I have never been a fan of soap operas. I don't watch reality TV. I didn't follow the O.J. case. But I confess: I am addicted to the Casey Anthony trial. Every day and on into the evening, I am absolutely riveted. Doesn't matter how many times Vinnie or Jane or Nancy play a segment over, I still can't take my eyes off the TV.
Why?
You have to admit, the cast of characters is fascinating. I couldn't have invented a better bunch myself for one of my novels: Judge Perry, who runs his courtroom with a velvet glove and whom I love despite his substitution of v for th (This is the speech pathologist in me talking--I can't help it); Jeff Ashton, the prosecutor and my new hero; Jose Biaz, the sleazy defense lawyer; Roy Kronk, the meter reader who, one of the commentators said is responsible for a new vocabulary word--to be "kronked" is to be raked over the coals for trying to do the right thing; George and Cyndi Anthony, the distraught parents of Casey (Did they lie on the stand?); and Casey herself, a stone-faced enigma, pathological liar.
Above all, there are the heart-wrenching videos of Caylee. Today the prosecutor said one reason for Casey's getting rid of her child was that she was becoming too verbal, something I've thought for a long time.
What's the deeper reason for America's...and my...addiction? We can't wrap our minds around the idea of doing away with our own adorable child. Yes, it happens. Statistics indicate that over 200 children are killed in this country each year by their moms. And yet...
The Anthony family could be our next door neighbors. Doesn't that send shivers up our spines? If we can't trust these attractive middle-class people, who can we trust? I keep waiting for someone to show me this crime didn't happen, that this young woman would never have done such a monstrous act. But it did happen. And I want to see justice done.
I read an article online by a psychiatrist the other day. Here's what he had to say about our fascination with this situation: Ms. Anthony, whether a killer or a mother who inexplicably did not report her daughter missing for over a month, is a conduit for buried, forgotten terrors still inside all of us.
During childhood, we were all so vulnerable physically and emotionally, so entirely dependent on the good will of our guardians, that we suppressed the thought that we could be with a mother or father who disliked us, wished we did not exist, or might even be able to act on it. Such fears are, in childhood, unthinkable, and, in adulthood, still locked deep inside us.
Casey Anthony, the pretty, smiling, mother who may well have murdered her daughter is, in fact, every adult's worst, long-denied childhood nightmare.
The chance to see such a woman in captivity, and to ponder what she is accused of, is like going to the zoo to see the rarest, deadliest monster you can imagine, the one resurrected from the deepest recesses of your mind in its most fragile moments. And, what's more, even if she is that monster, she may or may not be freed.
I think he sums it up very well.
What about you? What's your opinion of Casey? What's your prediction about the verdict?
7 comments:
I don't follow the case too closely because I have my own theory about it and no one has mentioned it yet...but if YOUR child accidentally drowned in your pool and you blamed yourself for it and it was too much to bear...because you were so afraid of people finding out (especially your abusive father)...it isn't impossible to imagine that you'd want to make it look like murder. It might take you awhile to decide how to do it and, coping with heartbreaking grief and guilt, you might make some mistakes carrying it off. You might teeter on the brink of mental illness--even splitting off a part of yourself, esp. if you coped with abuse by doing it as a child. Just saying...
I was addicted to the trial too, and must say that I was very surprised by the verdict. Where is the justice for that poor little girl. Casey laughed as they took her thumbprint today. That was the end of my watching!
I was shocked at the verdict. I turned off the TV; I couldn't watch any more.
That verdict...*shaking head*
It's only since becoming a mother that I can fully appreciate that bond between mother and child (children in my case). Recently, one of my daughter has really started being overtly affectionate. She'd lie her little head on my chest just under my chin, both arms would be clinging up like a little monkey and she would have a self-satisfied grin on her face. You can tell she's feeling very happy with her situation. I think to myself, all that blind trust...Ok, there are days I wish the stork would fly pass and carry one away...The idea of someone hurting a defenceless child is a very sick mind at work.
Thelma, interesting read to a terrible crime.
http://linnywrites.blogspot.com
ThelmaZ,
When I responded to your comment on my post I did not connect the dots and realize it was you. Thanks for stopping by.
I must say that Iam still saddened by the Casey Anthony verdict and ultimate release next week. All we can hope for is this maybe changes the way jury selections are made. One can only hope that they are given the same facts as those who sit outside the juror's box as I have since heard that the same elements of evidence were withheld...or they didn't review them.
Looking forward to reading more of your posts and gaining more insight as to your world, besides the 3 stuffed bears and two cats!
Linny, thanks for following. Hope to see you often.
Thelma, I did not follow the trial other than the news articles that appeared in my feed. However, I enjoyed your run down of all of those involved, all the way from the judge to Casey herself. I admit to having been floored when I learned the verdict. I don't know if she is guilty or not, but if she is, I wonder how she will live with herself? Will her conscience allow her to go on with her life? Great post!
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