September 19, 2007 at 05:28:41

Does OJ Really Matter?

SAVE AS FAVORITE

VIEW FAVORITES

By Mary Shaw (about the author) Page 1 of 2 page(s)

opednews.com Permalink

For OpEdNews: Mary Shaw - Writer

Once again, O.J. Simpson is dominating the U.S. mainstream media, this time for allegedly breaking into a Las Vegas hotel room with some friends armed with handgun(s).

Why? Well, allegedly, to recover some O.J. memorabilia that he believed were rightfully his.

Um, like he believed Nicole was rightfully his, even after the divorce?

Oh, never mind.

I don't care.

At least, I mean, I shouldn't care.

I shouldn't give a damn about O.J., just like I shouldn't give a damn about Britney Spears or Paris Hilton.

Neither should you.

But even when we make an honest effort to avoid the junk TV, even when we force ourselves to watch only the cable news channels, hoping to witness some relevant developments of the day, hoping to actually learn something, what do we see?

We see O.J.'s mug shot. I guess it's supposed to get us excited. Draw us in. Mmmmmm, scandal. Juicy, embarrassing, life-altering scandal. Someone getting caught, like you're sure you never will be.

We see Marcia Clark, one of the prosecutors in the original O.J. trial for Nicole's murder, suggesting that we should have listened to her back in the '90s.

We see Larry King discussing O.J.'s latest adventures with Kato Kaelin, as if Kato can offer any insight into O.J.'s psyche in this particular century.

And more. La-de-duh. Emphasis on the "duh".

Meantime, George W. Bush is tapping your phone calls without a court warrant, American soldiers are dying in Iraq (along with even more innocent Iraqi men, women, and babies), the polar ice caps are melting fast, 47 million Americans do not have health insurance, and Dick Cheney is itching for a war with Iran.

So, all things considered: Should we -- or rather, why do we -- care about O.J.? Or Britney? Or Paris?

1 | 2

Mary Shaw is a Philadelphia-based writer and activist, with a focus on politics, human rights, and social justice. She is a former Philadelphia Area Coordinator for the Nobel-Prize-winning human rights group Amnesty International, and her views (more...)

The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author
and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.

Contact Author

Contact Editor

View Authors' Articles

Book Recommendations for "Culture Media Distractions"

Coming Distractions: Questioning Movies (Fact Finders)
by Baker

$23.93
Lowest New Price $14.25
Number of pages: 32
Publisher: Capstone Press

Cultural Attractions/Cultural Distractions: Critical Literacy in Contemporary Contexts
by Libby Allison

$50.00
Lowest New Price $0.57
Number of pages: 321
Publisher: Prentice Hall

Bored to Distraction: Cinema of Excess in End-Of-The-Century Mexico and Spain (Suny Series in Latin American and Iberian Thought and Culture)
by Claudia Schaefer

$21.95
Lowest New Price $9.18
Number of pages: 224
Publisher: State University of New York Press

Weapons of Mass Distraction: Soft Power and American Empire
by Matthew Fraser

$24.95
Lowest New Price $0.49
Number of pages: 288
Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books

View All Book Recommendations

Share this page: (what's this?) Tell a Friend:

(More...)