Sunday, July 3, 2011

Twitter Cuts To the Truth

It's Sunday, July 3rd. It's pouring outside.

I had to go into the office for a while yesterday, so I feel no remorse in dedicating today to complete rest and relaxation.

Djokovic has just won the Wimbledon title, so I pick up the remote and start channel surfing.

I land at MSNBC and find myself transfixed on something I had vowed never to follow: the Casey Anthony murder trial. But not just any day of the trial –  the closing arguments. 


I miss the prosecution's argument, but catch defense attorney, José Baez, as he tries to raise reasonable doubt in the minds of the jury.

He mentions garbage that had been left to rot in the trunk of Anthony's car, possibly creating the "smell of death" that the prosecution has made a focal point of their case. He says the trash left in the trunk included cheese.

Then, he says something that blows my mind.

In wrapping up the defense argument in a trial in which his client may face the death penalty if she's found guilty of the gruesome murder of her child, Baez says to the jury, and I quote:

"They want you to know who cut the cheese."

My jaw dropped. I have no idea what his intent was. Was he trying to use humor to break the tension in the room? Did he not realize that this phrase is used as a euphemism for something else?

I don't know. 

So I do what I've done for a few years now, whenever I want an instantaneous snapshot of people's reactions to something I've just seen or heard:


I find that I'm far from alone in my shock and disdain. Twitter is such an amazing tool for reading the mind of America.

Apparently, the mind of America considers Baez a tool, too. 


-Mark