no O.J. "confession"

[fflo]

I'm disappointed the O.J. interview/book thing is off.

Go ahead--- assail me if you will.

A portion of my disappointment is not having satisfaction for my personal curiosity about what (surely bizarre) stuff he was going to be saying. Another portion, however, is that something seems amiss to me in what we're scandalized by here.

We've got a crazy, celebrity exhibitionist culture, and that particularly sick potential money-making off of what is broadly thought to be a murder's quasi-confession doesn't shock me or even seem to me a new low, from Fox or any of the rest of 'em. Having the focus of scandal on the broadcasting & publishing of "sick" stuff is, to me, shining the flashlight in the wrong place.

If he did do it, and he wants to say he more or less did it, that such a thing could come to us via mass media that operate for profit is not terribly relevant to me. I could probably pull up some free speech concerns if I wanted, and also cite qualms about the powers of movements for "victims' rights" (and the related concern for surviving loved ones' feelings). But what keeps striking me when I hear talk of the latest thing is this: if he did it, to hear and read what he said would mean facing more directly that someone could get away with such a crime, and thus being forced to ask ourselves (in the real heart of the subject) why and how that could come about. To me, such a focus gets at the heart of the true scandal of O.J.-if-he-did-it: that silences surround certain kinds of violence, and that celebrity and wealth give an abuser even more power than our broad culture gives abusers. Perceptions about race, of course, are thrown into the mix, particularly once we're talking about what happened after the murders.

If he didn't do it, celebrity and wealth and race are still in the mix. But maybe that "confession" would have largely un-done the "if he did it" caveat in talking about that extraordinary story and its life among us.

Comments

[disclaimerwill.livejournal.com]

I'm totally bummed they canceled it too. I wish I could claim such insightful reasons for my disappointment, but it's really just because the special promised to be such a masterpiece of disgusting, pandering exploitation, and I love watching train-wreck television. (That's also why I watch The Apprentice and Semi-Homemade Cooking with Sandra Lee, incidentally.) I'm not sure if there's much of a "why" behind my fascination, sadly...

[fflo.livejournal.com]

promised to be such a masterpiece of disgusting, pandering exploitation

abso-freakin'-lutely, man. well said.

note that my first-mentioned disappointment is pretty much that one. i don't claim that the other cogitating is primary, but it is in there.

[disclaimerwill.livejournal.com]

Heh- I know, but at least you have the other interest to be able to use when people ask why you were planning to watch it. :) I fear my explanation of "Because it's awesome!" doesn't make me come off quite so well...

[fflo.livejournal.com]

ha! well, hell, i'm convinced i've already incurred the condemnatory judgment of most of my audience with the mere preference that it not be pulled. but perhaps my anticipated enjoyment of the spectacle wasn't as "pure" as yours!

[wednes.livejournal.com]

What offended me was how close the whole thing came to allowing a criminal to profit from his crimes. When the Manson autobio was published, people went insane thinking he was going to make all kinds of money when it actually went to victims relief fund. In this case, it's like OJ is shoving his "victory" into everyone's face (still) and getting paid handsomely for the privilege.

I guess ultimately I'm waiting for FOX to stop disgusting me with their ideas for shows so I don't have to be pissed at myself for continuing to watch Sunday night Fox.

[fflo.livejournal.com]

Me, I just don't get up in arms about the money part, for some reason. It's the other ways somebody profits from the crime, and the actual damage directly done in terms of people's lives, that get to me. And if somebody gets away with something, that getting away with it part---having it have been ultimately okay to, say, kill some people---is in itself the outrage, not so much that later the found-innocent-by-a-jury person (or even the convicted-and-in-jail person) be allowed to make money. That seems so American and capitalist a concern. Like it reinforces that $$ is the best thing, so if we can't get him in jail, or (better) dead, let's at least make him give all the money from his autographs to somebody else--- yeah, his (possible) victim's father, that's a good idea. That's much better. I can rest easier knowing he can't afford a fancy condo.

I guess I'm (trying in a really sloppy way to be) saying the hang-up on the $$ is, to me, a little weird and even troubling.

[wednes.livejournal.com]

LOL That's an excellent point. Myself, I tend to focus on money because I'm so damn poor. I'm bummed that a murderer can use his murdering to make money while I can't use my degree or experience to make any. And yeah, now that you mention it, it IS a rather selfish and silly thing to be concerned about.

I also think though, that people want him to wallow in suffering forever or something. So seeing him all rich and happy is quite galling.

[fflo.livejournal.com]

Oh, dude... I can totally follow you there, and also think your situation sucks. Not selfish to get hung up on it, to my mind--- and, hell, most people are with you on this one.

It's the part of happy where rich = superhappy that I don't like to fall in line with, if I can help it. And maybe that's cuz I'm economically challenged my own self. But that's all relative, and I'm not convinced that big money is tied to happiness. You know, aren't there studies I read about to that effect? That the correlation between money and happiness pretty much ends after you have enough for basic needs? If I did read that, I liked believing it. If I didn't read it, I made it up cuz I like believing it.

[mrfrog.livejournal.com]

If he could stay off the coke long enough to learn how to type, he'd likely do well with a blog right about now. Kinda leak the book out in $1 chunks like Steven King does at times.

Aside from that, he would do everybody a big favor if he'd just crawl away and die.

[fflo.livejournal.com]

O.J.'s blog--- now that's a thought. Maybe he'll serialize his book that way.

[homovegetarian.livejournal.com]

well, he's serialized his killing, so this is the logical next step.