Hello, everyone. I am currently off the
grid, at least temporarily, as I am on a road trip to my new cousins’ baptisms
in the eternally flat hellhole known as St. Louis. That fact, however, will not
prevent me from indulging in a little ranting, a little raging, and maybe-if we
are lucky-some semi-coherent thought. As a rule, there will be more than a few
typos because I don’t proofread these-this is strictly for the blog and for you
guys-not for the school newspaper.
Oscar Pistorius was a hero. More than a
man, more than a myth, hell, more than a legend, his journey from a
double-amputee to a shining example of the resiliency of the human spirit is
well chronicled. Only now did we realize that the dashing South African was
actually a deeply flawed man…just like the rest of us. He made a horrible
mistake, and he will ultimately pay for it, and the fame he labored to achieve
has only made his swift fall from grace that much more painful. He’s
successfully escaped legal punishments before, and it’s a damn shame all these
are coming to light now when it matters most rather than as they occurred. We
all simply covered our ears and sang to ourselves to keep the mythology of the
Blade Runner alive, purposefully forgetting his less than perfect attributes.
We failed to listen to the whispers of imperfection after he crashed his
speedboat into a pier and ultimately ended up needing facial reconstruction
surgery and over 100 stitches. Bottles of liquor were found on board. We failed
to listen when he brought a loaded gun into a crowded restaurant, and
accidentally shot it. He asked his mere mortal of a friend to quite literally
take the PR bullet. We failed to recognize his dangerous and speed-centric
lifestyle. He loved fast cars, firearms, and the fairer sex-he seemed, as one
friend said, to desire to be known as “a man’s man.” Perhaps he was trying to
compensate for his legs, or lack thereof? We can never be sure, but that guess
is as good as anyone else’s at the moment.
The severity of Pistorius’ crime is
unarguable, but we must take partial responsibility for being surprised that
the man was human and therefore intrinsically fallible. We are at fault here
too. But the runner is the one on trial, and we must examine the facts and
figures surrounding the death of one Reeva Steenkamp before coming to a
verdict. Pistorius had a history of jealousy and a bit of an inferiority
complex, facts that lead me to my hypothesis mentioned in the prior paragraph.
Ultimately, however much we perpetuate the man’s flaws, they are not
particularly relevant to this case. Sorry ladies, this isn’t a domestic
violence case, and I thank God it’s not. Those who say it is are sadly
mistaken. This crime was gender-neutral, as Pistorius never actually know the
gender of the person behind the bathroom door. What’s more, is that he stayed
at the scene of the crime rather than running away, as is common in domestic
disputes, called the police, and tried to resuscitate his spouse. His actions
indicate this was not an argument gone tragically awry and also that Pistorius
willingly submit himself to police investigation. Chance cannot be sexist.
Furthermore, Steenkamp was a strong woman, and was a champion of women’s movement
in South Africa. Those close to her said she would have left any relationship
she felt was unhealthy. And now she is
gone. A memory. Another innocent life taken by poor judgment and molten lead.
But this case isn’t a public referendum on gun control either-thank God for
that as well. Pistorius needed weapons for protection anyways-without legs he
is essentially defenseless, in a situation eerily similar to that of the Black
Knight in Monty Python.
The facts show that this was clearly an
accidental homicide, but a murder nonetheless. The facts also show that
astronomical crime rate in South Africa makes Pistorius’ story that he believed
himself to be shooting at an intruder plausible. But what the facts cannot ever
show is what truly happened that night, or what was going through the
Olympian’s mind when he pulled the trigger. Were his actions merely reflex
stemming from countless hours spent at the shooting range? Did he have a valid
fear for his safety? Did Oscar Pistorius fire those bullets with intent to
kill, or to defend himself? Ballistic tests show that he did not have his
prosthetics on at the time of the shooting, and only put them on to kick the bathroom
door through which he shot down, after all. I do not believe this to be
premeditated, and find the runner’s actions to be made valid fear, but I also
find it to be a punishable crime and a murder. I believe Pistorius is truly
sorry for his actions, though such regrets cannot bring back Reeva Steenkamp.
But if the court rules that Pistorius had an intent to kill without a
reasonable claim of self-defense, regardless of whom he was shooting at, as his
statements unfortunately and unintentionally express, then he will be found
guilty of murder in the first degree, his life all but over.
The Blade Runner, as we all know, is
human. He crashed back to Earth after living in the clouds amongst the gods. We
all know he is a good man with a compassionate heart, and deeply regrets his
actions, or at least pretends to be. Likewise, we realize this is not the first
time he has been in trouble with the law. We are at fault here as well. We
worshiped him and his story. We made the man a legend beyond flaw and it took a
tragedy to recognize he is like us. When the verdict comes in this case over
the summer, I hope the courts show mercy to a man who made a mistake, but
punish him to the full extent of his crime. I hope we can learn something from
this as well. I hope we can learn to avoid making myths out of men, immortals
out of mortals heroes out of humans, and gods from earthly greatness.
Images Retrieved From: www.couriermail.com.au and www.washingtonpost.com
