O.J. victim of racism?

No racism Mary, just a business owner with balls enough to throw a killer deadbeat out of his restaraunt. Ever hear the right to refuse service??? Its a private owned business not the library. I know how much you need racism, otherwise you are jobless and bored but not here.

Ya, the guy hates blacks, for sure. Face it people, OJ is free, fair and square. ITs better to let a criminal walk than to have a State that cheats in court.

But, its sad, really. Frankly, I am not worried about OJ; he is not a threat. I worry more about the every-day violent disturbed black youth in our culture.

For example. I am most worried about the Micah Eatmans in my community, who attempt murder, yet enjoy a defense at the taxpayers expense, from seemingly intelligent people who insist that he should be free to continue to do what he chose to do, and that there is no such thing as criminal intent. I worry that this cycle never ends, and "black rage" is an actual defense to such crimes. I am worried that, more and more, we are disposing of arguments for "why they do that" or "why they are the way they are" and ending up with no other excuse than choice, intent, and , well, nature.

Rest assured, Micah Eatman will be back in the news someday.

Keep the culture, mary, keep the culture.

Mary,
I agree that no one should be denied service simply because of the color of thier skin but maybe OJ was kicked out because the owner did not want someone he believed to be a murderer in his establishment, especially in light of OJ's recent book escapade. Not every thing has to be racially motivated. If I owned the place, he would have been escorted out and asked never to come back.

I don't believe Mr. Ruby requested that Mr. Simpson leave because of the fuss or unwanted disturbances it was causing in the restaurant. I think Mr. Ruby personally objected to all of the attention Mr. Simpson was receiving and was offended not because of who Mr. Simpson was but because of his personal feelings on the circumastances Mr. Simpson will be forever remembered.

I personally don't care what the law says...if I don't want you in my restaurant for whatever reason, you should leave but we all know that's not the way it works. Mary, how in the world can Mr. Ruby ever reach the ASS level of O.J.? That is perplexing to me. Besides that, any way you choose to slice this pie, would you remain at any establishment if you were unwanted? If someone didn't want my business for any reason, I'd be more than happy to take it elsewhere. Only a fool would sit in a place where he or she isn't wanted and then give money to a person that doesn't like you in the first place. If that's the best option we all have, I'm going to open up my own restaurant and tell everyone upfront that I can't stand them and they're not wanted. With that common sense approach, I should be wealthy rather quickly.

It's not possible for anyone to be a bigger ass than OJ. An ass and a murderer - that's a tough combo to beat!

Please don't enter in the notion that OJ was innocent...it would take a complete imbecil to find him innocent base on the facts. Fortunately for the defense, they found a boatload of them to sit in on the jury.

I think it was a combination of racism and notoriety

Mary - I feel like I should declare that I'm a white male...

There is an obvious racial divide on the entire OJ Simpson murder trial and outcome. Talk about the perfect storm - a black ex-football player accused of butchering his blonde wife and her lover. To enhance things, the jury is made up prmarily of blacks. Despite the overwhelming evidence, he's found innocent...you can't possibly write something like that to general racially-based arguments.

On the other hand, I'm surprised you didn't take up the recent fatal accident of the St. Louis Cardinals pitcher. I can't claim that I wrote the following but this appeared on espn...just perfect:
"Does the coverage of the Josh Hancock accident perfectly illustrate the double standard we have with different sports? If a tattooed, cornrowed NBA player had been been in a fatal single car fatal with a BAC level twice the legal limit, on the phone with a woman arranging a hookup and with a stash of weed in the car -- he'd be posterized as everything that's wrong with the NBA. Since it's a cleancut white guy, he's being treated like Barbaro."

Ms. Mitchell you are entitled to your opinions but you could be more objective.

Mitchell's Comment: not because he is black, but because he is a black man who was acquitted of brutally butchering his white wife.

My Comment: He was ALLEDGELY accused of butchering his wife.

Mitchell's Comment: You can't deny public accommodations to someone just because you hate them.

My Comment: You can't? Re-read your second comment, now why wouldn't you deny a person accomodations to your facility? Wouldn't it make other paying customes feel uncomfortable AND LEAVE, considering that MEDIA & PUBLIC OPINION have put Mr. Simpson in such a negative light?

Being a Black man I do not fear & loathe him, I actually empathize with his plight. It might come from being slighted and degraded by the ethno-centric powers so many times. His past doesn't bother me, we all have one!! Some are simply put on public display for vultures!

Shouldn't you be able to identify with that just a little?

succinctly,
File this under the category of "Who Cares?"

Its always amazing to me that African-American celebrities who purposefully, disassociate themselves from their community, feel its the communities responsibility to support them when they yell discrimination. Well, I never cared about him during the first trial, and definitely, this nonsense won't get my attention. I have an idea, maybe O.J. can take the money he didn't use on that upscale meal and pay the families he owe.

Why would you even waste the ink, Mary?

"Racist or a jerk"? I would say neither. I have seen several signs in several different places stating "We reserve the right to refuse anyone service".
Haven't you ever seen this before Mary? Before you make this a racial issue Mary, as I know you want to, please try to take in the whole story. OJ brought negative publicity upon himself and now flaunts it. If I were a business owner I would not want him as a patron either...and it has NOTHING to do with him being Black.

Lawsuit? For what? As a restaurant owner, if I feel a patron poses a threat to me or another patron, it is within my right to ask him to leave.

THIS IS A TYPICAL ATTTITUDE, IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. THIS IS HOME TO SOME OF THE MOST HATE-FILLED PEOPLE IN THE WORLD, O.J., WAS FOUND NOT GUILTY IN AMERICAN COURT OF LAW, I FIND IT AMAZING THAT MANY WHITE PEOPLE IN AMERICA HAVE BEEN FOUND NOT GUILTY OF CRIMES THEY COMMIT, SINCE THE COURT SYSTEM HAS BEEN INSTITUTED, BUT NO WHITE PERSON IN AMERICA SEEMS TO COMPLAIN WHEN AN ALL WHITE JURY WITH VIDEO IMAGES AND SOUND COULD POSSIBLY FIND WHITE COPS NOT GUILTY OF BEATING THE HECK OUT OF BLACK PEOPLE, I THINK IT'S SAD THIS IS AMERICA, O.J. SIMPSON IS AN INNOCENT MAN IN AMERICA DESPITE HOW MOST PEOPLE IN AMERICA FEEL ABOUT O.J. SIMPSON HE WAS FOUND TO BE INNOCENT,COME ON NOW, I DO THINK THAT THE OWNER MR.RUBY AN AMERICAN IS A RASICT, AND I WOULD BE WILLING TO BET THAT HE HAS SERVED SOME WHITE AMERICANS WHO WE THINK SHOULD BE IN JAIL FOR SOMETHING.

Well well, welcome back Mary. So much for making this your home and consistently blogging. You pick up right where you left off, race baiting and making much to do about nothing.

I've read several articles qouting Ruby about why he did what he did, and not one of them mentions anything about OJ's race (until that is you decided to write about it). Couldn't Ruby have kicked him out for killing his wife and lying about it?? why does it have to be becuase he killed a white woman?? Do you even know what color Ruby is?? I for sure haven't read anywhere what color he is, why can't he be black; what a slap in the face for you if he is.
I think Ruby even states that he didn't want the hype associated with having OJ eat in his restaurant, you know a famous person, who famously murdered his wife; that wouldn't exactly provide for a great restaurant atmosphere for fellow diners!
And you are right, this is still America. You can own whatever the heck you want to, and allow whoever you want in! Woman can't go into some golf clubs, is it because men hate them? Men can't go in some health clubs, is it becuase woman hate them? Murderers can't go in some restaurants, is it because the owners hate them?
It might not sound 'fair' to some of the bleeding heart liberals in this country, but that's the way it is. But then again, 'fair' to them is free access to everything and free money for whoever has their hand out. And then that's why we get articles like this, displaying utter shock when they realize the world doesn't work like it does in their head, there is a reality they have to deal with.

I'm relatively sure this is the first time I've seen the word "victim" assigned to OJ.

We all know how the court systems have worked against black people - is there any better example of how a black person turned the tide on the system than what OJ and Johnny Cochran did 10 years ago? As a person of color, I've seen how this works...all I can say about OJ he should thank his lucky stars that he had a lawyer who knew how to work a jury, and then found a way to live the life of Riley after being found guilty in a civil court for millions.
"Victim"? I think not...

"But this is still America. You can't deny public accommodations to someone just because you hate them."

It is an establishments right to deny service to anyone...obviously you can't do it for racist reasons, and since it is clear that Mr Ruby serves people of all colors, he is no racist.
I agree with Mr Ruby for doing it...I wouldn't want to have someone, who I believe, murdered his wife and her friend in my establishment.
You may say that he was found innocent...not in the civil court.

"You can't deny public accommodations to someone just because you hate them."
Where do you get this idea? Maybe you confuse a private resturant with a public accommadation? I think you have jumped to an emotional response rather than understanding the owners rights.

Why don't you talk about Rev. Sharptons comments? He makes his living on racism and with his recent comments on Mormonism has/is a racist or bigot himself...this is certainly a bigger story that the Simpson issue.

Simpson deserves nothing and should be in jail or in the ground right now. I take offense anytime I see him on TV, or in the news.
I take offense that he lives in America.

Most of all, I take offense to this liberal movement to make racists out of anyone that opposes them. I take offense to the fact that liberals have used people of different races to promote an agenda that offers nothing to those who helped put them there.

It doesn't matter if O.J. was guity or innocent, he has the right to visit a business that's open to the general public. If this goes unchallenged, what will be next. Refusing service to overweight, short or women customers. The list would be unlimited, an at the whim of the business owners personal views. As long as the customer isn't breaking the law, the owner should focus on providing good service, an keep his personal opionion to himself.

Despite the well-publicized clips of blacks "dancing in the streets" after the acquittal, most black Americans were likely horrified to see O.J. get away with murder. On one hand if you push O.J. out of your place of business you risk being sued; on the other hand, if let him stay you risk alienating all of your regular customers.

Well, well! Is it true Ms Mitchell that ex-basketball star Michael Jordon was allowed into the same restaurant a few minutes later, and seated nearby where Mr. Simpson and his party was sitting before being asked to leave several minutes earlier?

What was this night called, "Trading One Famous Negro (Simpson) for the other Legendary Infamous Negro (Jordan) Night?"

One married a white woman and the other got caught with a white woman while married and sued, which probably has lead to the divorce. Could you please ask the owner of the restaurant how he discerned one Black man was worth serving over the other? I know white people will say this is not racism, but I sure in the hell would like to know what it is then. Is this the Good Negro versus the Bad Negro syndrome which Whites have used historically to pit Black people against one another?

How it is another Black man enters a place where he sees someone like himself being put out; or overhear the gossip of said incident and stays? How does a Black man still spend money in such an ethno-centric place of prejudice and bias? Oh that right, he did not care to speak out when young black males were harming one another to buy gym shoes named after him, so why would he care about Black people as a whole?

Now I really can picture field slaves and house slaves being used to further an agenda which benefited the dominate culture. Thanks Mr. Ruby, for narrowing it down to a spec on a petri dish which can be seen with the plain eye and not a micro-scope. Darn Mr Ruby, even Stevie Wonder and Ray Charles can see through the morass of BS that you are espousing in a comical explanation.

Maybe I'm a little rusty at practicing law, but I was well-versed in constitutional law at one point and I don't recall accused murderers being a protected class under the 5th or 14th Amendment due process clauses.

Where is it written that, "[y]ou can't deny public accommodations to someone just because you hate them."? Because I really, really want to use that the next time I'm on South Beach standing behind the red rope trying to get into a club full of nothing but "hotties" only to be skipped over for the "beautiful people" -- of which sadly I'm not. Hey, I am black though. But I can't even use the black thing because alot of the beautiful people who get in ahead of me are also black -- especially hot black women, which is why I'm trying to get into the club in the first place!... Damn!!!

But I digress. Mary, would then the owners of Army and Lou's soulfood restaurant -- despite their preference otherwise -- be obliged to serve, say, Clarence Thomas, Don Imus, Jesse Helms, Trent Lott, and so on and so on? I mean after all, "[y]ou can't deny public accommodations to someone just because you hate them."

By the way, the guy who owns the place and is getting all this free publicity claimed in an interview I saw yesterday that the party that took O.J.'s table immediately after O.J. left included no less than Michael Jordan.

Please find a real issue.

Glad you finally posted something new though.

Simpson is NOT a victim of 'racism'. Other African-Americans go to that steakhouse and there is no problem. Including Michael Strahan that same day. It is managements RIGHT to serve whoever they want. Fact: Simpson is seen as a man who got away with murder--period ! He's a jerk. So thats why he wasn't served. To accuse that steakhouse of racism is 'reaching', trying to just make some controversy, thats all. Fact: That place CAN serve whoever they want and DENY whoever they want. Thats the owners American right. Its HIS or HER business. Haven't you ever seen these White Hen Pantry's (as example) that will NOT serve people who aren't wearing a shirt or shoes? Or a tavern that won't serve bikers? It happens everyday. How come this blog didn't cry when Jane Fonda and her then husband, Ted Turner, were refused service at a Montana establishment? You did hear about that one, didn't you, Mary? People where in line to be seated and Jane Fonda wanted to be seated immediately, in front of the folks waiting ahead of her. She put on her, "do you know who I am" routine and wanted to see the owner. The owner came out, introduced himself, and said," Ms. Fonda I know who you are, well I'm a VietNam Veteran and I don't appreciate the pain you caused us and our prisoners in Hanoi. And I don't want you in my restaurant, so you two get out." Mary, you can contact some service organizations and veteran centers if you hadn't heard that story. Finally, Mary, perhaps you'll also do a blog and ask if its racism why some whites appear to have been denied entrance to the Nation of Islam Headquarters.

Mary,
Jeff Ruby has every right to refuse service to whoever he wishes because he is the proprietor of an establishment! O.J. went from being one of this country's most beloved retired athlete to one of the most hated all because he committed two murders and got off because of the race card.Have you forgotten his book deal already? Come on, Mary , give your race card at least one day off per year !

No, the guy was not being a racist because I believe right after the killer left his establishment he seated Michael Jordan and his party. As for Mr. Ruby being a jerk? I bet Nicole and Ron Goldman wish O.J. was ONLY a jerk and not a cold blooded killer. You sound like you feel sorry for Simpson? Although I know that you are not alone among blacks if you do feel sorry for him. Which is why it blows my mind when blacks who celebrated Simpson's acquittal turn around and expect whites to feel bad about what Jon Burge allegedly did.

You may be right about not denying people you hate public accomodations, but, as a person of color, O.J. does not have my sympathy.

Mary - I know this is only a blog, but your race-baiting is getting old. OJ was convicted of murder
in a court of law, albeit by a jury that wasn't comprised of mostly african americans. OJ still has yet to pay on his civil suit.

OJ killed 2 people in cold blood. I don't care whether they were white or black. He's a murderer that was acquitted not because he was innocent, but because he was black.

He wouldn't be allowed to step foot in my restaraunt either.

It doesn't surprise me that you would suggest racism where there is none. Jeff Ruby welcomed O.J. into his restaurant before O.J. murdered his wife and Goldman. After the acquital Ruby took down O.J.'s picture. So obviously it isn't because O.J. is black...it's because Ruby did not agree with the verdict. You simpleton.

And yes Mary...that's how it works in America. You own a business you can refuse service to whomever you like (or don't like).

I wouldn't let O.J. clean my cat's litter box, just because he is a despicable and arrogant celebrity character. NOT because he's black.

The same I would say for Paris Hilton. Another despicable & arrogant Hollywood type that is certainly not black.

It's a matter of classless people arrogantly parading as if the world was theirs and they were untouchable.

It should come as no surprise to O.J. to learn that he is hated merely because many people consider him to be a murderer. Period.

"You can't deny public accommodations to someone just because you hate them."

Yea Mary, O.J.'s a regular Rosa Parks. Only you would frame this as a "black" issue.

Today you wrote an article about black on black crime (racist in itself given that on a per capita basis a black is 50x more likely to slay a white than vica versa) but now your seemingly outraged that a businessman would shun O.J. Duplicitous on your part?

What if Richard Speck had been acquitted by a sympathetic jury made up of his peers, i.e. toothless white trash. Would you as a restaurateur allow him to be a guest in your establishment?

One is allowed to discriminate on a host of grounds including dress codes and in the case of NYC nightclubs even attractiveness. I'd say O.J. is one ugly dude....

All racists are jerks, what is this a trick question?

i actually agree with Mary Mitchell on something. must be a full moon tonight.

maybe this has nothing to do with race but more about justice. As an american business owner he has the right to refuse service to anyone and maybe he doesn't want a murderer in his resurant!!! Yes oj paid his way out of serving the rest of his life in prison but that does not forgive his actions. If you believe that oj was not guilty or some how framed than you do not understand the evidence. All the oj trail proved is that the color of justice is green!!!! As an american business owner I would refuse service to oj and hope the rest of the world would let oj know that he has not gotten away with murder!!! shame on anyone who wants make this a race issue instead of putting the blame squarely on oj and the actions that HE took. I do not believe oj was not guilty and that has nothing to do with race but rather the evedence!!!!!!

I own a restaurant...if I felt a patron was a potential threat to the staff or other patrons, I would have no problem throwing him out.
Regardless of what a jury determined, you'd have to be a complete moron to think he didn't murder 2 people. If that doesn't qualify as a threat to the restaurant, I don't know what does...

He was being a racist and a jerk. This is a fall-out from the "Imus can't bank his millions this year". Imus followers does not care about the ten young ladies who are scarred for a long time. OJ was used to make a statement that racism and millions of dollars are more important than people and relationships.

Mary, you love racial stories so I am wondering why you're so quiet about the Christian/Newsome mutilation and murder story out of Tennessee? It was far more exciting than the Duke nasty white boy rapists and happened at the same time. We got the white rapists rammed up our butts by all you minorities for a year but not a word about the murders.

Hmmmmmm. Oh, yeah, the killers were 5 savage Negroes with nasty looks. Sorry, I forgot that Negroes are the sacred cows of our society and must be protected at all costs, even the cost of White lives. Silly me.

Uh-huh....and R Kelly is the new Martin Luther King!

Folks talk about the LAW, the Constitution, and being American like its supposed to be something to be proud of. Almost EVERYTHING people hold sacred was IL-GOTTEN. The LAW says OJ is innocent, but he is not treated that way. Him or BARRY BONDS. It is no wonder that young people consider grownups to be full of it. Ole Ruby was exercising his right to hate whomever he wants, and that is his right. But he, like most Americans, don't really know the law and have ifs, ands or buts in their interpretations. We are supposed to respect the Law that freed him to order a steak anywhere he pleases. But we don't and most of the time practice our own interpretation of the Law to fit our own selfish needs and wants. And many feel the brunt of these unjust interpretations every day. Now OJ (and party), should sue the pants off Ruby and come back and order a steak with Ruby's own money. And if OJ did, folks would be mad at him for it - when he is the only one in this situation actually practicing the law.

We may think that it is not right to kick people out of their establishment because you may dislike them, but not everyone thinks that way. This guy might have been very ticked off by Mr. Simpson's acquittal, and might have vowed that Mr. Simpson would never dine in his restaurant. I do not think that it was very smart of him to mix personal feelings about someone he does not know with his business, he probably does not care. People like that probably will not care about a lawsuit. He is just trying to make a point.

Perhaps I'm incorrect, but I thought that this establishment isn't "public accommodations." It's a privately owned club/restaurant and the owner has the right to keep anyone out that he chooses. He didn't bar the door against Michael Jordan so I think we can stop measuring him for a sheet and a hood.

I personally would have just charged OJ a large "disgusting murderer" tax and allowed him to stuff his ugly face and clog his old arteries until they back up into his murdering heart.

Also, just for the record, many, many years ago Dr. Sam Sheppard a white man was hated for brutally butchering his white wife. The public finds the brutally butering part problematic,not the race of the victim or perp. Get your mind off race for two seconds and you might see the world more clearly.

Why does Mary have a blog if she's not going to update it?

It's because he murdered his wife period!

You claim you want to take on racism and have a OPEN discussion, but apparently the only thing you want to hear from us, is agreement with your ideas. You are not helping anyone of any race, and more and more you seem to have a bit of racism yourself.

You are destroying your own career or at least your own integrity if you continue to promote the same ideas that you did in this story.

Robert Blake is a murderer
Phil Spector is a murderer
and OJ is a murderer...
Two of them are free and I expect Spector to get off too...
Why don't you ask yourself what it is that all of these share?
Money, power and lots of friends in high places....this trumps race everytime!

How insightful of you to state that OJ is hated simply because he's a black man that was acquitted of killing a white woman. Did you ever think that maybe - just maybe - he may actually be hated because he was a rich man able to buy his way out of a murder rap? I haven't checked your blogs in a while, and apparently I'm not the only one looking