Trials of the century and 4 little girls

At UVA Law School I'm taking a seminar class called "Trials of the Century" with Professor Anne Coughlin. It's probably my favourite paper out of the four that I'm taking here. We read and watch law journal articles, novels, films and documentaries about or based on great criminal trials of the past. And we meet once a week to talk about these trials: about the prevailing narratives of each trial; the larger historical, socio-political and anthropological issues involved in each trial; and the various purposes that criminal trials serve. The connecting thread of our discussions is the question, "What makes a trial a trial of the century?" The conversations are intellectually stimulating, engaging and often humorous. The two hours of class fly by very quickly each week. 

The trials have all been very different from each other. The most interesting trials in my recollection were the Lizzie Borden trial (where a seemingly benign New England spinster killed her father and stepmother by beating them viciously with an axe), the John Scopes trial (where a high school science teacher was prosecuted in Tennessee for teaching the theory of evolution to his students in violation of a state statute prohibiting it), the Leopold and Loeb trial (where two intelligent and wealthy young Chicago college students killed a 14-year-old boy for no real reason other than sport and experimentation) and the Scottsboro Boys trial (where a group of nine African-American men were wrongly accused of and incarcerated for raping two white women on a freight train in Alabama). Each of these trials received huge media attention at the time, and are indelibly etched into America's legal memory.

Yesterday I watched a Spike Lee documentary called "4 Little Girls" for next week's class. It's a film about the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing that was carried out by Ku Klux Klan members in Birmingham, Alabama in 1963. The church had been a rallying point for Civil Rights Movement activities, and the bigots of Alabama wanted to punish the African-Americans for their political activism, as well as to intimidate them into giving up in the fight for their rights. Four little girls - Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Carole Robertson and Cynthia Wesley - were killed in the bombing. The documentary interviewed family members of the girls who talked about each child and her short life, gave an overview of segregated life in 1960s Alabama (for instance, separate white and coloured public facilities), traced the development of the Civil Rights movement in Alabama in 1963 and the backlash it received (the firehosing of peaceful protesters in the streets and imprisonment of children were particularly despicable), looked at the bombing itself, and briefly covered the trial of one of the Klansmen (Robert Chambliss) responsible for it. He was gross man, he was all proud of himself for being a part of the bombing, sneering like a devil. Sick.

It was a heart-wrenching film. The interviews with the mothers of the girls were the most gripping part. I could see the lingering grief in their shining eyes, 30 years on from the tragic event. And the girls' siblings and childhood friends testified to how kind, caring and lovable they had all been. Each of the girls had been so precious, and if they were alive today they would no doubt be valuable members of their community. The documentary showed pictures of each girl, smiling, eyes twinkling, innocent and harmless. And to think that such beautiful children were maliciously and arbitrarily murdered, all because of a completely twisted view of racial equality, because of an absolutely senseless hatred based on skin colour. I couldn't stop crying as I watched it.

Racism is an undeniable and significant part of this country's history. How could one group of people persecute another group of people in such terrible ways, just because they're of a different race? In the documentary, Denise McNair's father told a story of a family outing during Christmas, where he couldn't buy Denise a sandwich from a store because it was for white people only. She was confused, and later that night when he explained to her the concept of segregation, she remained baffled. She just couldn't understand why people were treated badly simply because of the colour of their skin. It really is absurd. Sadly, I've realised that race remains a key divisive factor in America today, despite the huge progress it has made over the last century. Racial disparities are evident in schools, in the workplace and in the legal system.

And we try to solve many of society's problems, like racism, through the law. Another Klansman (Bobby Frank Cherry) responsible for the bombing was prosecuted more than 30 years after the bombing. While the law gives a significant degree of vindication to the victims of such crimes, I don't know whether the law is necessarily the right forum to tackle issues that are far larger than the courtroom. Does the conviction of a murderer provide real closure to the victim's loved ones? Can legal rules that prohibit discrimination stop people from distrusting and hating each other? No, I don't think so. If not trials, then what can society do? It has to do something in response to happenings like the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing. I don't know. Maybe a trial is a necessary but insufficient part of the resolution process. But I still don't know what society could do to fill the gaps. 

I've learnt a lot about history, American culture and the nature of a trial from this course. But most of all, I've had the opportunity to think a lot about humanity. People can be such strange and inexplicable creatures. We can become caught up in incredible ideas that cause us to act destructively, inhumanely, nonsensically. Completely weird notions that cause us to hate and hurt one another in ways that future generations won't be able to comprehend. Entire societies can become engulfed in beliefs and captured by ridiculous fears and consequently make life hellish for its minority members. We can be so evil sometimes. It makes my heart feel so bad. We're so in need of God that it's not even funny. 

While there's much to be said about our past and the traditions we hold dear to our hearts, there are some parts of our history that have to be buried deep into the ground and never unearthed. The only thing we should do with the blemishes of the past is to keep them in our collective conscience so that we don't repeat them, ever. Hopefully we as people will continue onwards and upwards in terms of social progress, learning from what has been and piloting prudently towards where we're headed. 

Watch "4 Little Girls" if you get the chance. It's engaging, educational and moving. 

G.

Geek optimism

Today at LCF the talk was about living gratefully. You know, being thankful each day for the little good things and big good things in one's life. It's not really hard. We just have to look for opportunities to be thankful in the mundane routines and activities we undertake daily. We're called to live gratefully, both to God and to other people. It's not really about how you feel, it's about taking control of your will and consciously adhering to an obligation to adopt an attitude of gratitude. It's a pretty sweet deal I reckon, since your life will become more enriched and you'll become a better person for it. It was a good talk. 

I found this picture the other day, and I think it sums up today's talk quite well. Unfortunately I'm not sure where it's from or who drew it, but it's pretty cool. It's called "Geek Optimism".

There's always something and/or someone to be thankful for. Let's take some time each day to think about that something and/or someone, and be grateful. If it's a person, maybe write them an email or letter to say thanks, even if it was for something from ages ago. No doubt you'll make their day. 

G.

it's a powerful image for the passage of time that ALSO doubles as a reminder of when Martin Luther King Jr's Birthday (Observed) is

Ever since I started using Google Reader I've really gotten into Dinosaur Comics. They're webcomics drawn by this Canadian guy named Ryan North, and they're HILARIOUS - totally my kind of humour. Each comic uses the same six artwork panels, and only the dialogue changes from comic to comic. The characters are called T-Rex (the green one), Dromiceiomimus (the little white one) and Utahraptor (the one with big claws). T-Rex is my favourite. The comics can be found at www.qwantz.com.

This one is called "it's a powerful image for the passage of time that ALSO doubles as a reminder of when Martin Luther King Jr's Birthday (Observed) is". It makes more sense after you've read the comic.

If the practical difficulties like custom print, cost and volume of paper utilised could be dealt with, I reckon I'd totally get one of these life calendars. As T-Rex says, it's a powerful image and a reminder of our finite lives. Much more so than regular one-year calendars, right? As well as making me chuckle, this comic reminded me of Psalms 90:12, "So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom." We're only here for a brief time, and we have to make our lives count for something. Fulfil the purpose we were created for, you know? Stay grounded, be humble, live in wonder. Yeah.

Keep on keeping on.
G.

Poor things

Another thought-provoking Venn diagram from thisisindexed.com, titled "Poor things".

Let's live humbly, with perspective. Have a great week.

G.

Woods

My muso lawyer friend (and overall oozing-with-cool Maxim alumnus) Tristan Sage introduced me to Bon Iver during our summer internship, and I feel that I'm a better person for it. Their music is hauntingly beautiful. This song, "Woods", describes the way I'm feeling today on this cloudy autumn Charlottesville Thursday.

I'm up in the woods
I'm down on my mind
I'm building a still
To slow down the time

I think you can interpret this song in a lot of ways. To me, it's saying a bunch of different things. Enjoy the present but don't forget to reflect on your days so that you don't lose track of the course you're meant to be navigating as you sail forward in life. Take some time out every now and again to chill and think, to find and reorient yourself as you will inevitably need to. Have some alone time in the woods and explore what's in your mind, reconnect with God and your loved ones. Appreciate and revel in the fullness of life, of each day that's been given to you. Slow down the time and delight in it all. Peaceful, calm, pensive, thankful, content. All those things.

Check out Bon Iver's other stuff too, they're pretty amazing. I particularly like "Skinny Love". I'm actually listening to it right now. Gold.

Happy November, everyone.

G.