I did cheer O.J.'s acquittal. Actually threw a party: "O.J. Simpson Liberation Day!"
But there's context.
I was in law school. I watched the case. I was convinced that the prosecution had not made its case. "Beyond a reasonable doubt" is a pretty high bar they did NOT meet, and so though I thought he was probably guilty (and he was), I celebrated that in America, we really would rather ten guilty men go free than one man hang, and the system still worked.
I still feel that way.
Still, I was deeply disturbed by my many black classmates who didn't care anything about that. They were cheering harder for that acquittal than I was, but they didn't care about criminal procedure (despite many of them probably doing better in that class than I did). They just cared that the black guy got off.
In the 1980s we had a blissful absence of racism. It existed but everyone agreed it was wrong, at least in our age group (there were exceptions among the parents for sure). People had taken the "I Have a Dream" speech to heart. It was the overwhelming consensus nationally, but especially among the generation that was born after it. There were still cultural differences, but people actively sought to minimize them and include each other. I once saw a white redneck football player use the N-word (this was middle school!), and five other white redneck football players beat him up right in front of me. It was a really special time.
So the disquieting part about what I saw was the new tribalism. It was different in kind from people grouping up in the lunch room a decade earlier. It was filled with seething and malice and joy of the kind that wasn't "the prosecution didn't do its job, so the system worked" but rather "the black guy got off! We beat the system!"
No, guys. The system worked the way it's supposed to work, so a guilty man walked because we weren't sure "beyond a reasonable doubt" so we weren't willing to take his freedom or his life. The "system" you hate (which King did not, despite pointing out its failings) is exactly what saved the man you obviously believe to be guilty. Why can't you see that?
Rodney King was a turning point of a certain kind. His case was kind of like one in which a prostitute gets raped: the rapist needs to hang, but that doesn't exactly make the victim innocent. Life is full of situations like that. Sometimes everyone involved is wrong, just one person is more wrong. And the rioters were even more wrong than either King or the cops. What lunacy thinks the answer to injustice is to burn down your neighbors' houses and stores? It's a Satanic madness. But at least they were sticking up (in their twisted way) for someone who really did not deserve what he got.
O.J. was different. He should have been acquitted, but not because he didn't deserve death. The part of the system tasked with proving his guilt did a bad job of it, period. But no one actually thought he didn't do it.
Yet they didn't care. Because he was part of their group. So they cheered. Not because the system worked correctly -- it did -- but because the murderer got away with it.
And that was a turning point of an entirely different kind.
Well, I was nerdy and in law school (if memory serves, actually taking Criminal Procedure when the verdict came down), so I don't deserve a lot of credit. LOL
Your comment about someone (a journalist) profiting from a story (clicks, attention, financial gain) for a moment while those involved are impacted for a lifetime is a painful commentary on our hearts as a society.
We have exchanged God’s justice in order to worship the idols of the laws and courts of man. Proverbs 17:15 and other verses should guide us, not man’s jurisprudence. Blackstone’s ratio provides a Christian legal understanding that if we were not sure of guilt, we would trust God to carry out justice. Our court system has become a place “legally” impose our will and preferences. Man’s ways are evil and cause great pain.
Thank you Virgil for your courage in writing this post. I remember where I was watching the verdict come down and the split screen showing my Christian brothers' and sisters' reaction. It was a hard day for me. God bless you brother!
I appreciate your metaphor of the tide. After my father-in-law died suddenly in our home over 30 years ago, a friend used this metaphor to describe grief. When you think you have moved on something happens to bring the grief back and it can overwhelm you. Then it recedes. This pattern repeats itself over time and each time the waves grow smaller and occur less frequently. A receding tide. It pray this ideology will recede with each effort to resurrect it. The groundwork had been laid. The kindling was there and George Floyd was the spark. (Sorry to introduce a new opposite metaphor. 🙄) Look at that. Two metaphors that are used to describe God’s judgment.
This is one of the most powerfully transparent commentaries I've ever read.
What will it take for our society to turn off the network news? It has effectively converted crime and outrage into entertainment while muting the powerful truths of real interpersonal connection.
Beyond a reasonable doubt is usually what I emphasize when I hear it on TV. I don’t want to ruin someone’s life, hurt their family and friends, because an idol got in the way. What this family did was beautiful, they knew lashing out could only lead to more harm and they loved their neighbors. My aunt forgave the teenager who got my cousin killed in a drinking and driving accident. I don’t know if I could show the grace she did to that young man. But, I know I would be a fool to not forgive a young person for making a decision that will follow them around for the rest of their life. I enjoyed your article and I’m looking forward to reading more.
I did cheer O.J.'s acquittal. Actually threw a party: "O.J. Simpson Liberation Day!"
But there's context.
I was in law school. I watched the case. I was convinced that the prosecution had not made its case. "Beyond a reasonable doubt" is a pretty high bar they did NOT meet, and so though I thought he was probably guilty (and he was), I celebrated that in America, we really would rather ten guilty men go free than one man hang, and the system still worked.
I still feel that way.
Still, I was deeply disturbed by my many black classmates who didn't care anything about that. They were cheering harder for that acquittal than I was, but they didn't care about criminal procedure (despite many of them probably doing better in that class than I did). They just cared that the black guy got off.
In the 1980s we had a blissful absence of racism. It existed but everyone agreed it was wrong, at least in our age group (there were exceptions among the parents for sure). People had taken the "I Have a Dream" speech to heart. It was the overwhelming consensus nationally, but especially among the generation that was born after it. There were still cultural differences, but people actively sought to minimize them and include each other. I once saw a white redneck football player use the N-word (this was middle school!), and five other white redneck football players beat him up right in front of me. It was a really special time.
So the disquieting part about what I saw was the new tribalism. It was different in kind from people grouping up in the lunch room a decade earlier. It was filled with seething and malice and joy of the kind that wasn't "the prosecution didn't do its job, so the system worked" but rather "the black guy got off! We beat the system!"
No, guys. The system worked the way it's supposed to work, so a guilty man walked because we weren't sure "beyond a reasonable doubt" so we weren't willing to take his freedom or his life. The "system" you hate (which King did not, despite pointing out its failings) is exactly what saved the man you obviously believe to be guilty. Why can't you see that?
Rodney King was a turning point of a certain kind. His case was kind of like one in which a prostitute gets raped: the rapist needs to hang, but that doesn't exactly make the victim innocent. Life is full of situations like that. Sometimes everyone involved is wrong, just one person is more wrong. And the rioters were even more wrong than either King or the cops. What lunacy thinks the answer to injustice is to burn down your neighbors' houses and stores? It's a Satanic madness. But at least they were sticking up (in their twisted way) for someone who really did not deserve what he got.
O.J. was different. He should have been acquitted, but not because he didn't deserve death. The part of the system tasked with proving his guilt did a bad job of it, period. But no one actually thought he didn't do it.
Yet they didn't care. Because he was part of their group. So they cheered. Not because the system worked correctly -- it did -- but because the murderer got away with it.
And that was a turning point of an entirely different kind.
I only wish my celebration was as well thought out as you’ve demonstrated here. I simply relied on my ethnic idolatry to inform my position.
Well, I was nerdy and in law school (if memory serves, actually taking Criminal Procedure when the verdict came down), so I don't deserve a lot of credit. LOL
Your comment about someone (a journalist) profiting from a story (clicks, attention, financial gain) for a moment while those involved are impacted for a lifetime is a painful commentary on our hearts as a society.
We have exchanged God’s justice in order to worship the idols of the laws and courts of man. Proverbs 17:15 and other verses should guide us, not man’s jurisprudence. Blackstone’s ratio provides a Christian legal understanding that if we were not sure of guilt, we would trust God to carry out justice. Our court system has become a place “legally” impose our will and preferences. Man’s ways are evil and cause great pain.
Thank you Virgil for your courage in writing this post. I remember where I was watching the verdict come down and the split screen showing my Christian brothers' and sisters' reaction. It was a hard day for me. God bless you brother!
I appreciate your metaphor of the tide. After my father-in-law died suddenly in our home over 30 years ago, a friend used this metaphor to describe grief. When you think you have moved on something happens to bring the grief back and it can overwhelm you. Then it recedes. This pattern repeats itself over time and each time the waves grow smaller and occur less frequently. A receding tide. It pray this ideology will recede with each effort to resurrect it. The groundwork had been laid. The kindling was there and George Floyd was the spark. (Sorry to introduce a new opposite metaphor. 🙄) Look at that. Two metaphors that are used to describe God’s judgment.
Great read. Thanks for the honest evaluation of where we are. Hard to watch the planned polarization of our society to keep us divided
This is one of the most powerfully transparent commentaries I've ever read.
What will it take for our society to turn off the network news? It has effectively converted crime and outrage into entertainment while muting the powerful truths of real interpersonal connection.
Beyond a reasonable doubt is usually what I emphasize when I hear it on TV. I don’t want to ruin someone’s life, hurt their family and friends, because an idol got in the way. What this family did was beautiful, they knew lashing out could only lead to more harm and they loved their neighbors. My aunt forgave the teenager who got my cousin killed in a drinking and driving accident. I don’t know if I could show the grace she did to that young man. But, I know I would be a fool to not forgive a young person for making a decision that will follow them around for the rest of their life. I enjoyed your article and I’m looking forward to reading more.