Is there anyone left who has not watched an episode of Law and Order? It took me sixteen years and some minor in-patient surgery to get around to it. After all, in the dark ages before streaming services, what was there really to watch for someone stuck in bed during the week? As a child, I had the mountains of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Thundercats episodes that my grandpa had taped for me. As a sixteen-year-old, I resigned myself to the one adult show that was guaranteed to be airing on some channel or other.
Of course, these days it’s “true crime” that scratches that same itch for most people. In both cases, as the worst of human nature is put on parade for our entertainment, it’s not hard to feel for the victims or their loved ones. Indeed, there is something very wrong with you if you do not. But the question I always have is: what is it like to be the father, the brother, the son, or even the closest friend of someone, only to learn that they are a murderer or a rapist?
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