Jul 31, 2010

O.J Simpson Al-Masry

Egypt woke up on a high profile murder, when Egyptian TV-News-anchor shoot his wife. On the other hand, a highly profile murder means a good material for  media and late talk shows; every party jumped on analyzing/discussing/interviewing/publishing the (cheesy) details of the (psychopathic) inner demons of the both the victim and the murderer. All of them trip into non-ethical and non-professional category and when I say ALL I mean ALL ! which leaves me wondering about how solid our media professionalism is ?!

While it’s a dead case; man murders his wife, confesses, detained, and waits for the trials (period) this,however, were not enough for feeding the hunger of 80% of poor Egyptian whose life lack any action other than late Thursday night (Arabic play) on TV.

analyzers and (people of knowledge) began to victimize the killer-and portrait the late wife as the villain 300 pounds- ghoul who deserved to be shoot at the head unmercifully- because probably she asked for it!

people followed the case as their favorite Ramadan soap opera, siding with characters based on which TV star they like better.

Misogynistic comments and attitudes filled the newspapers comment sections/facebook groups/ and TV talk shows, people thought that the b*tch deserves to die  based on the fact she is:

1- Lower Class than her murderous husband

2-Fat

3-Not famous

4-Woman

and he is pardoned because he is

1-Educated

2-Famous

3-Upper Class

4-Not Fat

5- Man

and this may ring some bells to another high profile murder which public opinion sided on the same bases and lead to the freedom of the murderer; O.J Simpson.

Like US, our newly consumption-structured society, everybody tried to use the case to max the profit, even if it was on account of dead woman’s body. Al-Ahram, prestigious journalistic institution, joined the heap and allowed the (confessed Killer-husband) to publish his memoire with his (monstrous/Fat/Uneducated) wife, while trial procedures still ongoing.

My only explanation for such a tabloid-like move from the Ahram came down to two points:

First, using the (dead case) to keep the public discourse about the travail, 3nd class celebrity scandal for more distraction, away from “political & economic” chaos in Egypt, especially Ramdan is at doors and the prices is UP UP UP without reasonable cause.

Secondly, foolishly they counted the TV anchor, as he is a governmental news image , a part of “them” and they felt obliged to save the “system image” by clearing his name and defaming his late wife.

offering him free justification to slaughter his wife as they once before justified Khalid Said’s mureder which fell under the category of personal judgments, strip the victims from their humanity and representing them as a mad dogs should be shoot dead without shedding a tear.

This ordeal exposed the fig leaf over the misogynic  community before the system, women before men, educated before uneducated.Adding, how the systematic socio-economic oppression of the women paid off well on producing mutilated society with low self esteem- self-hating women siding with a killer is happened to be MAN as his only excuse.