I was flipping through the channels an hour or so ago and as I came upon CNN there was a discussion about OJ Simpson being refused service in a restaurant.
I think the woman whose show it is, is named Nancy Grace, a former Court TV character.

So apparently this guy who owned the restaurant went over and told Simpson he wouldn't get service. It was said on the show that the owner didn't like what he did to Goldman and Nicole.

This is the second time that I have listened to people talk about Simpson. Some news commentator was talking about him like he was a dog not so long ago, as if he was proven guilty.

When Nancy Grace thanked the restaurant owner for coming on, he asked if he could ask one question. She listened. "Why?" he asks, "When a celebrity goes in to a courtroom does lady justice go out the back door?"

Now I have no love for OJ Simpson. And if you were to ask me, my hunch is he did what he was accused of. But a jury in the United States, in other words, the great American justice system found him to be innocent. Yet some news persons still talk of him like he's guilty. And then this man makes this comment about "lady justice".

The first thing I thought of is whether or not this restaurant owner would have refused service to John Gotti or some mob boss. Would he have denied service to Ted Kennedy of Chappaquiddick fame? What about Michael Milken whose policies caused misery and probably death to many working people. What about Oliver North, a man with blood on his hands. What about the terrorist in Florida who just had immigration charges dropped by a US judge? Oh, I forget, he only brought down Cuban passenger planes?

And as for lady justice going out the back door. How many innocent people, mostly black or Latino men did Mark Fuhrman send to jail? How many were taken to a parking lot here and there and had the crap kicked out of them or drugs planted on them. And Fuhrman is a radio host is he not? How many men have been shot by the Fuhrman's of this world who are like occupying forces in America's urban ghettos? I'll bet Fuhrman would not have received the same treatment.

I certainly wouldn't waste my time championing OJ Simpson, and that is not my intention here. But the racist bias is so blatant and is one of the reason many black workers won't condemn the man, something that frustrates the hell out of some whites. The legal system as any worker knows serves the rich but for blacks, American justice has been dished out to them with a vengeance. Hey, he was found innocent. And even here racism abounds. There were too may blacks on the jury and they can't make an objective decision based on the facts.

For workers, for poor people, for so many people of color, black men in particular, lady justice went out the back door a long time ago. To be more accurate, lady justice never came in the courtroom.

OJ Simpson got off because he has money and friends in high places. Any working class black man would have been taken out on the freeway. But much of the concern about this verdict still has its roots in racist soil.

While the racism of the restaurant is obvious, so too is the vicious false assumption that O.J. Simpson killed his ex-wife, Nicole Brown and her friend, Ronald Goldman. This was a vicious frame-up of a black man who is a former football player who committed the outrage of (1) marrying a white woman and (2) refusing to participate in the drug culture, common in the football world. Simpson's ex-wife and friend were murdered by drug thugs as they were friends with people who were involved with drugs. This drug world was common in the restaurants where Ronald Goldman worked. You can and should immediately read all the details in Killing Time: The First Full Investigation by Donald Freed and Raymond Briggs (1996: Macmillan). As many people said at the time, the glove that was "found" did not fit; OJ could not and did not commit the murders of these 2 people of June 12, 1994. There is also evidence that the police planted blood in the house and car. Then there is a matter of the timeline; OJ did not have the time to commit the crime. Every crime mandates an investigation, whether it be the murder of these 2 people, or the 9/11 Inside Job. This constant refusal on the part of people who are supposed to be radical to do their homework, but rather speak on "hunches" is outrageous and unforgiveable. This white person is proud to state every chance I get that OJ Simpson is innocent of the murders of Nicole Brown and Ronald Goldman and I am equally proud to be a socialist. Just being a socialist is not enough. You have to do the homework, and when it comes to legal cases, you have to examine the evidence, read the legal briefs, ask who had the motive, means and opportunity. I never speak from "hunches," a superstitious position; I speak from having done the homework, and I do not even like football, which is irrelevant.