Pistorius Polarisation

[princerupe74]

i can't recall another case where, from the outset, people for and against the accused have publicly claimed such opposing accounts of what happened. It seems that every few hours someone from one side or the other comes out with an explanation to try and sway opinion as to whether Pistorius did or didn't kill his girlfriend. The media will lap up anything about the case because it is sensational, it features a high-profile celebrity, and most importantly to them it features a beautiful young girl - the greatest obsession of the media today. Both the coverage and the counter claims are so totally distasteful considering the girl is dead. Her hideous demise and its effects on her loved ones appears completely overlooked as the media milks the case for all its worth and Pistorius' friends and foes focus on clearing or blackening his name before a court can decide. Your thoughts?

[sp1814]

AOG

Did you misread NoM's post, or have I?

What she has written seems correct. We know he shot his girlfriend, but we don't know why.

[humbersloop]

pretty spot on summary for me lazy gun - the way Reeva Steenkamp's been objectified since her death is just nasty

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/feb/15/reeva-steenkamp-body-on-front-page

[DTCwordfan]

last point true....

I was lucky to meet Sammy Cochrane - in an up-market steak house bar (the Capital Grill) - and he was actually a very interesting man and more than just a one-shot criminal "barrister" - now passed away. He was the one who coined the infamous "If the glove doesn't fit, you must acquit" in his closing remarks at OJ's trial.

[DTCwordfan]

and very true on Steenkamp too...is the S African press Murdoch Group-dominated by chance?

[FredPuli43]

It was the family or associates of Pretorius who put out the version that he thought it was a burglar. Up to then, the police had said no more than than that the woman had been shot dead and that Pretorius had been arrested. Not sure that it was the police who first stated that she was shot in the bathroom or that the shots went through the door; this appears to have all leaked out to the press first and been confirmed later; but it would be natural for someone connected with the prosecution to restore the balance before Pretorius's team had got the world asking why the man was charged with premeditated murder.

Doesn't sound like manslaughter. How would it be manslaughter in Britain? Here it's murder; man fires gun through bathroom door when woman sitting in there. You mean he didn't mean to hurt her? "Diminished responsibility" is a non-starter too. What provocation or other circumstance was there, or could there be, that would cause such temporary disorderof the mind for him to kill her?

[NoMercy]

It's only murder if he intended to kill her. Proving intent may be difficult in this case.

[joggerjayne]

Or, under UK law, if he was reckless, or something? And South African law follows ours quite closely.

Reckless like ... if you fire a gun wildly, and you don't INTEND to kill anyone, but you don't really give a stuff if anyone gets killed or not.

[Brinjal]

Im not sure of the actual percentage of people that own weapons in south africa it may be 12% of the population but a much higher percentage of the whte population im sure. Everyone one I know owns a gun. In a lot of cases like ours two guns one each.. But I was taught to put the warning shot in the ceiling first. Or after!!

[FredPuli43]

^Pretorius^ LOL Pistorius.

[karenmac60]

Not stating an opinion one way or the other, but just to throw a couple of points into the mix.

Many people in SA may have handguns, but do they also have machine guns?
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/oscar-pistorius-had-revolver-at-his-bedside-and-machine-gun-by-his-window-8494566.html

And also, police have now said the victim had severe head injuries and are testing a bloodied cricket bat found at the scene.

http://www.channel4.com/news/pistorius-bloodied-cricket-bat-found-at-home

[joggerjayne]

So he tw atted her over the head with a cricket bat before shooting her?

That was some "domestic" !

[anotheoldgit]

NoMercy

/// I said he killed his girlfriend, I didn't say he murdered his girlfriend. ///

And did I accuse you of saying he murdered his girlfriend?

But that makes little difference, it was you who said he KILLED his girlfriend and by saying so you condemned him as guilty.

That is for a jury to decide not you.

Stop being a knob.

[anotheoldgit]

Ups forgot to remove the last line of your answer when I copied and pasted your text.

But still "if the cap fits" as they say.

[Mick-Talbot]

AOG , there is only one person being a knob here.

[society]

People are speculating, no one knows the truth except Oscar.

Anyone remember the OJ Simpson saga?

[anotheoldgit]

sp1814

/// What she has written seems correct. We know he shot his girlfriend, but we don't know why. ///

No we do not know that he shot his girlfriend, it may be probable, almost certain, but certainly not definite until proven in a court of law.

Just as this statement made by another ABer.

/// So he tw atted her over the head with a cricket bat before shooting her? ///

/// That was some "domestic" ! ///

No!!!, in actual fact they found a blood stained cricket bat.

[ummmm]

lol @ AOG

I don't think the fact that he killed her is in dispute, is it?

And yes, society, if the glove fits, and all that.

[andy-hughes]

Ok folks calm down - let's not get an interesting thread pulled because it spirals into smart remarks.

I have read no papers or heard any news what ever about this tragedy, but reading the debate on here is giving me a flavour of what occured, and the potential judicial outcome.

As far as AOG's original Question - one of the penalties of being a 'media personality' is that people will ascribe a 'personality' to you which os often utterly unlike reality/

This especially occurs for actors and actresses who are often insulted in the street as a result of their character's actions in a soap or drama.

It now seems that this dubious habit is extending to sports stars, who are usually immune because their image is their ability rather than any off-camera activites.

i have to concur that the media love a story where a pretty / beautiful woman is involved, and our own DM is more guilty than most - the size and frequency of its publication of images is directly proportional to the physical attraction of the woman involved.

I, like most AB'ers, am content to let the court system decide on this - and hopefully not too much speculation or running with snippets of evidence will colour the situation between now and then.

[ummmm]

I laughed at AOG knob comment.