Cheers from the Crowd

The news showed people cheering the guilty verdict. I’m not sure why that would make anyone happy, but it did. To get to that point, an adult and an unborn child died. Two families have consequences that can never be repaired. Perhaps time will mitigate the pain and loss if grieving is allowed. But all too often, the family of the dead is encouraged to carry on their bitterness. Nothing to cheer about that I can see.

Part of this, I’m sure, is do the notion that some people were cheated when O.J. Simpson was acquitted in 1994. It seems that some had such a desire for his conviction that they never get over it.

I wonder if these same people would have cheered at the convictions of the Scottsboro boys. Or if these people are kin to those who attend execution vigils to cheer death.

If these same persons would exercise the same level of concern for those unjustly charged, or convicted simply because of race, national background, or economic status, I might have less disgust. If these people showed concern for the families of innocent people who have been executed, I might have less disgust.

Well, maybe not. But, I don’t expect those who gleefully cheer to change. They are ghouls after all.