T A B L E+T A L K "We're having litters instead of babies these days." Is having septuplets such a great thing to celebrate? Join the discussion in Headlines. D A I L Y+Q U O T E One for the X-files R E C E N T L Y Once more to the death squads By Andrew Reding A $50 million U.S. aid package marked for the "war on drugs" in Colombia will help drug-trafficking right-wing killers (11/24/97) Lone gunman By Jeff Stein The most serious terrorist threat to America these days is the lone wacko with a grudge (11/21/97) HotFired By Andrew Leonard Money wasn't the only reason for the latest layoffs at Wired (11/20/97) Shape of things to come By Jonathan Broder Unless the Clinton administration does something to rescue the Middle East peace process, there will be more Saddam Husseins -- and more Luxor massacres (11/19/97) Bloodbath on the Nile By Andrew Ross Why Islamic radicals are murdering foreign tourists (11/18/97) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Browse the Newsreal Archives - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
		Been there, DUNNE that - - - - - - - - page 3 of 3 Dunne's chronicle doesn't examine any of the substantive reasons many people in the black neighborhoods I traveled through and spoke with (including my own) felt they couldn't immediately subscribe to Simpson's guilt: the obvious one-sided approach of the mainstream media, which reported on the trial even as it socialized with the Browns and Simpsons; the poisonous atmosphere between the LAPD and many of its black and brown communities, post Rodney King; the rush to judgment most of white America chose to make before all the evidence had been presented and considered; the scant coverage of those persons of color (and there were a substantial number of them) who thought it was possible Simpson had committed the murders and who wanted him punished as long as his investigation and trial were conducted by the book. In the end, the book doesn't tell us much we didn't already know about this over-reported trial. Unless you think it's signally important to know that pro football player Marcus Allen, good friend and supposed lover of Nicole Simpson, has, in several ladies' humble estimation, the biggest penis they'd ever seen. (Nicole even nicknamed it: "Driftwood.") Or that, mid-trial, the Brown family had to be cajoled to reappear in the courtroom and when they did, it was in the person of Nicole's sister Tanya, who proceeded to neck with her fiancé in full view of the jury. Or that designer Carolina Herrera, feeling sympathy for O.J. Simpson's family, sent beautifully wrapped gift packages of her fragrances to Simpson's sisters, brother and mother. (They sent thank-you notes.) Or that Dale Cochran shops for Johnnie's boxers at Sulka. The last time I met Dunne we were guests on the Charles Grodin show, a few days after the trial. Grodin preceded the hour with a rambling soliloquy on race that encompassed everything from black jubilation over the verdict ("Black people feel this is wonderful -- 'Thank you, Jesus!'") to his reaction to the Simi Valley King verdict a few years before to his feelings on anti-Semitism ("I never had to deal with [it]; I don't look Jewish ..."). Dunne and I blinked at each other. "What is he talking about?" Dunne muttered. We never found out. The rest of the hour wasn't any less psychedelic. Afterward, we walked out to the parking lot together and chatted for a moment. He asked for my number, and placed it in one of his little green leather notebooks. "This is it," he said, shaking hands, "I'm out of here." Soon after, he flew back to New York to resume his life, and we tried to return to normal, or what passes for it here. We're still struggling. Like Truman Capote after his infamous "La Côte Basque 1965" was published in Esquire, Dunne will, in all likelihood, find himself banished from some of the elegant homes he used to frequent -- something, ironically, he'll have in common with Simpson. Unlike Simpson, he will, in all likelihood, consider it a price well paid. (Hey, nobody ever promised getting even wouldn't be expensive.) "This is my last murder trial," Dunne promised a Baltimore Sun reporter during an interview. "Grafton says if you ever do another ... after this one, he's going to have an intervention," his fictional youngest son, Zander, says, half joking. That's a promise Dunne should keep. For his sake and ours. SALON | Nov. 25, 1997  Karen Grigsby Bates is an Op-Ed columnist for the Los Angeles Times and a regular commentator for National Public Radio's "All Things Considered." Was Dominick Dunne's O.J. coverage too slanted? What about the rest of the media? Deliver your verdict in Table Talk.