What We Need Now Is Sound of Silence
O.J. Simpson could be going on trial for his life. Did he commit murder? Twice? I don’t know. Neither do you. You know O.J. did it? No, you don’t. You know O.J. could never do such a thing? No, you don’t. You know nothing. You knew the victims? You knew Nicole’s relationship with O.J.? You knew Nicole’s relationship with Ron Goldman? No, you don’t. You know nothing. You think you know something you should share with everyone. You don’t.
So, please.
Everybody shut up.
Stop talking to talk shows. Stop giving interviews. Stop giving opinions. Don’t do it for money. Don’t do it for free. Yes, we do have free speech in this country. Yes, I do do interviews for a living myself. But this is a murder case. This is not Amy Fisher and it is not Tonya Harding and it is not Lorena Bobbitt. This is homicide. Two people are dead and a popular man’s life is at stake.
Everybody shut up.
You work with the police? You have seen the evidence? You searched for the evidence? You were a law-enforcement negotiator? You might testify for the prosecution? Your knowledge might aid the district attorney? You work in the jail where Simpson is being held? You visited him personally? Then tell it to a judge.
Everybody shut up.
You work as a licensed therapist? You treated Nicole Brown Simpson as a patient? You heard her innermost thoughts confidentially? You don’t feel her trust is being violated now that she is gone? You know something of her relationship with her former husband that might be pertinent in a courtroom? Then save it for the courtroom.
Everybody shut up.
You host a TV or radio show? You believe this case sheds new light on domestic abuse? You have heard or read the “911” emergency phone-call transcriptions, so you know what was happening between these two individuals? Every word they spoke is self-explanatory? You absolutely know what was happening behind those closed doors? Like hell you do.
Everybody shut up.
You were related to one of the two found savagely murdered in Los Angeles on the evening of June 12, 1994? You were a witness who happened to spot someone or something that night? You drove a limo or rode an airplane or worked at a Chicago hotel or drove by a field and noticed a man who resembled the suspect? Talk to a cop, not to a talk show.
Everybody shut up.
You dated O.J. Simpson and he never laid a hand on you in anger? You befriended O.J. Simpson as a child or as an adult and you know he could never deliberately hurt a soul? You were a business acquaintance of O.J. Simpson’s or knew him in school or met him once upon a time? Then be his friend. Keep out of this. Wait to speak until it is over. Don’t blurt anything that could be damaging to either side.
Everybody shut up.
You got a call from Connie Chung, from Diane Sawyer, from Barbara Walters, from Joan Lunden, from Geraldo Rivera, from Ted Koppel, from this program, from that program, from someone who wants to know what you have to say about all this? Say nothing. Stop reflexively linking spousal abuse to violent death until the outcome of this case is resolved. Stop saying, “See what jealously can lead to?” The man is pleading innocent, not guilty. There has been no confession, no conviction.
Everybody shut up.
You want to help. You want to tell your side. You hate what you already have heard. You want to clarify certain points. You want people to know the real Nicole, the real Ron, the real O.J. Then tell us once this case is resolved, now now.
Everybody shut up.
You are a writer. You keep making football references, references to Simpson’s former livelihood, references you believe to be appropriate or ironic. O.J. on the run. O.J. outrunning his pursuit. O.J. now facing the biggest game of his life. This isn’t clever. This isn’t funny. This isn’t necessary. You only think you are clever. You are not.
Everybody shut up.
O.J. Simpson could be on trial for his life. Did he commit murder? Twice? I don’t know. Neither do you. If he is innocent, he might need to live among us again. If he is guilty, he might deserve to die himself. This is literally life or death. This is too urgent to indulge your self-importance. This is no time to venture a guess, jump to a conclusion, state an assumption, betray a confidence or swear on a television program what you should only be swearing on a Bible.
So, please. Please .