Real Meaning Behind “…looking good in shackles”

Scanning through the countless stories about O.J. Simpson’s week-long Las Vegas court appeal for a new trial has been interesting–particularly the final day on Friday, which included testimony from former Simpson attorney Yale Galander, whom Simpson blames for his robbery conviction.

Here are links to a couple of those stories:

OJ Simpson Trial: Yale Galanter, Former OJ Attorney, Testifies In Las Vegas Hearing http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/17/oj-simpson-trial-yale-galanter_n_3291618.html?ncid=webmail4

Attorney angrily defends handling of O.J. Simpson case http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-oj-simpson-20130518,0,2067374.story

But the piece that stopped me was by Los Angeles Times columnist Robin Abcarian, which bore the headline O.J. Simpson: Older, grayer, wider, looking good in shackles 

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-oj-simpson-older-grayer-wider-looking-good-in-shackles-20130515,0,1657004.story

Like a lot of people in this country, Abcarian professed to being sick unto death of   all things Simpson. Yet, she tuned in to watch him shamble into a Las Vegas courtroom last week in a blue prison jumpsuit and footwear instead of the custom-tailored threads and Bruno Maglis that marked better times.

Her observations were captured by her column headline “…older, grayer, wider, looking good in shackles.”

I was an Abcarian fan during her earlier stint with the Times and an admirer of her insights. With the take-away of her column last week being nothing more than the oh, so, superficial aspect of how he looked, my initial reaction was that she has lost her edge, snarky as the “looking good in shackles” might have seemed.

After re-reading and reflecting on it, though, I’m thinking maybe I misjudged her. Could her commentary be blow-back for all the stories about the ’95 Simpson trial that focused on Marcia Clark’s wardrobe and ‘do, rather than on her professional performance? Or could it possibly be a commentary on her opinion of the ’95 trial jury’s verdict? Could she have thought that verdict was wrong and that he should have been led away in shackles back then instead of being set free?

Guess I’ll never know, but it’s fun to speculate.