If you read David’s story yesterday about some of the more extreme reactions to OJ Simpson’s death, then you’re already familiar with this trend. There is a certain kind of commentator who can’t resist the urge to paint OJ’s life story not just as a human tragedy about a man who murdered the mother of his own children in a fit of jealous rage, but as a symbolic story about the plight of being black in America.
The hook for this kind of analysis is that, for years before his downfall, OJ saw himself as having transcended blackness. Here’s the opening of the AP story about his death:
For a long time, O.J. Simpson was the man who had it all.
He lived the American dream as a sports legend, movie actor, commercial pitchman and millionaire. With his wildly successful career, startling good looks and a gorgeous wife, he became an image of success for Black Americans and was embraced by…
