A black woman and a black man are savagely murdered. Knifed to death, and beyond. A white man is the killer. There's a trial. Thorough. But the jury lets the guy walk. And though most acknowledge the man is guilty as the original sin, white America cheers the verdict. Practically dances on the dead in a giddy show of jocularity.
A decade or so on, the killer writes a book confessing to his crime. The killer gets free airtime to shill his wares through a major media organization. As you can imagine, in response, the major black activists turn out en masse. Picketing. Calling for boycotts. Throwing up a favorite chant: no justice, no peace. And the media titan, in the face of the moral authority of the black "leaders," backs down. Cancels the interview. Recalls the book.
A measure of justice, though delayed, is done.
But we're not living in that world.
We're living in this world.
And in this world, in this situation, the killer in question isn't a white guy. He's a black man. OJ Simpson. The vics were white; Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman. And in this world it was blacks that cheered the acquittal. It was black "leaders" who lauded this gaming of the system.
And now OJ, for whatever insane reason - more insane than killing a couple of people - is putting out a book hypothesizing on how he'd have off-ed his ex and her friend if some "other" cat hadn't done the bloody chore for him.
And, of course, because a segment of the media is true-crime crazy and because it's sweeps month, a major television network (and sister company to the book's publishing arm) is allowing OJ to pimp his How-to-Snuff piece to the populace.
While the families of Brown and Goldman are, of course, vociferously expressing their displeasure with OJ being given the chance to print money with the blood of their kin, there is no sign of the outrage from black activists one would expect if, as originally speculated, the situation was exactly flipped.
But justice is justice, and if blacks are ever to truly expect justice then we must demand it in all circumstances. So, where are the days of outrage that were on display (mistakenly) for the likes of Tawana Brawley, or that were directed at Tommy Mottola? If Mr. Mottola was, according to Reverend Al Sharpton, the devil, what would that make OJ? If Sharpton sees nothing wrong with "denouncing white interlopers," he can't do the same for black killers? And if Jesse Jackson can prematurely denounce the Duke Lacrosse players accused of rape, can't he find time to do the same for OJ who was found, at least, liable in the deaths of Brown and Goldman?
It's ironic that the same ilk which accused OJ of selling out - of moving on up to Brentwood, cavorting with white women - doesn't hold him to the same standards they would a white man. The Old Schoolers don't seem to actually understand the totality of justice. They seek it only when it serves their purpose; their purpose being self aggrandizement and financial enhancement. And anyone who believes Al and Jesse haven't mastered the art of the velvet shakedown, query them on the pound of flesh extracted and pocketed from the Man over, say, "This Bud's a Dud," or Jesse's NASCAR deal.
For a "donation," they are more than happy to show up, cause trouble, and for another "donation" from the individual or company in question, they are just as pleased to go away. And as no one is paying them to complain about OJ, as the black populace hasn't been stirred to outrage, Al and Jesse are giving a killer a pass.
And what is missed in their convenient silence is the opportunity to redress a wrong of the past. When OJ was acquitted black American cheered. I have always told whites that don't understand the OJ verdict that blacks, for decades if not centuries, have been telling whites the system is broke. It's pointless for segments of white America, previously indifferent, to complain when the legal system worked to their consternation.
But it was equally pointless for black America to extol a guilty man being set free. Their mirth should have been reserved for an innocent man who earned his freedom no matter that the legal deck might have been stacked against him. And even in OJ's case, two people were murdered. Perhaps there was solace to be gained from a black man getting over. Cheering, however, was not to be done even if - as Reverend Al claims - it was for Johnny Cochran and not OJ.
But for Al or Jesse or any of the other non-elected officials of black America to do what is right, to speak for the true victims, would require them to take a stand that ran contrary to the will of their "people," no matter it's the right thing to do. But, though they accessorize themselves in the cloak of compassion for the victimized, the empathy they display is clearly limited by race. Rather than "Justice for all," the parenthetical to their rant is: no justice (for us), no peace.
So, when again you see Al or Jesse out bemoaning some perceived racial slight, question whether they would do the same if the situation were reversed, or if their morality only stretches to the end of their personal gain.