Since yesterday's sentencing of Melanie McG... I have watched with amusement as the people that participate in the CourtTV website bulletin board have been ripping into "The Ballad of Melanie McGuire". Neil has mentioned this on his blog also. A lot of people liked the song.... some that didn't like it presented some valid points. but there were a few morons who refused to listen to the song yet insisted we were poking fun at the victim. The counter showed the video had more than 400 hits on Thursday which means that next time I post a video on You Tube, I'm putting a "Melanie McGuire" tag on it.
I am kind of disappointed that Court TV's moderator took off all the anti-Nate posts.. because frankly I found them incredibly entertaining. Court TV also disappointed the bulletin board posters by shutting the forum for the weekend forcing them to leave their computer screens and go outside to enjoy the nice weather.
If you are not familiar with the Court TV bulletin board, let's put it in some perspective. There are a few people who populate that bulletin board who apparently have nothing better to do than debate some of the more bizarre minutae involved in this story. On Sentencing Day Thursday, some people speculated about whether the prison would give Melanie tampons or maxi pads. Earlier that day a wave of fury erupted on this bulletin board when the participants realized that the sentencing would not be airing on Court TV because of the explosion in Manhattan on Wed. night. Due to environmental concerns involving asbestos, the Court TV building was shut down and they were unable to broadcast the sentencing. It seems that this was not a good enough excuse for some of these people, since many posters felt that technicians should have bypassed the security, and risk their lives to enter the building so they could get their daily Court TV fix. After seeing the horrific after effects of the air pollution caused by 9-11, I guess health risks are not as important as seeing live how many years Melanie would serve. Ultimately, the coverage was picked up on News 12 NJ, causing many out of state board posters to express a desire to live in the Garden State, at least for just one day.
It's interesting how some of the posters talk like they know the family. They have become so immersed with this website that they really think they know these people. With an exception or two, that bulletin board's population did not know the victim. The victim's niece spoke eloquently at the sentencing on Thursday about how she used to make fun of his legs when he would wear shorts. She said that every time she thinks about his legs, she remembers how they were in that waterlogged suitcase. Its not the song that hurts them; its the reminders that hurt them. He may have liked Cherry Garcia ice cream; they might walk through a supermarket and see Cherry Garcia and that would bring back memories. I think he liked the Yankees too... Those reminders are small paper cuts compared to the major wound caused by the death.
Let's set the record straight - The song was not written to make fun of the victim.
The song is about the criminal and her crime.... It has its graphic moments but the crime is graphic. The woman didnt just shoot him in a fit of anger. She meticulously planned out every detail of the "perfect crime". Crimefighters always have to build a better mousetrap because you will always find a smarter mouse. That is why computer firewalls are a multi-million dollar industry. Melanie thought she was a smart mouse. She figured if she chopped her husband up, the suitcases would sink to the bottom of The Chesapeake and people would just assume he walked out on her. She even went as far as to create the perfect crime scene - an unused apartment she was renting. She had just closed on her house - she needed him to be alive on Closing Day since NJ law says both husband and wife must sign the closing papers (and she probably needed his income for the mortgage too), so she knew that once the house was hers, the old apartment would be the perfect crime scene. She would continue to hold it until after she killed him and she would have time to clean it thoroughly. If neighbors know a woman is moving out, they wouldn't think twice about seeing her (and an accomplice) shlepping heavy boxes and suitcases out of her apartment. And as for the accomplice, I hope he sleeps at night with one eye open, because he will probably be the next one to get arrested.
Little did she know that the suitcases would float up to the surface..
Then the preposterous lies started. She called EZ Pass to challenge a fee that put her at the scene of the crime. She told police she was in AC because she was "moving his car to mess with his mind", when in reality she planted the car there to stage his disappearance. Some of the comments she made in her ABC News interview also showed firsthand that she is a pathological liar. She thought she was such a smart little mouse. And when we build better mousetraps, it's important to never forget the clever mice who thought they could get away with it. That's why we fight computer hackers and study murderous dictators who rose to power. Melanie is no Hitler, but she is much worse than a computer hacker.
In retrospect, the song is tacky.... I wouldn't say that its funny... but the way it matches up with the poetry of "Creeque Alley" is definitely quite clever if I may say so myself. Whats the difference it would have been a book or movie about the crime and the criminal? Do you sugar coat the reality of how diabolical and brutal she was?
By the way the posters might be disappointed that Court TV shut the site down for the weekend. They can always post to the Harry Potter bulletin board. I heard the book ends with him at a New Jersey diner ordering onion rings while a woman has difficulty parallel parking.
2 comments:
In retrospect, I can also appreciate how, at an initial, superficial glance, the first couple of verses and chorus might have been construed as poking fun at the expense of the deceased. But if the listener applies a minimum of effort into actually listening to the entire song, putting all the lyrics into context, and considering how obsessed you were with Melanie's lies, stupidity and chutzpah from her contemplation of the crime to the end of her trial, it's pretty clear that it's anti-Melanie (though I may be biased, since I've already heard the song so many times).
Obsessed? nah... Fascinated? Yep. Anti Melanie? Ain't no doubt about it.
The obsessed ones were the ones on the aforementioned bulletin board who are now spending much time discussing the prosecutor's new hairstyle.
One troubling aspect that the Court TV website should keep in mind for the future: One of the posters attended the trial and wrote about the physical appearance of one of the jurors. That juror ultimately got dismissed and upon leaving, left a note for another juror who she had become friendly with and mentioned how the bulletin board had been talking about juror's appearances.
Oddly enough the Court TVers feel its ok to yak about jurors. Jurors are people too, and its human nature for them to be curious about stuff being said about them on the internet. Responsible journalists don't write about jurors - Court TV should be more responsible and delete any comments about jurors and reinstate all the Nate bashing comments they took down last week.
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