Aftermath of O.J. Simpson Trial
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On one level the trial of O.J. Simpson in Los Angeles can be considered only another sordid story about crime, but clearly the story was elevated to major proportions as millions of people around the world watched the trial and responded to the verdict. I observed an argument between two students during the hour after the verdict was given, and this argument followed the general response perceived in the public in the U.S. and Canada, with the white student indicating displeasure with the verdict and the black student indicating agreement with the verdict. This did not necessarily mean the latter held that Simpson had not committed the crime, however, only that he accepted the idea as expressed by pundits on television that under the American system the case had not been proven. The white student said it had been proven, though in his argument he often referred to evidence that was not presented to the jury but only to all of us watching television. This case and the arguments it has engendered do indeed say much about issues of power, culture, and group identities and show how powerful are certain differences dividing groups in society, especially with reference to questions of equity and justice.It seems likely that the aftermath of the Simpson case will be a heightening of racial and class tensions, though it is also possible that it will become a springboard for analysis and mediation. In many ways this is a peculiar fact given that the case involves a celebrity wh
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The Simpson case has resonance in terms of a number of important topics. It relates to disparities in power because Simpson has the monetary wherewithal to hire a team of lawyers and to fight the state as most black people cannot. This highlights the fact that most defendants do not have these resources just as it brings into question whether anyone can say the system is becoming more fair to blacks based on the acquittal in this case--is it fairness or the fact that this black celebrity had power others do not? The white student in the argument saw money as the issue, while the black student saw it as race. The white student saw Simpson as having succeeded because he could afford to succeed, but he also considered race an issue in a negative way as he held that the defense team had obfuscated the issues with reference to racial matters and police attitudes toward race. The black student discounted the money issue entirely and saw this as an instance where the truth about police racism came to the fore.
The case raises issues concerning culture, as noted, and the argument between the two students showed not so much clear differences in culture as such but in perceptions of the majority culture. The two primary issue
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Some common words found in the essay are:
America Simpson, Los Angeles, Caucasian Western, English-speaking Canadians, Caucasian Greek, Blacks Canadian, Press Tannen, white student, cultural differences, JOURNAL Canadian, References Carroll, black student, majority culture, conflict observed, carroll 1988, , tannen 1990, differences dividing society, differences dividing, social issues, school setting, race black student, black student race,
Approximate Word count = 1895
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page)
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