O.J.: ‘Race Neutral’ & All Too Human
In a society that judges a person by the color of their skin, Orenthal James Simpson had something that few well-known black Americans can claim: He was so accomplished and at one time was so popular that, in advertising parlance, he was “race neutral.”
That is to say that when most people looked at him they saw not a black man who happened to have overcome a disadvantaged childhood in a broken home, but a handsome and gifted athlete who had found fame and fortune by parlaying outstanding college and professional football careers into a successful career off of the field selling everything from men’s footwear to rental cars, and later as a not-bad Hollywood actor. Who just happened to be black.
When NFL quarterback Michael Vick was arrested last month and pleaded guilty to felony charges related to dog fighting and gambling, much of the reaction broke down along racial lines. And although Simpson’s acquittal on charges that he murdered his wife, Nicole, and Ron Goldman in his storied 1995 criminal trial can be attributed, in large part, to black jurors who believed that he had been framed because of his skin color, it appears that to most people O.J. still remains O.J., not merely a black man with a lengthening rap sheet.
Simpson was arrested and is being held without bail on robbery, assault and burglary charges after an alleged sports-memorabilia heist at the Palace Station Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas last Thursday.
A co-defendant, Walter Alexander, faces similar charges in an investigation that Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Captain James Dillon said was “still dynamic and still ongoing.”
The men are accused of taking sports memorabilia from two men in a home invasion-type robbery involving several companions, two of whom pointed guns at people in the room.
One alleged victim, Alfred Beardsley, has been quoted by celebrity Web site TMZ.com as saying that Simpson later apologized to him and told him he regretted the incident.
Simpson has said that he entered the room with a group of friends, one of whom was posing as a potential buyer, after being tipped off that some of his personal items were for sale there. He said his friends helped him carry the items from the room, but said no guns were involved, and that the incident was not a robbery.
But Police Lieutenant Clint Nichols said interviews and searches — including the seizure of two guns during the investigation — undercut Simpson’s story and they believe he was the ringleader.
“We don’t believe anybody was roughed up,” Nichols said,”But there were firearms involved in the commission of the robbery.”
Not coincidentally, Simpson’s stock-in-trade since the murders has been selling his sports memorabilia collection, including his Heisman Trophy, in order to maintain his lifestyle (golf by day, party by night) and keep creditors off of his back. The trophy sold for $255,500 in 2006 and is expected to appreciate in value.
It is, I suppose, a testament to Simpson’s power of personality that his latest travails do not seem to have created yet another racial flash point.
Although I covered the murders, criminal trial and subsequent civil trial in which the families of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman were awarded a $33.5 million wrongful-death civil judgment, I claim no special insight into the demons that possess the Hall of Famer.
All I know is that despite his accomplishments and exalted status he was just another human being vulnerable to the temptations and frailties -– in his case outbursts of rage, jealousy and at least at one time a fondness for illegal substances — that bedevil all of us.
UPDATE: TMV now has audio of the hotel confrontation.
13 Responses to “O.J.: ‘Race Neutral’ & All Too Human”
I haven’t murdered anyone yet, but it’s comforting to know that you’ll empathize with me if I do.
What Is It About OJ?
The saga of OJ Simpson continued yesterday with a bizarre arrest for armed robbery and conspiracy charges that could put the celebrity in prison for decades. Almost immediately, the moribund OJ industry snapped back to life, with people like Geraldo…
[...] moment. OJ has revealed himself to be almost uniquely self-destructive once again. Shaun Mullen at TMV has some thoughts in a good post on how his celebrity couldn’t cover the vulnerabilities that [...]
My opinion of OJ is that he’s a double murderer who used his race and celebrity status to escape justice, and who now has committed armed robbery. Period.
Nordberrrrrrrg!
*sniffle* Poor O.J., Victim of an Oppressive Society [tm]…
His behavior is not shared by all the rest of us!
Good post, Shaun!
Crimes committed deserve the anger and outrage they induce.
At the end of the day, though, the wasted life of the wrongdoer is a tragedy, too. The worst of the worst was somebody’s baby once, the sumbol of hope in the future. When hope and poltential result in a walk in slime. it is a tragedy, not a cause for celebration or gloating.
I’m with G. Weightman and DLS, O.J isn’t a “vulnerable human being” he’s a cold-blooded murderer. Shaun, maybe covering the story for so long made you feel close to him in a way, which is why you don’t simply characterize him as regular old scum. He’s a killer who got away with it and seemingly thought he could get away with anything. Hopefully, this time he’s wrong.
I don’t understand why one can’t condems a person for what he’s done or not done and at the same time step back and see it as a trgedy of a life gone worng. That was the stuff of Greek tragedies
A one-dimensional attitude is so limiting, IMO.
domajot:
Exactly.
You may be on to something with the Greek tragedy angle. OJ certainly doesn’t lack for hamartia.
If only Sophocles were still alive to chronicle the terror and the pity of it all in the Simpson Trilogy: Orenthal Rex, Orenthal at Las Vegas, and JuiceAgony.
[...] on The World Tonight on CHQR in Calgary, Alberta Canada, with host Rob Breakenridge. The topic: My post today n “O.J.: ‘Race Neutral & All Too Human. You can listen in [...]
Yes, like Vick, OJ threw everything he’d worked so hard for away because of terrible decisions. He lacked the moral character to use his fame to go in a positive direction. But I think that most celebrities are self-absorbed and spoiled rotten. Because of their fame, they no longer have to work to have doors of opportunity open for them, and many , like Vick and OJ abuse their status.