapid and truly unhealthy fixation on celebrity culture that the OJ trail, at least inflamed if not created.

·         Yes, America was guilty of caring much more about literally everything and everyone related to the case than the actual victims Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman.

·         And finally, yes, we were all guilty of succumbing to our basest instincts during the trial; of watching the car race in hopes of seeing a fiery crash, of seeing the man on the ledge and shouting, “jump!”

 

Indeed the OJ Simpson Trial was a very unique window into the soul of America. And truth be told, looking inside that window was not a very pretty sight.