The Quality of Mercy
The quality of mercy is not strain'd,
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest:
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.
--from Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice
As I was settling into the end of my Saturday, I was trying to find something to watch on TV. I've come to be a big fan of the Investigation Discovery (ID) channel; it's got lots of interesting programs about real-life crimes and how the bad guys (and gals) ALMOST always get caught in the end. It also has stories about people wrongly convicted of crimes, too. I really dig the titles of some of their regular series: I (Almost) Got Away With It, Who the (BLEEP) Did I Marry? (that's the REAL title, by the way! Also, in the commercials they had for this relatively new show, they actually used the wonderfully-gay John Waters--yes, he of Hairspray fame--as the preacher conducting the marriage ceremony...that always gave me laugh), Very Bad Men and (just to be fair, I suppose) Wicked Women.
Anyway, today I turned to ID and saw that they are running an episode titled, 48 Hours on ID: The Untold Story of Caylee Anthony, (this is a link to the promo commercial for this program, if you're interested) and I felt a familiar pit in my stomach.
I'm not sure how many of you are familiar with the story of 2-year-old Caylee Anthony and her mother, Casey Anthony, who is suspected of killing her daughter, tying her up and placing her into two garbage bags (I shudder to think why there were TWO garbage bags) and dumping her body in a swampy area east of Orlando. That's what this program is about.
I don't know how many of you are aware but I live in the Orlando suburb of Altamonte Springs. The pit in my stomach comes from remembering when the initial search for Caylee was going on. People from all over the central Florida area (and probably outside the state altogether) converged on Orlando to not only help search for Caylee, but to also hold protests at Caylee Anthony's maternal grandparents' home, where Casey was living at the time with Caylee. There was/is a feeding-frenzy about this sad story, and back in 2008, there was near-constant news coverage locally, nationally AND internationally, and--until Casey was arrested for her daughter's death--the home of the grandparents was Ground Zero. People who didn't even know the George and Cindy Anthony (Caylee's grandparents) would come right up into their yard and yell and curse them for what they saw as the grandparents' willingness to defend and protect their daughter, Casey. It was all so ugly, and surreal, and so very, very sad.
I'm not writing this post today because I know what happened or because I have any theories on who killed little Caylee or why (though I'm probably the ONLY one in the Orlando area who doesn't). I'm writing this because--as with so many things nowadays--I am reminded of the almost circus-type atmosphere that was created by the news of Caylee's death...and that STILL EXISTS TODAY (at least here in Orlando)! I know I may be in the minority, but I am so tired of watching and listening to people who are so sure they know what happened and how they can't wait til Casey is convicted and sent to fry in Florida's well-used electric chair.
I'm not saying that Casey is innocent...I truly don't know (all I DO know is that Casey didn't report Caylee's disappearance until a month after she disappeared...there may be a reason for the delay, I suppose, but I really haven't paid that much attention after what I saw in the beginning), but the biggest reason I DON'T have an opinion is that the whole Barnum & Bailey sideshow aspect of the death of this poor, sweet little girl has truly sickened me. Even though I also have no idea how or if the grandparents were involved in this at all, or covered any of it up to protect their daughter, Casey, I can't help but have my heart go out to George and Cindy Anthony. Every time I've seen them (which you can't avoid in Orlando, unless you've had your television and/or computer shut down for the past 3+ years), the grandparents were wearing their Caylee t-shirts, searching as hard as anyone to find the little girl (of course, while the search was still going on), doing interviews with any and every TV station and network who would listen, trying to get the story out about Caylee when they still thought she was alive.
George and Cindy have had their lives destroyed already with the loss of Caylee, and now they must endure the real possibility that their daughter may also be taken from them, and either jailed for life, or murdered by the Sunshine State, if Casey is found guilty...and don't ask me where they will EVER find an impartial jury to try Casey Anthony; that'll be an "interesting" process.
Aside from my abject sadness at the unbelievable cruelty perpetrated against this innocent little 2-year-old girl, and what I see as the sinful mistreatment of these grieving grandparents, I am just shocked at how many people are nearly drooling over the details of this sad saga. I shouldn't be surprised, I suppose, at the blood-thristy-ness of the masses in a titillating story like this, but I am. These disgusting voyeurs living for the next ugly fact or piece of evidence against Casey, because they've already convicted her in their own minds, just makes me shake my head and wonder about the condition of the human race, and then I remember all those people from all over the state (and even from other states and countries--Orlando, as you know, being home to Disney World, has tons of international tourists, some of whom took time from their vacations) to help find this little lost child, hoping and praying in many, many languages asking God to bring Caylee home. To me, that is the most inspiring part of this whole drawn-out tragedy.
I pray that it's not the freakshow atmosphere surrounding Caylee's untimely demise that lingers in our minds and in our hearts, when we look back at this heartbreaking episode, but, instead, that one moment of coming-together of all kinds of people from all kinds of places who may not have known one another or even have spoken the same language, but who all share those most honorable of human traits: compassion and love for a fellow human being.
As for the many prayers said for Caylee, I have no doubt they've been answered: Caylee's home now.
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest:
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.
--from Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice
As I was settling into the end of my Saturday, I was trying to find something to watch on TV. I've come to be a big fan of the Investigation Discovery (ID) channel; it's got lots of interesting programs about real-life crimes and how the bad guys (and gals) ALMOST always get caught in the end. It also has stories about people wrongly convicted of crimes, too. I really dig the titles of some of their regular series: I (Almost) Got Away With It, Who the (BLEEP) Did I Marry? (that's the REAL title, by the way! Also, in the commercials they had for this relatively new show, they actually used the wonderfully-gay John Waters--yes, he of Hairspray fame--as the preacher conducting the marriage ceremony...that always gave me laugh), Very Bad Men and (just to be fair, I suppose) Wicked Women.
Anyway, today I turned to ID and saw that they are running an episode titled, 48 Hours on ID: The Untold Story of Caylee Anthony, (this is a link to the promo commercial for this program, if you're interested) and I felt a familiar pit in my stomach.
I'm not sure how many of you are familiar with the story of 2-year-old Caylee Anthony and her mother, Casey Anthony, who is suspected of killing her daughter, tying her up and placing her into two garbage bags (I shudder to think why there were TWO garbage bags) and dumping her body in a swampy area east of Orlando. That's what this program is about.
I don't know how many of you are aware but I live in the Orlando suburb of Altamonte Springs. The pit in my stomach comes from remembering when the initial search for Caylee was going on. People from all over the central Florida area (and probably outside the state altogether) converged on Orlando to not only help search for Caylee, but to also hold protests at Caylee Anthony's maternal grandparents' home, where Casey was living at the time with Caylee. There was/is a feeding-frenzy about this sad story, and back in 2008, there was near-constant news coverage locally, nationally AND internationally, and--until Casey was arrested for her daughter's death--the home of the grandparents was Ground Zero. People who didn't even know the George and Cindy Anthony (Caylee's grandparents) would come right up into their yard and yell and curse them for what they saw as the grandparents' willingness to defend and protect their daughter, Casey. It was all so ugly, and surreal, and so very, very sad.
I'm not writing this post today because I know what happened or because I have any theories on who killed little Caylee or why (though I'm probably the ONLY one in the Orlando area who doesn't). I'm writing this because--as with so many things nowadays--I am reminded of the almost circus-type atmosphere that was created by the news of Caylee's death...and that STILL EXISTS TODAY (at least here in Orlando)! I know I may be in the minority, but I am so tired of watching and listening to people who are so sure they know what happened and how they can't wait til Casey is convicted and sent to fry in Florida's well-used electric chair.
I'm not saying that Casey is innocent...I truly don't know (all I DO know is that Casey didn't report Caylee's disappearance until a month after she disappeared...there may be a reason for the delay, I suppose, but I really haven't paid that much attention after what I saw in the beginning), but the biggest reason I DON'T have an opinion is that the whole Barnum & Bailey sideshow aspect of the death of this poor, sweet little girl has truly sickened me. Even though I also have no idea how or if the grandparents were involved in this at all, or covered any of it up to protect their daughter, Casey, I can't help but have my heart go out to George and Cindy Anthony. Every time I've seen them (which you can't avoid in Orlando, unless you've had your television and/or computer shut down for the past 3+ years), the grandparents were wearing their Caylee t-shirts, searching as hard as anyone to find the little girl (of course, while the search was still going on), doing interviews with any and every TV station and network who would listen, trying to get the story out about Caylee when they still thought she was alive.
George and Cindy have had their lives destroyed already with the loss of Caylee, and now they must endure the real possibility that their daughter may also be taken from them, and either jailed for life, or murdered by the Sunshine State, if Casey is found guilty...and don't ask me where they will EVER find an impartial jury to try Casey Anthony; that'll be an "interesting" process.
Aside from my abject sadness at the unbelievable cruelty perpetrated against this innocent little 2-year-old girl, and what I see as the sinful mistreatment of these grieving grandparents, I am just shocked at how many people are nearly drooling over the details of this sad saga. I shouldn't be surprised, I suppose, at the blood-thristy-ness of the masses in a titillating story like this, but I am. These disgusting voyeurs living for the next ugly fact or piece of evidence against Casey, because they've already convicted her in their own minds, just makes me shake my head and wonder about the condition of the human race, and then I remember all those people from all over the state (and even from other states and countries--Orlando, as you know, being home to Disney World, has tons of international tourists, some of whom took time from their vacations) to help find this little lost child, hoping and praying in many, many languages asking God to bring Caylee home. To me, that is the most inspiring part of this whole drawn-out tragedy.
I pray that it's not the freakshow atmosphere surrounding Caylee's untimely demise that lingers in our minds and in our hearts, when we look back at this heartbreaking episode, but, instead, that one moment of coming-together of all kinds of people from all kinds of places who may not have known one another or even have spoken the same language, but who all share those most honorable of human traits: compassion and love for a fellow human being.
As for the many prayers said for Caylee, I have no doubt they've been answered: Caylee's home now.