O.J. Simpson, one of the men who embodied white, wealthy Southern California but appeared in court as an infamous black man, charged with murder and unanimously found innocent, died of cancer on Thursday, April 11th.
His distant past couldn’t be more simple, but from 1995 on, it couldn’t get more complicated.
Perhaps the greatest running back in American football history, O.J. will be forever known more for the racial tensions exposed during his nine-month televised trial for his murder charges.
O.J. Simpson ran for the University of Southern California. He ran for more yards as a Buffalo Bill than anyone in history at the time. He ran by television cameras through airports for commercials. He ran and ran and ran – until he slowed to a crawl down an L.A. freeway after the homicide of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald L. Goldman.
The country got a sense of what was to come as people stopped to cheer him on, even as it seemed obvious that Simpson was guilty of murder, even as he threatened to commit suicide, only to roll by cheers on bridges over freeways and end up in the arms of the LAPD.
Things were never as they appeared with “The Juice,” and the slow-speed chase seemed to be a continuation of a dark undercurrent even before the infamous killing. From The New York Times obituary:
It was the good life, on the surface. But there was a deeper, more troubled reality — about an infant daughter drowning in the family pool and a divorce from his high school sweetheart; about his stormy marriage to a stunning young waitress and her frequent calls to the police when he beat her; about the jealous rages of a frustrated man.
That frustration was on display throughout the trial.
To some, the evidence presented at trial made it obvious that Simpson was guilty. But Southern California had seen its share of white men — particularly, the police — that were seemingly just as guilty and yet acquitted. None of us were in the O.J. jury room, but it felt like payback time.
“If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit.”
Yes, there was a mountain of evidence, but when one presents mountains of evidence at trial, one risks an avalanche if just one key piece fails. The glove.
We must accept the jury’s verdict. Motivations aside, we’ll never know, and that is how trials are handled in this country.
We do know there was a flood of evidence against the LAPD. Police beating the sh*t out of a Black American, Rodney King, where the police were found innocent. Did it come down to race?
Doesn’t it always? So it seems.
O.J. Simpson’s fate likely came down to race. Innocent or guilty, he was found innocent. It was almost as though Black Southern California knew how badly white Southern California wanted O.J. Simpson to be found guilty and returned the Rodney King verdict — a giant “F-U” — to what was otherwise obvious evidence.
We will never know.
We do know that a much shorter civil trial found “The Juice” liable for the killing as a civil matter (not murder). It means nothing — a different standard of proof.
If there is a greater power up there, one would think that there would be a long discussion between O.J. and select others.
Perhaps that higher power was on a bridge, cheering on the Juice, not orange juice, but one of black and white, leaving only grey in the end.
Southern California, known for its golden, almost orange hue, was grey throughout the trial.
Tragically, many believe it remains so today. If O.J. has a lasting legacy, he will forever be in that mix.
Jason Miciak is an editor at large for the Washington Press
Editor’s note: This is an opinion column that solely reflects the opinions of the author.
For clarifications, comments, & typos, email: editor@occupydemocrats.com.
