Being from Southern California it's probably  difficult for many of you to really understand the various life changing experiences that one goes through - or at least that I have gone through....I am sure those of you who are from back east have had experiences that altered your perception that are totally unique because of where you are or where you have been a physical sense..the same would be applicable if you were from Israel or for that matter any other place in the world.  Here in So Cal (as we euphemistically call Southern California) we have our share of experiences - too many to be honest (riots, earthquakes, entertainment, and a million other things). 

The OJ Simpson trial - over 13 years ago was a very unique experience.  I believed I blogged about it before and since he is just bound and determined to spend the rest of his life in the slammer,  it causes those of us who "lived" through the experiences of his trial to revisit that episode and to try to gain some lessons from that experience - because there was not a day that went by where the news, TV stations and other media did not have their share of commentary - during that time!  To say that it was pervasive is an understatement - we were drowning in OJ Coverage from the Bronco chase to the culmination of the Civil Lawsuit guilty verdict.

Hell there were times where I have driven near OJ's place and if I recall correctly there were friends of mine who actually went to the scene of the crime.  I think I even wanted to go with them....stupid kids.  But in the end I remember quite a bit about the crime, the trial and the verdict. 

I also remember the "debate" that spawned from the verdict - can a black man get justice?  Did OJ buy his way out of justice?  Black vs. White.  Is Justice Color blind or only colorblind to those that have money?  Why is the black community defending a guy who lived more like a Rich white guy who divorced his black wife and "upgraded" to a white woman?

One of the bloggers I occasionally read - Roger L Simon - today posted some of his reflections how the OJ Trial changed his perception.  It is a really interesting read.

Here is part of his post. 

It’s hard to believe how the OJ Trial dominated our lives, particularly in Los Angeles, during those halcyon pre-9/11 days, now a long thirteen years ago. It was as if a whole city stood still for the latest news of what Johnnie Cochran and his legal team were up to – whether the glove fit and you must acquit, what the latest dish on that allegedly racist (now celebrity) cop Mark Fuhrman might be, whether LA homicide detective Phillip Vannatter had completely bungled the investigation or where Kato Kaelin cut his hair. And this went on for the better part of a year.

I had had my own very glancing brushes with Simpson – whom I had met at parties and thought, like most people, to be jovial, handsome and harmless - before that night of June 12, 1994 when Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman were stabbed to death.

Besides doing my own writing, I was teaching screenwriting earlier that year at the American Film Institute. The students came to my house and I would ply them with cabernet to keep us all distracted. (There’s not that much you can teach about screenwriting – you can do it or you can’t.) One of the students was OJ’s personal assistant and, on my recommendation, worked on a screenplay to star the Juice. One of the things I could teach was how to use your connections – obviously of value in Hollywood. In this case the connection was clear: he was the writer’s boss.

Posted by: Robert Woolwine at 01:12 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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