On the Couch : By Dr. Richard Lustberg

An Analysis of Current Topics and Issues in Sport
September 1995

There’s a dead waiter, a dead ex-wife, a bloody glove and DNA samples. There are super sleuths, high-priced mouthpieces, a potential hung jury, mistrial and a whole lot more. If we didn’t know better, this could be somebody’s idea of a prototype for some slimy, futuristic game of Clue or the plot for some modern-day trashy novel. Not so.

Did you hear that Marcia Clark’s husband cried foul and Johnnie Cochran appeared on his 100^th television show? A number of ex-jurors are writing their memoirs. Get your peanuts and popcorn ready as another sordid round of O.J.-mania unfolds in scandal-starved America.

The O.J. Simpson story is being pursued by the media with the verve of a bunch of piranha in a feeding frenzy, and the public is loving every bit of it. Ratings are high, ad revenues are up and all that remains is how to masterfully make and divvy up the profits.

Why is this the case? Americans have always been and will continue to be fascinated with public figures and the rich and famous. We have been and are increasingly becoming a society of voyeurs, and with the advent of all types of new technology, we are able to almost satiate our voyeuristic appetites. O.J. Simpson’s story provides us with a great deal, both emotionally and physically. There really is nothing wrong with it, although we may not be willing to admit it.

It seems so amazing, but not surprising, that a crime so heinous and gruesome has been transformed into a media circus event. We seem so consumed and wrapped up with each new revelation and each new headline. All along, we never really allow ourselves to experience the depth of the tragedy of this murder. Perhaps we never will.

Certainly, the way we consume news is part of the reason for this. Watching television and reading the newspapers removes and protects us from the situation, but I believe it goes beyond this initial comfort zone. It seems to me that people often have a great deal of difficulty dealing with intense emotions in general and certainly the potential emotions engendered by this story. Rage, fear, vulnerability, despair and loss are just a few. In addition, the reality that crime in America is on the rise, or at least the perception that it is, can often send shivers down the strongest of spines.

As a practitioner, it has been my observation that people have great difficulty facing these emotional and psychological aspects within themselves. Haven’t we all felt murderous feelings toward another individual – a wife, child, friend, lover, business competitor or next-door neighbor? Haven’t many of us gone as far as to visualize this occurrence and fantasize minute details of the act? Haven’t we all, at times, felt intense jealousy and possessiveness toward someone? Actually these events and feelings happen all the time in our daily lives and may even bring on feelings of guilt, hypocrisy and internal strife. As long as we deny that this case evokes these emotions, we can secretly experience them on our own terms.

Perhaps this is why we seem so eager to talk about the more comfortable aspects of the O.J. case with friends, colleagues and loved ones. Discussing who did it and other interesting circumstantial evidence makes for good gossip and social discourse. But don’t be deceived – it really is an emotional cleansing for all and our way of attempting to cope.

The jury is still out on O.J., but many people continue to ask, "How could he do such a thing? He seems like such a good guy." Al Michaels and Bob Costas remarked that they never saw this side of O.J. Just because O.J. beat his wife and may have murdered her does not mean that he does not have charming aspects to his personality. In fact, many common and nefarious world leaders have great charisma, charm and enhancing qualities. So do regular everyday men and women. Don’t they commit crimes? However, this unidimensional view of personality does not allow for a more expansive discussion and debate of what has occurred.

Why is this the case? People, in general, like things to be neat, simple and clear, so as not to experience emotional discord or confusion. Research and clinical observation suggests that people are more comfortable with viewing things in a black or white manner. Many become distressed with the so-called gray area. The media has appealed to our desire for this psychologically neat package, as they sometimes tend to portray public figures in extremes, when this is rarely the case.

The media is certainly not at fault. A number of clever marketing strategies come to mind. Professional wrestling is a classic example of this appealing strategy. Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair and the Macho Man are either all good or all bad. Yes, they do, on occasion, become transformed, but only to their former polar opposites. Wrestling promotions and matches are presented as good versus evil. Wrestling is successful for a number of reasons. This is only one significant aspect of the success. This good-versus-evil appeal is not just seen in sports. Presidents appeal to the goodness of America as they seek support for their policies that will conquer an evil empire or purge a dictator. All are attempts, no matter how subtle or blatant, to sway and sell. And it sells. It really does. It’s all out there for us to take, consume and digest. Just the way we like it.

People attempt to protect themselves against their most threatening emotions, feelings and thoughts. In fact, they are quite judgmental of them. Freud proposed the concepts of the Id, Ego and Super Ego, as well as those all-important defense mechanisms to help explain our behaviors and reactions. As the O.J. Simpson trial comes to a close, the media will continue to drown us in the daily happenings in this important case. Though sometimes it will be a bit distasteful to watch, I suppose we are all just attempting, as best we can, to deal with the daily emotional hurdles we face. Maybe this is all one can really ask.