Two Bits – 19 September 2014

I’m torn: on the one hand, I think Judge Masipa did a fine job, interpreting the law strictly and unemotionally and, because there was an element of doubt, arriving at a correct verdict of manslaughter in the much celebrated, much overheated and yet fascinating trial of paralympian Oscar Pistorius for his killing of model Riva Steenkamp.
On the other, I’m convinced the “I’ve got anxiety issues” whiner had a fight with Riva, she fled to the toilet, locked herself in to escape his anger, and in a rage he blasted four shots through the door. Maybe second-degree murder, but murder nevertheless.
Reading some of the landslide of outpourings on social media over the weekend, 99.99 percent of the world thinks exactly the same. But the State can’t prove it. So manslaughter it is, and maybe the judge will see fit to give him the maximum sentence of 15 years. I certainly hope that she will not give him any leeway for being a double amputee. Or am I being too harsh?
Think back to the Olympics two years ago and ask yourself why it was that Pistorius was elevated to super-being status? It was because he appeared so brave in the face of adversity.
“I’m not disabled. I just don’t have any legs,” he said.
A story emerged of this young man who would only focus on his abilities, not his disabilities. As his story spread around the world, people said “Look at Oscar. He’s so brave.” He competed in the Paralympics and able-bodied Olympics as well. He came nowhere, but tears sprung to our eyes at the game young man, proving that if you try hard enough, you can do almost anything.
We didn’t hear much of that in court, did we! His disability was front-of-stage, his anxieties about crime, about abandonment, about being helpless on his stumps. Maybe his lawyers can be blamed for spinning this one out, but he could have put a stop to it.
Now there I go again, perhaps being too harsh in judging another. I wasn’t there.
On the other hand, I feel as though I was there because I’ve heard all the facts that have been pumping out on TV and traditional media for the past six months or more. I didn’t watch a lot of the courtroom live TV, only a few of the potted highlights, but I have a good idea of what the court heard.
I’ve also seen the barrage of speculation on social media. If it had been left up to your average Joe Citizen, there would have been a lynching party already.
So I have to admit, my harsher feelings are based more on the speculation than the known facts. My emotions are getting in the way of thinking straight. The judge was saying, ‘Let’s cut to the chase. Whatever you suspect might have happened is irrelevant if it can’t be proved.’
And that is something to be thankful for, at a time when the doomsayers want us to believe that the country is collapsing. We do, you have to admit, have a fully functioning court system. Long may it last.
* * *

Two old Jewish men, Sid and Abe, are sitting in a Mexican restaurant one day. Sid asks Abe, “Do you know if any people of our ancestry were ever born and raised in Mexico?”
Abe replies, “I don’t know, let’s ask our waiter.”
When the waiter arrives, Abe asks, “Are there any Mexican Jews?”
The waiter says, “I don’t know senõr, I ask the cooks.” He returns from the kitchen after a few minutes and says, “No senõr, the cook say no Mexican Jews.”
Abe isn’t satisfied and asks, “Are you absolutely sure?”
The waiter, realising he is dealing with “Gringos” replies,
“I check once again, senõr,” and goes back into the kitchen.
While the waiter is away, Sid says, “I find it hard to believe that there are no Jews in Mexico …. Our people are scattered everywhere.”
The waiter returns and says,
“Senõr, the head cook Manuel, he say there is no Mexican Jews.”
“Are you certain?” Abe asks again. “I just can’t believe there are no Mexican Jews!”
“Senõr, I ask EVERYONE,” replies the exasperated waiter.
“All we have is Orange Jews, Grape Jews, Prune Jews, Tomato Jews and Apple Jews, but no Mexican Jews.”