Confessions
I can usually tell the complexity of my reaction by how difficult it is for me to find the right descriptive word.
[For instance, five years ago an acquaintance rushed the stage at a Moby concert. Her family thought it was the greatest thing ever. I couldn’t quite figure out how to describe it. My first thought was that it was “sleazy.” A word I almost immediately felt didn’t quite fit. I don’t think I was able to accurately describe my disdain for the whole thing that day. (Eventually I did realize that, yes, “sleazy” was absolutely the right word for her, and for the lameness of rushing the stage AT A MOBY CONCERT! But that’s another story.)]
At first I was saying, “crazy.” Then, “unexpected.” Rachel said “weird.”
Either way, it seemed like something that was too good to be true. The long unsolved JonBenet Ramsey case had finally been solved. With a full confession from a seemingly guilty man. He had some spurious connection to the family. Could have possibly been in the area. And he seemed, well, weird. Weird like the kind of person who could do something that horrible to a little girl.
Of course, all of those details now seem not so clear. “Vague,” is CNN’s word. It isn’t too shocking I guess. From what I understand, confessing to crimes one has not committed is fairly common. (Like most abnormal behavior, I’d guess it’s an exaggeration of a somewhat respected social act. I imagine it gives you the kind of high you get when you, say, take the blame for a loved one’s small social misstep –– but on completely crazy level, of course.)
Looking at it now, there were the obvious pieces that make him not fit the crime. The tucked in shirt and the too high pants. A sure sign of some sort of abnormal psychological condition, but not necessarily sociopathy. (And that may sound like a joke, but I actually do have a theory about missing basic social and fashion cues being a link to abnormal psychological states. I can make up statistics to back myself up if you need me to.)
But anyway, I confess. I wanted to believe it. It seemed nice for the Ramseys to finally have the closure they deserve with the ten-year-old murder case.
Judging by the media response, I suppose we’re all a little guilty of that.
[For instance, five years ago an acquaintance rushed the stage at a Moby concert. Her family thought it was the greatest thing ever. I couldn’t quite figure out how to describe it. My first thought was that it was “sleazy.” A word I almost immediately felt didn’t quite fit. I don’t think I was able to accurately describe my disdain for the whole thing that day. (Eventually I did realize that, yes, “sleazy” was absolutely the right word for her, and for the lameness of rushing the stage AT A MOBY CONCERT! But that’s another story.)]
At first I was saying, “crazy.” Then, “unexpected.” Rachel said “weird.”
Either way, it seemed like something that was too good to be true. The long unsolved JonBenet Ramsey case had finally been solved. With a full confession from a seemingly guilty man. He had some spurious connection to the family. Could have possibly been in the area. And he seemed, well, weird. Weird like the kind of person who could do something that horrible to a little girl.
Of course, all of those details now seem not so clear. “Vague,” is CNN’s word. It isn’t too shocking I guess. From what I understand, confessing to crimes one has not committed is fairly common. (Like most abnormal behavior, I’d guess it’s an exaggeration of a somewhat respected social act. I imagine it gives you the kind of high you get when you, say, take the blame for a loved one’s small social misstep –– but on completely crazy level, of course.)
Looking at it now, there were the obvious pieces that make him not fit the crime. The tucked in shirt and the too high pants. A sure sign of some sort of abnormal psychological condition, but not necessarily sociopathy. (And that may sound like a joke, but I actually do have a theory about missing basic social and fashion cues being a link to abnormal psychological states. I can make up statistics to back myself up if you need me to.)
But anyway, I confess. I wanted to believe it. It seemed nice for the Ramseys to finally have the closure they deserve with the ten-year-old murder case.
Judging by the media response, I suppose we’re all a little guilty of that.
Labels: Mark
posted by M S Martinez at 8/18/2006 09:28:00 AM
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