Thanksgiving is rearing its turkey head in the US as families and friends are preparing to join hands in prayers at the decorated table to thank their God or lucky star for all the blessings afforded to them during the year.
Manson and fiancée
As beautiful and comforting as it sounds, it is not always joyful for everyone. If you live far away from your loved ones or if you don’t get along with the gene pool you fell into, this tradition can become a dreaded event.
It is never an easy feat to face your family when you do not share the same values or if your mother cannot understand why you are still single when Charles Manson has managed to land a young and attractive girl he will legally wed while in prison.
This toxic union was a huge social media trend recently, as well as the Michael Brown’s shooting that managed to polarize so many people who had not even read the witnesses reports from the incident before yesterday.
We can say with certainty that the families involved will feel no gratefulness this year, free turkey or not.
It was a huge disappointment for the ones hoping for a day of reckoning in the Brown’s case and the Arias’ trial; also trending strongly on social media. By definition, a day of reckoning is a time when the consequences of a course of mistakes or misdeeds are felt and it seems to make people feel better, justifiably, when what they perceive as an injustice is redressed with a strong conviction or outcome.
Officer Wilson & Michael Brown
The Grand Jury did not see fit to indict police officer Wilson who killed an 18-year-old unarmed young man in Ferguson.
The reactions to the news were very polarized. How could this be possible? Some cried racism and others thought Brown had no business wrestling with a cop and resisting arrest. Either way, it would be wise to consider that the truth always seem to lay in the middle of two confrontational walls of perception.
In the case of Jodi Arias, her retrial is on hiatus so that the interested parties can celebrate what Lincoln saw as a day to heal the nation after the civil war or as they say in school; let’s honor the first pilgrims and be grateful for having reaped what they sowed. Yikes! A lot of people would feast on a whole lot of nothing if the way they behaved morally during the year would come home to roost or gobble on their Thanksgiving table.
We can safely guess that inmates like Jodi Arias will not count their many blessings even if served turkey with mashed potatoes and frozen peas. A copious meal will not compensate for the dreadful realization that your family life has gone down the drain with your human dignity.
I hear an echo in the background saying ‘You do the crime, you do the time’ and ‘I would never be in her situation so good for her.’ To these far away cruel and inhuman voices I want to say look at your own threads on social media and tell me how great you have been doing in the real world and stop judging others because you have not walked in their shoes. But it would be a waste of time because the ones wanting a day of reckoning usually come from a place of dead reckoning.
Dead reckoning
Dead reckoning is a nautical term meaning the process of calculating one’s current position by using a previously determined position. I have heard it being used often about Republicans, but it is another story all together.
Instead of analyzing a case with a clean slate and the premise of innocence until guilt is proven or till at least we get the reports, facts and evidence, many start with a predetermined position and keep building everything around this unilateral opinion to make their theory work.
In the case of teenager Michael Brown, his faction tends to ignore that the only witness whose opinion is drastically different from the others is his best friend. Instead of wrestling with Wilson in the car, he saw him in a tug of war. And he saw him surrender instead of charging or walking towards the police officer who kept asking him to stop and get down.
On the other hand, Wilson’s faction refuse categorically to admit that there was no reason to shoot and kill this boy, as if it was an acceptable resolution.
Once again, this is not a black and white situation, but a complicated scenario that requires a complex solution. Wilson should be punished and reeducated on ways to interact with what he perceives as threats and on the value of any human life. And we have to ask why Brown, instead of listening and walking away, found it acceptable to wrestle with a cop and resist his orders after he had shoplifted in a store.
This tragedy should have been handled with less drama, more critical thinking and deep reflection instead of stubbornly digging in heels to the left or to the right. Looting local innocent people is never a way to show you want to be respected and claiming the kid deserved to be shot is the most ignorant comment imaginable.
So unless we put our own prejudices aside, and try to assess the situation from a non-predetermined position, we will always reach a dead end.
Fake photo of injuries
The Ferguson’s debacle was largely blamed on social media by the authorities. Even if it is somehow ridiculous to blame the conclusions of a Grand Jury on sources outside of their assessment, it is however partly justified to blame social media for the grip the situation had on people.
They say three is a crowd, but thousands make a lynch mob. And it is very easy to speculate and do race baiting or law and order worship when the facts seem to come from a game of Chinese whispers that started with some truth and ended with fib and innuendo galore.
To show the absurdity of it all, there was even a fake photo circulating of an injured officer Wilson.
Social Media Heathers
Heathers
As we all know, the Jodi Arias re-sentencing is not televised and journalists and other interested parties are only allowed to take notes and send reports on their twitter feed as well as write articles after the fact.
This decision was not a media pleaser, but there seems to be an effort made this time around by the judge not to screw up part II of this Circus.
But the trends on this case are in a very different category than the Ferguson ones who tend to interest people into social justice and race relations.
The Arias comments on twitter and Facebook seem to be attracting more women than men. And it is reflected in the kind of ‘reporters’ (and I use the term loosely) showing up in court to delight their readers with their editorials on this legal fiasco.
Most of the websites trending and discussing high profile trials and criminal cases seem to have been created by mean girls. I like to call them Heathers like in the cult movie of the same name. They are their own boss and have some leeway (as I was told by one of them) to say what they wanna which they’re gonna. As if! Gag me with a spoon will ya?
These sites are mostly named court or trial something and I nicknamed some of them Court Crapper, Trial Diarrhea, Trial Dribble and Wild about Juan because none of them report fairly or even remotely objectively and keep spewing a lot of garbage.
As Daniel Patrick Moynihan wisely said, you are entitled to your own opinion, but not to your own facts. I can honestly say that a few of them are talented and could be great if they took the high road and wrote fair commentaries. But there is no such a thing as being factual in the wild universe of twitter divas. Heathers rhyme with haters and they have a grand ole time living it up with their fierce loyalty to the dark side and a knack for poetic injustice.
Fashion Statements but no conviction
Even if I have been following a real reporter from Arizona who only tells you what was said in court without constant editorializing, I find myself looking at the Heathers’ threads once in a while to get a general impression of the underbelly of the case.
I like fashion as any female out there, but unless you describe the parties involved in the trial in a very basic manner so that we have a visual of the proceedings, it is a huge fashion faux pas to sashay in the courtroom and focus on what people should wear or not.
And by the way, to the lady from Wild about Juan, I do not want to hear if you need to go number one or two or what you had for breakfast. But from the high count of followers I see on the site, it looks like many females care to hear this dribble because they too want to be part of the Heathers’ Club.
The meaner the comments, the more popular they become. Kind of reminiscent of Tara Kelley who was the desperate alternate juror wanting so badly to fit in with the majority that she practically sold her soul to HLN.
When the trial came to a halt because of an emergency, the Heathers sent each other a very mean spirited message saying it had to be because the mitigating specialist Maria Delarosa had sprained her ankle shopping at TJ Maxx. And when Arias’ former attorney testified, she was described as having long curly salmon hair with the cutest purse.
The report on Arias’ mom wearing some kind of a scrunchie in her hair also pleased many ladies anxious to express their disapproval. How tacky, right? Oh and this poor woman does not sit in her chair according to Court Crapper, but she plumps into it.
And that awful expert Dr. Fonseca has no fashion flair and she is called Mrs. Fake because after all, she does not know anything if she does not kneel in front of their idol prosecutor. Her extensive experience and professionalism are totally disrespected to fit the agenda. When she said priest holder instead of priesthood holder, she was accused of thinking there was actually a holder involved. The dumbing down of America on display.
Heather number 2 (pun intended) showed a picture of a pink telephone cover with mirror during the proceedings and gushed over it. It was a gift from one of the Heathers. It almost brought tears to my eyes and vomit in my throat. I guess what bothers me most is how they trivialize the life of a human being. This is not a social club but a trial to decide the fate of a defendant.
Martinez in all his glory
These girls all seem to belong to the absurd Juan Martinez’s fan club. They revel in his unethical tactics and constant unjustified attacks on the witness at hand.
Not surprisingly, when his repetitive accusations were discredited by the computer specialist and called slimy, the mean girls grew silent. Instead, we had photos. It was a bad day for the prosecutor who had to deal with the little matter of files appearing that were declared non existent during the first trial and problems with the chain of custody of important evidence like phones, computers, sim cards, etc. His desperate sounding attempts at blaming it on everyone including the toaster to get out of that jam did not sound reassuring.
If he is the great man his fans are bragging about, why is he so defensive and trying to throw out the corrupt computer? Isn’t it his legal duty to uncover the truth? The last time I checked, every piece of evidence seized is labeled and registered so it is not difficult to find out if a sim card was included or not and if a computer was handled according to protocol.
But once again, this smorgasbord of doubtful actions was hardly reported. Who cares if the prosecution might have presented the wrong evidence willingly or by mistake during the first trial? Jodi is guilty and that’s all there is to it for the Heathers who sound more and more like they are her nemesis instead of the Court or trial enthusiasts they pretend to be.
If their own rumor mill is right, (Chinese whispers or not it is funny ) one of the Heathers has been grinding with Martinez Mormon style so that would explain the bizarre loyalty.
The Gold Patrol
The Gold Patrol
Even if the social media is being poisoned by mean girls, I would lie by omission if I did not mention Jeffrey Gold who created his own Gold Patrol to bash Jodi Arias and try to revive his dying television career somewhere, anywhere, even in his basement.
As an attorney, Mr. Gold should know better than to cater to the hysterical needs of haters in search of an attractive defendant to mob. But the call of the money sirens were too tempting and he decided to cash in on the spectacle by becoming one himself.
He has t-shirts of the Gold Patrol for sale and 
offers a Spreecast after a long day of tweeter feed and insults directed at Miss Arias. He gets a lot of praise and gives his patrol what they want to hear. He called Arias a chicken for not wanting to represent herself and referred to her Brazilian wax as porno Travis was eating up. A real classy guy and his ladies are lapping it up.
His conscience probably bothers him because he has said countless times that it is not a death penalty case and there should be no re-sentencing. When he says that Jodi should not be put to death, the Heathers cringe and revolt. They whine and throw insults while repeating the many reasons why she should die. And I bet they would volunteer to hold the needle while wearing a cute little pink sweater and a tiara for the camera (of course it would be televised).
When it came out that Travis Alexander had porno files on his computer, some of which pretty revolting and involved teens and tweens, did Gold sound offended? Nah teen porn is all right and in response, he posted a photo of Arias in a non revealing shirt and called it ‘Porn Star Jodi’. He turned the table on her to distract from the inconvenient truth.
And his Spreecast on that day lasted only three minutes. Not much to say; after all it was only the possibility of prosecutorial misconduct and a drastic change of perception of Travis’ character. Every little crumb that can look bad for Miss Arias is always front and center, but any new discovery or alleged cover up of evidence goes unreported if it could remotely help her case.
No convictions
Many were disappointed this week by the fact that there was no indictment in the Wilson’s case or that Arias was not yet sentenced to die. Some expressed it with riots or words of wisdom and some others chose fashion and tiaras.
Either way, I still manage to be flabbergasted at times by the lack of moral convictions on Twitter land or Facebook. Not easy being judged or getting up after you fall, but when strangers gather to make things worse and bring their own brand of ignorance to the mix, we are certainly headed for disaster.
I know there are many people out there who are human and concerned about seeing the system respect due process, but you have to skim the surface and dig deep because they are not the ones at the forefront brandishing insults and weapons at their brothers and sisters. Instead, they try to embody the spirit of grace and restorative justice. Let’s all be grateful for this blessing.
Update:
After a three day evidentiary hearing and three weeks of arguing, a Mesa, Arizona police technician, Perry Smith, finally admitted there was pornography present on Travis Alexander’s computer. Expert Bryan Neumeister explained how the computer contained viruses that infected the computer due to explicit viewing. Martinez blamed former attorneys and when proved untrue, blamed Neumeister who exposed the prosecutor’s lack of IT knowledge who went on to talk about ‘clones’ to try to prove that files were altered. Clones are copies of the original and have absolutely no effect on original and altering them is of no consequence at all. The prosecution fought very hard to say there was no porn, but now that it is a proven fact, it is the defense’s fault? Sherry Stephens must now do her job and judge if the misconduct in the case was serious enough to dismiss the death penalty or the entire case.
Update II:
As to be expected, Judge Sherry Stephens did not dismiss the case or the death penalty, but the legal wording of her decision left many doors open for appeal. The huge porn content kind of fizzled out and became some porno. Very strange indeed. Looking forward to read appeal documents that might make sense of it all.
Excellent, Lise.
Another objective masterpiece Lisa…but, then I share your sentiments passionately. The ugly perceptions need to be exposed for what they are: a disparaging commentary of the inability of humans who still seem to lack consciousness. I hesitate to judge them because people only know what they know. I’ve had professional journalists block me because I didn’t agree with them…because I encouraged forgiveness. Throughout history, some humans have always seemed to take delight in watching executions, beheadings, hangings, being gassed, burnings…all in the name of “justice”. It amazes me how humans don’t believe these acts are murder. The anger and fear being bred only serves to breed more hostility.
After the announcement of Officer Wilson’s non-indictment in Ferguson, our President came on and pleaded with the citizens there and elsewhere in this country to hold peaceful demonstrations and not to give up hope change would come. He himself is hope manifest. Doesn’t anyone see how Dr. King must have been smiling the day he got elected. President Obama urged our citizens to participate in the process by voting and through government. I guess no one heard him or understood a word he said.
Reading your sentiments and observations gives me solace and hope I am not alone. It encourages me to keep breathing and continue to share light, when I can.
I am grateful for you!
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again Lise, love your style. Rare mix of hilarity and vicious jab with a sharp instrument – incisive and deadly funny serious, like a drunken surgeon opening up a huge pus bag.
you said “Instead of analyzing a case with a clean slate and the premise of innocence until guilt is proven or till at least we get the reports, facts and evidence, many start with a predetermined position and keep building everything around this unilateral opinion to make their theory work.”
It’s a good idea, but shouldn’t that concept include everyone, no matter who they are? So, without hearing the totality of evidence, how can we yet conclude prosecutorial misconduct involving porn/ scrubbing of porn is present? Shouldn’t we follow your advice, and stay open to the idea of ‘innocent until proven guilty?” How can that guilt be determined prior to the hearing being completed? Do you not do what you advise against when you say “it’s only prosecutorial misconduct” and “the prosecutor tampered with the computer”? It’s possible he did, but isn’t it wise to wait until the full set of evidence is in before making that conclusion? Because if you don’t, you are only starting with a predetermined theory and building everything around your unilateral theory to make it work…. How can one be objective if they do that?
I started with a clean state and never suspected there was porno on the computer. But it came out that there was and as the expert said, it was more than the elephant in the room and impossible to miss. Mr. Martinez has been accusing the expert to have ‘broken’ the computer or the former lawyer to have messed with it. But it turns out to be false. So until further notice, there is tampering and the custody of the computer is the responsibility of the state. My point is that it should have been reported and not ignored. And what about tween porno? It is not a speculation, but true and during the first trial, it was said that there was none and Miss Arias was a liar for saying there was a virus.
So I started with a very clean state on that one. If the tampering was done by a ghost, I will be the first one to report on it. I am waiting for more evidence on the matter, but the state is trying to render it unadmissible for a reason.
And the fact that Mr. Alexander was watching tween porno galore has been proven. Not that it is illegal to do so, but in this trial, it is a big deal because they said he was a saint and that there was zilch on his computer.
So no I did not start with a predetermined theory and I am following the case like everyone else. Good try though!
Brilliant as always, but the existence of a virus was in evidence in 1 trial, to some extent, see https://geebee2.wordpress.com/jodi-arias-computer-virus/
It was George but my point was that Arias was called a liar for saying so. Melendez testified there was no porno found.
The critical issue left unmentioned was that none of the commentators you referenced call themselves “journalists”. While the snarky commentary admittedly contributes nothing to our understanding of the trial, I personally find the yellow journalism of Michael Kiefer more objectionable by far. Not because I disagree with all of his qualms about Martinez necessarily, but because it’s another reminder of how the delineation between journalism and progressive activism has faded to the point of nonexistence.
Kiefer’s editorializing belongs on the Op-Ed page, not in what is supposedly objective reportage. That disturbs me more than pedantic barbs from Juan’s fan base.
The name Michael Kiefer is not part of this blog, but his tweeter feed is rarely editorialized when it comes to the trial, so I don’t really know what you are referring to. Maybe you are talking about his articles on prosecutorial misconduct and how he has expressed disdain for second trial and the death penalty. Real journalists or legal analysts obviously have to be held to a higher standard than gossipers.
Your take on Ferguson is fair and equitable. Both sides see the issue through the prism of their own intrinsic biases, (as all humans do). While Brown was certainly no “peaceful black teen”, looking at the whole scenario shows how the training of police officers in handling dangerous, ( or dangerous-looking) people must change.
The current policy seems to be ” if your acting aggressive… Or just not following orders quickly enough, the cops shoot to kill”.
Having said that, I agree with the Grand Jury’s decision.
You have done it again Lise. This time, managing to take the numerous and diverse threads of what is being said about current events involving “justice” and weaving them into a design we can recognize. I’m not proud of the image we are creating. You are dead on with your description of the “Heathers”. How sad they have such a large audience to regale with their mean girl commentary when they are so clearly a long way past high school.
How correct you are that we have to dig very deep below the surface to get to the facts now. The information superhighway is a little too easy to spread rumor and innuendo without the courtesy of labeling it as such. Objective journalism does seem to be an elusive animal these days. It still exists but is overshadowed and outnumbered by the “reporters” (I also use the term loosely) that work for the very biased mega-media conglomerates. Not just the progressive activists as mentioned in a previous comment but the right wing, terror inspiring “news” sources owned by these leviathans.
On this day after Thanksgiving here in the U.S., I am very thankful for you Lise. Your ability to face the snark and your willingness to read it and sort the general nastiness from the truly scary rabble rousing benefits all of us. I choose to ignore most social media but realize someone needs to monitor this and keep us honest. Thank you.