TV blogging
06.22.2005One of the big he-said-she-said bits of news the last few days involve Sen. Durbin's remarks comparing Guantanamo to Soviet gulags & Pol Pot's killing fields. He's since apologized, in that oh-so-unapologetic way (believe me, I've made such apologies, I recognize them when I see them). He was insensitive, he should've said he was wrong, and we could've all moved on. [Edit: here's a Salon.com article on how to apologize.]
No matter. While preparing dinner, I watched an episode of Law & Order ("Veterans Day") that addressed the matter in, well, an interesting way.
Yes, it's only TV. Yes, it's fiction. But. I've always liked Law & Order for the full complexity of their characters. This episode was no exception.
EPISODE RECAP: Cops find a dead, nicely dressed college-age kid. He's been strangled to death w/ a very specific choke hold. Over the course of the investigation, we discover that the kid was an anti-war activist & the suspect is an army veteran mail carrier.
But the show had some interesting bits. The activist kid was actually, it seems, an obnoxious jerk, who frequently got in scuffles w/ cops & others. When the cops go to his parents house, we see that it was a very nice house (very, very upper class), who object to the idea that maybe something their son did may've led to his death. The money quote: "Are you blaming our son for his murder?" That's a money quote, because that's exactly what their son believed, that 9/11 was America's fault (which is the same kind of blame-the-victim logic his parents oppose in a different context).
We also learn that the mail carrier is actually a distraught father, too. His son died in Afghanistan. At a local city council meeting, he'd requested a memorial for his dead son. The activist kid spoke at the meeting, attacking the war, the military, etc. Basically, pissed on the grieving father's son's grave. But, of course, the kid supports the troops. But later, when asked by detectives if the activist friends & girlfriend knew anyone in the military, the answer is a predictable "no".
The show continues to show a dramatic class division. The activist lives in a building w/ other similarly-minded college kids, who aren't well liked by their super. Mostly, because they treat him "like my job is just to clean up after them". The mail carrier's neighborhood friends have the same assessment of the kid, who parked his Lexus SUV in their neighborhood to attend a protest (where the kid got himself arrested). Someone slashes the kid's tires & vandalizes the very expensive SUV (the kid freaks out because it's his father's); the kid calls for a tow truck, then gets in a confrontation in a blue collar bar. Not just any bar, the mail carrier's local bar, where witnesses see the kid directly confront the mail carrier, rehashing the city council debate.
Eventually, of course, the kid ends up dead. Because despite being a pacifist (as his girlfriend, check that, "soul mate") declares, he has a history of violence (but only, of course, in self-defense). After all, sometimes you "have to be loud to be heard". Nevertheless, the detectives close the case (even willing to entertain the notion that other cops may've killed the kid early on), and the attorneys do their best to get a conviction for murder.
At the trial, the mail carrier's lawyer points out his client's emotionally distraught state (he was being treated for depression after his son's death), his decorated service in the Gulf War, and his immigrant patriotism (he came to the country not speaking English). He even adds in his closing statement that the mail carrier's son "was nothing like" the dead kid, since "he knew what it meant to live a life of service". Quick shot of the grieving parents; and I wondered if that even vaguely resembled how the mail carrier felt when the activist kid made disparaging remarks about his own dead son.
In the end, the jury acquits the mail carrier of murder, but can't come to a verdict on the lesser charge of manslaughter. As the prosecution commiserates, they wonder if the jury can't convict because of class issues & how the war has polarized people along those lines. The head DA quips about how there are too many blue collars on the jury. Asked why, he comments: "The same people who avoid jury duty, are the same people who avoid active duty."
Posted by Miguel at 04:55 PM
Comments
Thanks for letting us (for those who cannot) have one episode of Law and Order. It was one of my favorite shows, along with West Wing and re-runs of Married with Children.
And of course, who can forget, Survivo.... Noooot! ;-)
Posted by: MB at June 23, 2005 02:44 AM