So this will be the third post this editor has done on O.J. Simpson's death, and black intellectuals all seem to have settled on the same take … yes, Simpson was guilty as hell, but his acquittal exposed the racist roots of the U.S. justice system.
First of all, they all seem to think that Simpson had abandoned the black community and did not represent them. He was Marc Lamont Hill's take:
O.J. Simpson was an abusive liar who abandoned his community long before he killed two people in cold blood. His acquittal for murder was the correct and necessary result of a racist criminal legal system. But he’s still a monster, not a martyr.
— Marc Lamont Hill (@marclamonthill) April 11, 2024
NBC News' Michelle Garcia talked to Harvard Law School professor Charles Ogletree Jr., who called Simpson "raceless." "He was not a person who spent time in African American communities. He was not a person who was deeply committed to African American values," Ogletree said.
And now Jemele Hill writes in The Atlantic,"I’ve found that Simpson was not the cultural fixture in the Black community that some white people assumed he was, and apparently continue to assume he is. As Simpson liked to tell people, 'I’m not Black, I’m O.J.' I took Simpson at his word and so did many others."
“Despite a steady supply of evidence that the criminal-justice system does indeed treat Black people differently,” writes @jemelehill, “pointing this out in the context of the Simpson case still brings condemnation for Black advocates who do so.” https://t.co/04Icxluur8
— The Atlantic (@TheAtlantic) April 15, 2024
Black elites apparently agree that Simpson was a horrible person who abandoned the black community and murdered two people and got away with it, and yet the black community celebrated his acquittal: Journalist Jasmyne Cannick wrote, "'He symbolized the Black man and the criminal justice system at the time … Him beating the case, at the time, was everybody beating the case. We finally won one."
Recommended
O.J. Simpson got away with murder, literally, but "we finally won one."
Hill writes:
But as I watched the verdict on the TV in our college newsroom, I immediately understood why some of the white staffers on the paper reacted with visible disgust—and why a lot of my Black friends felt relieved, even joyous, that Simpson had been found not guilty of murdering his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman. Although back in 1995, everyone was aware of the racial divide in this country, the trial provided stark evidence of just how sharp it was.
…
Put simply, he was a once-great athlete who turned out to be a terrible person. The mingled legacy of his celebrity and criminality is that his murder trial forced our country into difficult conversations—particularly about domestic violence and how, regardless of race, fame can protect people like Simpson from consequences. Above all, though, Simpson’s death is a reminder of how far this country still has to go to heal the racial rift that his murder trial so mercilessly exposed.
Once more, just so we get it straight: O.J. Simpson was a terrible person who abandoned the black community, but the black community celebrated his acquittal in the streets because it was a victory over the racist justice system.
What?
LOL
— Crazy Ivan (@IvanValdimirov) April 15, 2024
Jemele Hill wrote this.
Because of course she did.
Black people can solve discrimination by not committing crime at a comically disproportionate rate top every other group in the entire world
— Dick Waggles P.I. (@RichardWaggles) April 15, 2024
A much smarter brand of elites started the slow march of destruction through our criminal justice system using race as a wedge
— Auron MacIntyre (@AuronMacintyre) April 15, 2024
Now their much dumber successors can't stop bragging about the subversion https://t.co/tMtjtUfmmJ
"OJ Deserved to get away with it" from The preeminent liberal elite publication in the country. https://t.co/r8F6V3qbA9
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) April 15, 2024
“Restorative Justice”.
— Hector (@therealhverrios) April 15, 2024
The OJ case is a prime example of how the justice system treats black people differently, just not in the way the Atlantic would have you believe.
— Geoffrey Fourmyle (@GFourmyle) April 15, 2024
I mean it’s Jemelle hill.
— Fantasy Baseball Addict (@fant_baseballer) April 15, 2024
They took Mark Lamont’s Tweet and made into a whole article, eh.
— Just Sayin’ Yo (@JustSuspent_yo) April 15, 2024
Precisely. Simpson was a horrible human being who deserted his race, but his getting away with double murder made white people mad.
***
Join the conversation as a VIP Member