Kitty Genovese. Sylvia Likens. Remember those two name for a minute, because I'll have to prove a point in a moment.
Casey Anthony was found not guilty of murder today. I know next to nothing of the case, except that her child is dead, it happened in Florida, and everyone is very upset that Casey Anthony was found not guilty. Never mind the "beyond all reasonable doubt" stipulation that exists at least in lip service within our legal system. Never mind that we (most likely) do not know all of the facts. And ignore for a second the legal ideal - that one thousand guilty people would go free rather than a single innocent be jailed.
Just let yourselves feel angry for a minute.
Never mind the fact that the West Memphis Three are rotting behind bars after a clearly mismanaged railroad job. That the bankers who brought the world to a halt and ruined both individual lives and nations were given bonuses. Forget the fact that this happens all the time, and any dialog about what might have caused it dies off once the ratings go down.
Just let yourselves feel angry for a minute.
Leave a light on tonight for the lost life of a little girl you never met - and sadly never will meet, rather than to keep thieves away. Mention how sorry you are that it happened. Grieve in public.
Because you're going to forget.
Kitty Genovese was stabbed in front of her apartment building. Not killed. No, her attacker came back after she crawled into the stairwell and there, in the stairwell, she was killed, raped, and looted - in that order, while the people in the apartment complex watched.
Sylvia Likens was tortured and raped and finally, mercifully, died, at the hands of a religious zealot neighbor and local kids between the ages of 10-18. The zealot was released from prison early. The kids did even less time.
And you don't remember that.
So feel angry for a minute. But remember, you will forget. You always do, until something reminds you. And you refuse to face it. Thus, you refuse to change it. But by all means, please, make a show of it.
Please, do not waste my time.
Casey Anthony was found not guilty of murder today. I know next to nothing of the case, except that her child is dead, it happened in Florida, and everyone is very upset that Casey Anthony was found not guilty. Never mind the "beyond all reasonable doubt" stipulation that exists at least in lip service within our legal system. Never mind that we (most likely) do not know all of the facts. And ignore for a second the legal ideal - that one thousand guilty people would go free rather than a single innocent be jailed.
Just let yourselves feel angry for a minute.
Never mind the fact that the West Memphis Three are rotting behind bars after a clearly mismanaged railroad job. That the bankers who brought the world to a halt and ruined both individual lives and nations were given bonuses. Forget the fact that this happens all the time, and any dialog about what might have caused it dies off once the ratings go down.
Just let yourselves feel angry for a minute.
Leave a light on tonight for the lost life of a little girl you never met - and sadly never will meet, rather than to keep thieves away. Mention how sorry you are that it happened. Grieve in public.
Because you're going to forget.
Kitty Genovese was stabbed in front of her apartment building. Not killed. No, her attacker came back after she crawled into the stairwell and there, in the stairwell, she was killed, raped, and looted - in that order, while the people in the apartment complex watched.
Sylvia Likens was tortured and raped and finally, mercifully, died, at the hands of a religious zealot neighbor and local kids between the ages of 10-18. The zealot was released from prison early. The kids did even less time.
And you don't remember that.
So feel angry for a minute. But remember, you will forget. You always do, until something reminds you. And you refuse to face it. Thus, you refuse to change it. But by all means, please, make a show of it.
Please, do not waste my time.
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