Yet, O.J.’s bone headedness that has been on display since he dodged the bullet 13 years ago was inexorably leading him to prison anyway. He did not even pretend to search for the "real killers" of his wife. The fool that he is, he dug his own grave in the end….
Simpson could never be caught while on a straight path to the end zone; was this his last run?
[Publisher’s Commentary]
In the end the Juice was lemon.
Orenthal James Simpson, known to millions simply as O.J. was convicted on all 12 counts and, faced with a vindictive and spiteful Judge Jackie Glass, who did not pretend to hide her lack of professional neutrality, he will get a very long sentence.
A co-defendant, Clarence “C.J.” Stewart also was convicted.
Not too many people, Black or White will lose much sleep.
The Juice played with fire one too many times. Ironically, had he been acquitted, many white voters might have taken their anger against Senator Barack Obama in the polls. O.J. has a way of making people become irrational.
Thirteen years ago when Simpson was acquitted, many Black folk celebrated openly –grown people shed tears of relief.
Many white folk, misinformed by ignorant “mainstream” media thought that Black folk were celebrating because a Black man was getting away with the murder of a white woman, his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman.
Completely false!
The proof is in the reaction to Simpson’s conviction yesterday. Millions of Black folk were not even aware that Simpson was being tried for alleged theft involving the use of a firearm.
Incompetent editors and “journalists” who preside over what’s called “mainstream” media turned the O.J. murder case 13 years ago into the “trial of the century” while genocide around the world went unreported; as is the case today.
Black folk had been angered by the racist media coverage of the O.J. case 13 years ago. It wasn’t so much that many Black folk didn’t believe O.J. might have committed the murders; it was the uniform presumption of guilt that was displayed by the prosecution, by the judge, and by media, that caused so much anger.
In fact, who can ever forget that Time magazine actually darkened O.J.’s features on its front-page soon after his arrest? According to Time magazine’s malicious cover, Black equals guilt. Many Black people believe that thousands of Black folk are today serving wrongful sentences on convictions based on race bias.
That’s what infuriated most Black people; especially after one of the prosecution’s star witnesses, LA Police Officer Herr Mark Fuhrman, turned out to be a KKK-like officer, having been tape-recorded spewing racist N-word insults as readily as if he had been breathing air.
Even after the Fuhrman debacle, the state still insisted that he was a professional officer who could not have been involved in any misconduct including the planting of evidence.
Whether Fuhrman, indeed, had been involved in any investigatory misconduct, became secondary, with Black folk being disproportionately victims of police misconduct and brutality. Many saw the Fuhrman tapes revelation as adding further insult to injury.
The pathologically excessive level of media coverage of the O.J. case was extremely infuriating. Black murder victims do not get even 0.1% of that kind of coverage.
These were the type of things that cumulatively precipitated the post-acquittal reactions.
Few celebrated for O.J.; most saw the acquittal as the defeat of a corrupt judicial system that’s victimized many Black folk. O.J.’s trial had placed the system under a rare spotlight.
Black folk are today focused on a serious mission—teaming up with progressive whites and with Latinos and Asians, to elect a president who can assemble an Administration that can rescue the economy, end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan responsibly and with honor, and restore government’s credibility, domestically and globally.
The candidate is Senator Barack Obama. O.J. is a nuisance distraction in the big picture scheme of things.
In fairness to Simpson himself, he likely was not convicted for the alleged robbery he is alleged to have been involved in last September 13. Supposedly, he had gone with five friends to a hotel room in Las Vegas to confront someone selling one of his trophies –illegally acquired—from his days as a star football player. Allegedly one of his friends –not O.J. himself—was in possession of a weapon; no firearm was discharged.
O.J. was convicted by the mostly white jurors –with a few Latinos—of nine women and three men, for the murder that many people believe he got away with 13 years ago. There wasn’t a single Black juror. He may actually have grounds for a strong appeal. It didn’t also help him that he was tried in Las Vegas; more renowned for the roll of a die.
Yet, O.J.’s bone headedness that has been on display since he dodged the bullet 13 years ago was inexorably leading him to prison anyway.
It did not help that despite his claims 13 years ago that he would spend the rest of his life “searching for the real killers” of his wife, he did not even bother to pretend to do so.
O.J. is a fool and has dug his own grave.
Hopefully his ordeal has shed some light on race matters in this country. We have come a long way as evidenced by one of the presidential candidates today; we still have ways to go.
To comment or to subscribe to or to advertise in New York’s leading Global weekly investigative newspaper, or to send us news tips, please call (212) 481-7745 or send an e-mail to [email protected]
Also visit our sister publication Harlem Business News at www.harlembusinessnews.com and The Groove music magazine at www.thegroovemag.com
“Speaking Truth To Empower.”