Mike Tyson’s renewed popularity confirms what I’ve always understood about my country…

@EarthlingWise He was acquitted, and yet his name was destroyed for the rest of his life. Tyson was convicted, served time, and then was pretty much able to go on as before.

@bijouxbroussard So Tyson paid for his crimes, OJ didn't, and you're upset because people can give Tyson a second chance but won't forgive OJ for what he obviously did?

@ChipmunkErnie The same reason they tell us we can’t go after Zimmerman—he was acquitted. Supposedly you’re innocent until proven guilty—so if you’re never proven guilty…?

Of course, depends on who you are. OJ was acquitted because he was rich (and could afford the best counsel) but forever hated because the victims were white. If OJ had gone away and stopped trying to get his fame back, the public might’ve forgotten about him. But he was stupid, gave them another reason to lock him up—and they took it.

And another thing to wrap your head around: Robert Blake faced the same accusation—murdering his wife. He was also acquitted in criminal court, but forced to pay her family in civil court. He got to live the rest of his life in relative peace. And he had actually been famous longer than OJ.

@bijouxbroussard First, who the hell is Zimmerman? OJ's name was "hated" because the evidence in the trial was so strongly against him and no one actually believed in his was innocent. And, while I didn't know Bobby Blake lost in civil court, I do know OJ lost in civil court and was found responsible there for the deaths of Nicole and Goldman. As to Blake living the rest of his life quietly -- he was nearly 70 at the time and living pretty much in obscurity anyway. As to the relative fame of both men, I'd have said OJ was by far the bigger star and more beloved by Americans than Blake ever was.

Re the whole innocent vs guilty thing, that's in court. We all know that in MANY cases the guilty have been found innocent and walked free and sometimes pay for their guilt in other ways, sometimes not.

In the end, I'd say America didn't really care about Blake and so he disappeared into obscurity. America LOVED OJ and that meant what happened seemed like a betrayal of that love. Blake was a known pain-in-the ass, OJ was America's hero. And it didn't help that OJ did things like come up with a book that basically said, "I didn't do it, but if I did here's how I did it"

@ChipmunkErnie George Zimmerman was the man who followed 17 year old Trayvon Martin when he was walking from a convenience store to his father home in the neighborhood. Martin was unarmed, carrying a can of iced tea and a bag of Skittles, Zimmerman, as a self-described "neighborhood watch" called the police to report a "suspicious person", was told not to engage (police were coming). But Zimmerman, saying "they always get away" ignored that instruction and stopped Martin, demanding to know who he was and why he was there. There was an altercation and Zimmerman shot Martin. At first the police weren’t even going to charge him with a crime until there was community pressure. When Zimmerman was found not-guilty even of manslaughter, a lot of us were angry. I remember someone on EP telling me "suck it up—just like we did OJ".

Like I said, OJ was stupid; he kept doing stupid things (like that book) to get back into the spotlight. And it wasn’t happening.