The dearly(?) departed - Shawn's Sense with Shawn Loughlin

How does one bid farewell to someone who you, well, loathe? Many grappled with this last week with the passing of O.J. Simpson, former college and professional football star and beloved actor, who captivated much of the western world in 1994 and 1995 with his infamous white Ford Bronco chase and the subsequent “Trial of the Century” as it is now known. He was 76 years old.

 

Though found not guilty in the murder of his wife Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman, who got caught up in the situation as a well-meaning restaurant employee returning a pair of glasses to a patron as a favour, many have come to the conclusion that Simpson was guilty of the crimes (recent polling has shown that over 70 per cent of those asked, regardless of race, felt he was guilty, a number that has climbed in the years since the trial). Many also resented Simpson’s antics following the trial, from writing a book about how he would have carried out the murders if it were him, though insisting that it wasn’t, to living a lavish, golf-filled life all while owing the Goldman family  $33 million from a civil suit filed by the family against Simpson. It rubbed people the wrong way and we can leave it at that.

 

(Actually, let’s not leave it at that. What a sad state of affairs the court system is in. Like, are people broke or are they not broke? We’ve got O.J. slicing into the woods on a daily basis, Alex Jones on tropical vacations and Donald Trump jet setting across the U.S. in an effort to become president again, all while they owe millions - over a billion in Jones’s case - to people they’ve wronged. Is a judgment worth the paper it’s on if no one will enforce the penalties? Makes my blood boil.)

 

Back to O.J. Unless you’re a hard-lined, “I spit on your grave” kind of person, when someone unsavoury dies, it’s complex. Often you know you won’t miss them, but we’ve been taught not to slander the dead.

 

After years of covering Richard Nixon, Hunter S. Thompson was tapped to write an obituary for the man he so hated for Rolling Stone. It was entitled “He Was A Crook” and, as you might imagine, Thompson didn’t take the high road. The fact that Nixon had died did not change Thompson’s feelings about him.

 

One can only wonder what Thompson would make of the politics of today. Perhaps it’s better that he too is gone and doesn’t have to live through the criminal trial of a former president and budding dictator who is leading in the polls and hawking bibles and running shoes to anyone stupid enough to pay for them.

 

Caitlyn Jenner offered up a “good riddance” when the O.J. news broke. However, those who support O.J. were quick to point to Jenner’s 2015 collision that killed Kim Howe. This also serves as a stark reminder that O.J. helped give rise to the Kardashian and Jenner families, introducing them to us, so it’s safe to say that we are all victims of him.

 

Malcolm LeVergne, the executor of O.J.’s estate and his long-time lawyer, has insisted that he’ll do everything in his power to ensure the Goldmans get nothing from O.J., despite the civil suit verdict. So, yes, O.J. appears to be persisting as an awful person from the grave.

 

How do we mourn the wretched? We are nice people, so when someone passes away, that person is always “loved by everyone” and someone who could “talk to anyone at any level” with a “smile that lit up the room”. And that’s alright - it’s nice that we do that. But, some people have made the world a worse place for one reason or another. So, well done to the people who tell the truth to the end. We appreciate your courage.