Musings in Athens

The taxi driver who drove us from the Athens airport was a chatty type. Taxi drivers usually are. They like to project themselves as guides. By being helpful and conversational, they hope to get a bigger tip. In countries like Greece, it’s generally assumed that foreigners, particularly those landing at international airports, are richer than the local population.  I like to talk to taxi drivers.

The driver in Athens was different. His English was good. Instead of telling us about the passing monuments, he talked about Greek politics and economics. Instead of discussing weather, he asked questions about India and Hindu philosophy.

“What’s your education?” I asked.

“I am a mechanical engineer.” He said.

“So this is your side job.” Half statement, half question.

“No, this is my main job, my only job. The state our economy is in, where am I going to get a job as an engineer?” he asked, smiling.

*****

In 1991, when I lived in Moscow, hiring drivers was very cheap. Along with their cars, they cost 50 cents an hour. I had two, Sergey alias Seryozha –an engineer, and Vladimir alias Vlad, a doctor. For survival, they used their private cars as taxis. Russia boasted about its 100% education. Coming from India, where 67% of the population hasn’t passed the fifth grade, I felt envious about super-educated European countries. When will India come anywhere close to them, I used to wonder.

During the talk with the Greek taxi driver, I was no longer certain 100% education is such a good thing.  Unless you can get a job that your education deserves, an occupation that makes the best use of your professional training, what is the point of being super-educated? Underemployment is a recipe for permanent frustration.

*****

The same driver warned us about the strikes, demonstrations and protests held almost on a daily basis. Our visual and olfactory senses experienced the results. During our Athens stay, garbage collectors were on strike. Only when garbage is not collected, you can appreciate the work they do.

The young Greeks I spoke to were not particularly happy that they belonged to the EU or that their currency is Euro. In the past, I always thought austerity was a positive thing. I associated it with self-discipline, asceticism. But in Economics, it has a technical meaning. Austerity requires the government to spend less, and normally as a result the poorest sections of society suffer. Government spending on public welfare, including medicine and education, usually goes down. Employment falls, because new jobs can’t be created. Taxation goes up, leaving even less money in the hands of the common man. (In the UK, the labour party has been talking strongly against austerity as well).

It’s like somebody taking your credit cards away, and asking you to hurry up repaying your mortgage.

Credit may be a bad thing, but it inspires consumption which in turn inspires growth. The EU imposing austerity programs on Greece has created a chronic crisis. Greeks look stressed; they smoke everywhere, an unusual sight. Girls are rolling their own cigarettes (Roll Your Own: a cheaper way to enjoy nicotine). You can’t get better evidence of an economic crisis.

*****

Naturally, Greece has no Polish people, unless they are tourists. Last year, in England and Ireland, I was talking in Polish all the time. The shop assistants, waiters, plumbers, carpenters, bus drivers, even some police officers were from Poland. Migrants move from cheaper to expensive places. Things need to be really bad for a white person to migrate to Greece.

I saw a few Ukrainian girls as shop assistants, though. I had a long conversation with one of them. She admitted she liked Greece because the house rents were so cheap. Out of the 1000 Euros salary she gets for working 12 hours/day, 7 days/week, she manages to rent a decent flat (400 Euros a month), send something to her parents and survive. She wouldn’t think of marrying or having kids, though.

“How did you start talking to me in Russian?” She asked me. “My Slavic features?”

“Features, yes,” I said, “but mainly your red lipstick.”

Greek girls in shops use light lipstick, while the Ukrainian and East European girls, for some reason, use a bright red traffic light lipstick.

This reminded me of an incident from Moscow in the early nineties. My Russian wife (now ex-) and I were walking on Gorky Street, a prominent Moscow street that begins across the Red Square. Russia was, as usual, in a crisis. Many girls had taken to prostitution for survival. Gorky Street had several luxury hotels and shops. It was rumoured that some high class prostitutes carried a swiping machine, allowing their clients to pay by credit card.

During our walk, a huge police van suddenly appeared and with the efficiency and ruthlessness Russian police are known for, rounded up all the sex workers before we could blink. A girl taken to the police van had stood just a few feet away from us. A few days later, I narrated this incident to a Russian policeman who looked friendly and unthreatening.

“The road was full of Russian women. How did the police know exactly whom to pick? I’m very happy my wife wasn’t touched. But it’s completely random, isn’t it?”

“Oh, no.” He said. “It’s easy. Girls with no purse in their hands are hookers. No Russian lady will walk on Gorky Street empty-handed.”

“But if you guys know this, the girls must know it as well. Shouldn’t they carry purses so as to avoid arrests?”

“If they carry purses,” he said, grinning “how will their clients identify them?”

*****  

The Bangladeshis migrate to Greece, of course illegally, by crossing a small river from Turkey. They either bribe a boat owner or swim. During the crossing, they throw their passport and any other IDs into water. This is an old trick. You then land into a country as a stateless person. You have no papers, no name and you speak in a language nobody understands. Greece, as most EU countries, is then obliged to provide you with temporary documents, turn a blind eye to any unlawful trade you might run. Your files stay with the government for years. During that time, your wife and children remain in Bangladesh. If you are lucky, after 8-10 years, you become legal. At least cease to be illegal. Then you begin to wait for your passport. You dream of bringing your family to Greece. In many cases, the family reunion may never happen.

We met a young Pakistani man in the National Garden of Athens. He first talked of cricket. I congratulated him on Pakistan’s recent victory in the championship trophy.

“What do you do here?” I asked him.

“I sell smuggled cigarettes,” he said. “The Russian mafia smuggles containers of cheap Marlboro into Greece, and we Pakistanis sell them.”

It’s a risky business, but where you are officially called illegal, does the risk really matter?

*****

The Greek beaches are full of white men and women in semi-nude attire, a variety of lotions applied to their bodies glistening in the sun, lying on beach towels, at intervals swimming and then drying off, ordering drinks and food from the beach cafes, reading books, or doing nothing. The high temperature, a heat wave, humidity don’t matter to them. The key objective is to get tanned.

Many white people say they envy us Indians our lovely skin colour. They dream of becoming as dark as Indians by lying for weeks under the scorching sun.

If White people wish to become dark (the reverse of Michael Jackson), why does racism exist in the form in which it exists?

Gillette, the shaving blade company, had conducted a global research many years ago. The company proposed introducing an operation after which a man wouldn’t need to shave for the rest of his life. Thousands of males worldwide took part in the survey. Almost nobody wanted such an operation, even when absolutely safe. Many men may hate shaving, but the notion of a permanent clean face is gross.

I wonder if the Gillett story explains those sun-tanning Whites. As long as the tan is temporary, they are fine with it. Offer them a permanent tan, and I think most of them will refuse it.

*****

What I like most about Greece is its similarity to India. Last week, I mentioned our possible common ancestors as evidenced by linguistics. Though relatively poor and ridden with crises, there is a feeling of freedom in the air. People are friendly and smiling.

Beggars and dogs sleeping next to uncollected garbage; timetables designed to merely let you know how late your bus or train was; ads such as “3 Euros for a free Wi-Fi”, govt instructions such as “danger of landslides, walk to destination in 12 minutes”; a taxi driver not wearing his seat belt, smoking, and checking his phone while driving, opening the car window to throw out garbage, and when asked how much to pay for the journey telling us it depends on whether we want the receipt or not; super-long queues to Acropolis served by a single counter, with the girl at the counter taking all the time in the world over each visitor; instructions given by our Greek host that power will go off if AC is switched on at the same time as the geyser; both pedestrians and car drivers using common sense rather than the discipline of traffic lights; hardly any CCTVs, no turnstiles at the metro, and no ticket checkers (you want to buy tickets, buy them, if you don’t, don’t. A hefty penalty for ticketless travel, but we never saw a single ticket checker, possibly they are on strike as well); preserving ruins and ruining everything else; omnipresent plastic bags; old men sitting in the same chair on the road after you have come back from a four hour walk.

Through shabbiness, indiscipline, economic crises, the Greeks have warm hearts. When hearts are warm and smiles broad, everything else can be forgiven.

Ravi

The Olympics Story

Internet is not a source of all stories or knowledge, it can never be. Having watched many Olympics on TV, having run a few marathons (42.195 km), having read dozens of books on the subject, and having browsed the internet for years, I thought I was fairly knowledgeable about Olympics in general and marathon races in particular. However, after coming to Greece, I learnt new details about the Olympics and heard the story of the first marathon.

Ancient Olympic Games

The first ancient Olympic Games were held almost 2800 years ago, in 776 BC. Thereafter every four years, men from all across the Greek world gathered at the Greek town of Olympia. Olympiad was a religious festival, dedicated to Zeus, the sky-god. (Dyews, the Sanskrit equivalent in Rig-Veda, is the origin of the word Dev, meaning God in Indian languages. Indians and Greeks probably had common ancestors in times more ancient.)

The Olympics were designed to initiate young boys into adulthood. The participants didn’t represent cities or countries, but competed as individuals. Winning was the goal, not mere participation. Boxing, wrestling, pankration (a variety of wresting), four foot races, pentathlon (long jump, discus, javelin, sprinting, wrestling, chariot racing and horse racing) were the Olympic disciplines. Interesting to note that each Olympic sport aimed to develop skills needed in warfare.  

In every event, only a single winner was announced (not three). His reward was not a medal, but an olive wreath. The wreath was made of wild olive branches that grew at Olympia. Rich winners would pay poets to compose a victory ode in their honour to gain immortality. In later years, they commissioned sculptors to carve their marble statues.

All competing athletes were nude.

Nudity and application of oil

Like the marble sculptures we see in modern European museums, male bodies of the athletes were on display at the Olympics. Oil was applied on the body to highlight its contours. Nudity in sport was a norm in Greece. In gymnasiums, men always exercised naked. In fact, gymnasium originates from the Greek word gymnos meaning naked. [When I wrote a story called Nude Man in Gym (opendiary week 19: 2005), I didn’t know this].

Runners covered their male organs with a narrow leather strip, but that was to minimise discomfort while running rather than a result of shame.

Ironically, married women were not allowed to attend the Olympics, while unmarried girls attended in thousands. The athletes were in their twenties. An unmarried girl and her father watched the oiled, nude features of the athletes along with their sport performance before selecting a husband for the girl.

Shorter races were organised for unmarried girls (probably so that brides could be chosen). Girls were not nude. They wore loose, light dresses above the knees, but the right breast had to be completely exposed.

Ancient Olympics, exclusively held in Greece, went on for nearly 1200 years. Records suggest the last Olympiad was held in 393 AD. By this time, Greece had been under the Roman rule for a few centuries. At the height of his powers, the Roman emperor ‘Theodosius the Great’ wanted to impose Christianity as the state religion. He considered the Greeks as pagans. On his watch, major Greek temples were destroyed. Theodosius banned the Olympic Games. No Olympiad would happen for the next 1500 years.

1896: Athens: The first modern Olympics

After being ruled over for nearly 2000 years; first by the Roman and then by the Turkish Empire, Greece finally became independent in 1821. The Greeks wished to bring back the glorious traditions of their ancient past. The Olympics, though, was revived not by the Greeks but a Frenchman. Baron Pierre de Coubertin was a born aristocrat. He was an intellectual who had devoted himself to education. For years, he tried to introduce physical education into French schools. Paradoxically, Baron Coubertin failed in that attempt, but succeeded in organising the first international Olympics of modern times.

Coubertin was a fan of ancient Greek history. He founded the International Olympic committee (IOC). He spent years persuading the Greek government to agree to hold the Olympiad. An estate of a Greek business family Zappas sponsored the refurbishment of the stadiums. In 1894, it was unanimously agreed to hold the Olympics in Athens. Greece was, after all, the birth place of that tradition. Coubertin altered the ancient philosophy by declaring: ‘The important thing in life is not the triumph, but the struggle, the essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well.’

Only Greeks could take part in the ancient Olympics. Modern Olympics would be truly international. The Athens Olympics of 1896 was an all-male affair. It was the only Olympics not to have a single female competitor. Women took part from 1900, and in 2012 London Olympics women participated in every sport.

The anthem for the 1896 Olympics was written by Kostis Palamas, composed by Spyridon Samaras, both Greeks as should be obvious by their names. The same anthem is played till now to open each Olympiad.

The 1896 Olympics was attended by more than 100,000 spectators. A marathon race, revived for the first time, would be its final event.

1896 Olympics Marathon race

The world was familiar with an ancient story, historically true or not, about Pheidippides, a messenger, who in 490 BC ran from the battle of Marathon to Athens (25 miles/40 km) carrying news of the Greek victory. He burst through the doors of the leaders’ meeting room, and could only say: “Greetings! Victory is ours!” before collapsing and dying.

This story often upsets the families of modern marathon runners. It should be noted that just before that run, Pheidippides was sent running from Athens to Sparta (140 miles/225 km) to ask the Spartans for help against the imminent Persian landing at Marathon. In short, Pheidippides died after running 265 km and not 40 km.

The Athens Olympics, 1896 decided to revive the 40 km race from Marathon to Athens. Until then, a marathon was known only as a legend, nobody in modern times had run that distance. (World’s oldest race, the Boston Marathon, started the following year, in 1897, inspired by the Olympics race). Would anyone be able to finish it? People were curious. The Australians and Americans came trained and were serious about their sport. The Greeks knew they stood no chance against them. As hosts, they were at liberty to include a few Greeks. They even bent protocol to include a shepherd. Being a peasant, the shepherd was not a gentleman, not part of any athletic club, a normal requirement for participation in those days. Fifty thousand people packed the stadium and thousands lined the running route. The race would end in the stadium. The Greek king and the two princes were waiting there to greet the winners. One Greek aristocrat lady had announced that she would marry the winner, if he was Greek.

The race began at 2 pm and every hour the tension mounted. Albin Lermusiaux, a Frenchman, was leading the race for a long time. He was followed by Edwin Flack, an Australian, and Arthur Blake, an American. Flack had won both 800 meters and 1500 meters and was tipped to complete the treble. Thousands of Greek spectators were cheering, though disappointed that the three leaders were not Greeks.

The Greek competitors, with nothing to lose, were relaxed during their run. Spyridon Louis, the shepherd who was allowed to compete, even stopped briefly to have a glass of wine.

It was a hot, sunny day. Those athletes who ran very hard at the beginning started falling like soldiers on the battlefield. The American dropped out at 23 km. The Frenchman soon followed. It seemed Flack, who was leading after 30 km would earn his treble. By now the shepherd, Louis, sunburnt and covered in dust had caught up with him. Two other Greeks were behind Louis. Trying to outpace Louis, Flack collapsed with three km still to go.

Louis entered the stadium completing his race in less than three hours. Two Greek runners finished second and third. The crowd went crazy waving their hats and Greek flags. The band played the Greek anthem again and again. The two princes showered flowers on Louis. Even the king was waiting at the finish line enthusiastically waving his hat. De Coubertin, in his memoir, mentioned the scene as one of the most extraordinary spectacles in his life.

In the following days, women sent gold chains and watches to Louis, men offered big amounts of cash. A few cafes offered free meals and coffee for the rest of his life, a salon announced free haircuts for him. Louis refused all the gifts. The lady who had offered to marry the Greek winner was relieved at his refusal. She had expected an aristocrat to win, not a peasant. Spyridon Louis remained unassuming, went back to his village life, away from the limelight. Forty years later, he led the Greek team at the Berlin marathon. The Greek language now has a proverb “to do a Louis” meaning to exert oneself in a supreme effort. The Olympic stadium in Athens in named after him.

The extra yards

Marathon runners often wonder why the marathon distance is 42.195 km (or 26 miles and 385 yards). Why not have a round figure?

For the 1908 London Olympics, indeed, the distance agreed was 26 miles. The marathon would start at the Windsor Castle.

At the opening ceremony, UK’s King Edward the seventh was in the royal box. Delegations of all nations were expected to lower their respective flags as a sign of respect towards the king. Americans refused to do so. Allegedly, their captain said: ‘this flag dips to no earthly king’. This had irritated the royal family.

The marathon finish line was 385 yards from the royal box. Irritated by the American insult, the British Royalty decided to demonstrate the power of monarchy. The king would not walk to the finish line; let the finish line be drawn to where the king was. To the distance of 26 miles, 385 yards were added. Since that day in 1908, marathon races all around the world have to live with those extra 385 yards (195 meters). Hail Edward the seventh!

Sport as a substitute

The other interesting thing I learnt about the ancient Olympics was that for the period of the Olympics all wars were stopped. It was agreed between warring states that the passage of sportsmen for the competitions would be safe. This was a truce and ceasefire, faithfully implemented.

Olympics equalled war minus corpses. It was a substitute for the gory battles. Olympics truly represented peace.

I would love to see that tradition being revived. Replace war with sports. Maybe organise an international Olympics in Syria.

As a minimum, India should start playing cricket with Pakistan again. As long as they play cricket, bats and balls might be the only weapons used.

Ravi 

Murder by Counselling

Last week, a Massachusetts judge invoked a 200-year old case as a precedent to hold a young girl guilty of manslaughter. Both cases raise fascinating legal and philosophical points.

In 1815, two men convicted of different crimes were in a Massachusetts prison. Jonathan Jewett, a black man, faced execution for murdering his father. George Bowen, a career thief, was in the neighbouring cell. They could talk but not see each other through a grill that separated the two cells.

Jewett was scheduled to be hanged on 8 November 1815. In those days, executions were public. Thousands gathered with excitement to watch the terrified face and later the limp body of the convict. The Sheriff of the town always made it a point to be present. Like directors are paid fees for attending a company’s meeting these days, the Sheriff was paid fees for attending each execution.

Bowen and Jewett often talked through the cell grill. ‘Why let them hang you in public, why not hang yourself’, Bowen suggested to Jewett. He told Jewett how one could be resourceful and create a noose from a bed sheet.  It should be noted that Bowen was profane, querulous, hot-tempered and mean-spirited. He hated black people. But he found joy at the prospect of denying the pleasure of the spectacle to the thousands gathering to see his fellow-convict die, and denying the fees to the Sheriff. Bowen continually urged, advised and persuaded Jewett to commit suicide.

Six hours before his scheduled execution, Jewett indeed took his own life by hanging himself in his cell.

Suicide was a grave crime and sin. Jewett was posthumously charged with that crime (although he would not be tried or sentenced). His neighbour in prison, George Bowen, was indicted for ‘murder by counselling’. He was considered not an accessory to murder, but a participant. The judge repeatedly cautioned the jury that the fact that Jewett was going to die in another few hours must be ignored. Nobody has a right to kill a person before the time scheduled by the State.

The defence argued that committing suicide was solely Jewett’s decision. Bowen was not physically present when the suicide took place. Words cannot kill.

Teenage suicide

200 years later, two American teenagers, Conrad Roy and Michelle Carter, met for the first time in Florida, while on vacation. They became friends. It appears that they met only twice in their life. Their two-year relationship was almost exclusively textual. We live in times where love can be digital. Michelle called herself Conrad’s girlfriend.

Conrad suffered from depression and inexplicable anxiety. He often considered ending his own life. In July 2014, Michelle encouraged, urged, and persuaded him to go ahead. Gassing himself in his car was an option, and she gave him detailed instructions to do so. Conrad obtained the necessary equipment. On 12 July 2014, he was once again dared by his girlfriend to show he could keep his word. When Conrad entered his car and the fumes began choking him, he came out. He was on the phone with Michelle all the time. ‘Get back into the car, don’t give up’, she ordered. Conrad re-entered the car with his phone in his hand and died of Carbon monoxide twenty minutes later. Throughout that time, his girlfriend heard him moaning and gagging on the phone. Conrad Roy was 18 when he died, and his digital girlfriend was 17.

Commonwealth of Massachusetts vs Michelle Carter

The defence argued Conrad was suicidal and he might have taken his life one day any way. Michelle was 35 miles away when Conrad killed himself, and they had not met for over a year. Text messages were mere words, how could one cause death through words?

Some legal experts argued the USA has freedom of speech. While Michelle’s conduct was awful, it can’t override her freedom of speech. She could at best be tried for cyberbullying, not for manslaughter.

The prosecution argued Michelle urged Conrad to commit suicide. Though not personally present, she was on the phone with him, she was in his ears, she was in his mind. In that sense, she was with him when he died.

The judge said Michelle’s conduct was reckless and wanton. When Conrad came out of the car, confused, she asked him to go back in. Instead of calling for help, alerting Conrad’s family or police, she was on the phone with him until he died. She could have taken steps to stop him or seek help, it was her duty. Not doing so amounted to criminal conduct. Michelle Carter was held guilty of manslaughter and faces up to 20 years in prison. The exact quantum of punishment will be announced on 3 August 2017.

Sample text messages

Here are some of the sample text messages between the teenagers.

Michelle to Conrad: Yeah, it will work. If you emit 3200 ppm of it for five or ten minutes you will die within a half hour. You lose consciousness with no pain. You just fall asleep and die. You can also just take a hose and run that from the exhaust pipe to the rear window in your car and seal it with ducttape and shirts, so it can’t escape. You will die within, like, 20 or 30 minutes all pain free.

Michelle to Conrad: Don’t do it in the driveway. You will be easily found... Find a spot. Just park your car and sit there and it will take, like 20 minutes. It’s not a big deal.

Conrad to Michelle: Okay. I’m gonna do it today.

Michelle to Conrad: You promise?

Conrad to Michelle: I promise, babe. I have to now.

Michelle to Conrad: Like right now?

Conrad to Michelle: Where do I go?

Michelle to Conrad: And you can’t break a promise. And just go in a quietparking lot or something.

Conrad to Michelle: 7/12/2014|3:40:35 p.m.: I’m determined

Michelle to Conrad: 7/12/2014 | 3:41:33 p.m.: I'm happy to hear that

Michelle to Conrad: 7/12/2014 | 3:47:18 p.m.: When you get back from the beach, you gotta  … do it….

Conrad to Michelle: 7/12/2014 | 4:26:55 p.m.: no more thinking

Michelle to Conrad: 7/12/2014 | 4:26:55 p.m.: Yes, no more thinking you need to just do it...

Michelle to Conrad: 7/12/2014 | 5:17:23 PM ...Did you delete the text messages?

Motive

What could be a possible motive for such messages, for a young girl to urge her digital boyfriend to commit suicide?

It seems Michelle wanted to gain attention, draw sympathy from her girlfriends. She had already told them (texted perhaps) about this suicidal boyfriend of hers. In her mind, they were getting sick of the suicide threats that never materialised; they didn’t trust her any more. Michelle needed to prove to them she meant what she had said. On Conrad’s death, she could become the ‘grieving girlfriend’.

This role of the grieving girlfriend is apparently inspired by American serials. A Netflix series “13 reasons why” is about a 17 year old girl who commits suicide and leaves behind a series of audiotapes describing her reasons. It’s been criticised as glamourising teenage suicide. About 5000 American teenagers commit suicide every year.

In another TV show “Glee”, its young actor died of drug overdose in real life. This death was included in the script after he died. Rachel, the fictional young girl in Glee, is the grieving girlfriend. Perhaps not as a coincidence, many of the text messages by Michelle Carter were found to be word-for-word with the lines uttered by Rachel in Glee.

Freedom of speech

Michelle, while urging Conrad to kill himself, hadn’t forgotten to ask him to delete all messages before dying. She had deleted the messages as well. However, the police recovered all deleted messages between them, since technology now allows such retrieval.

If you read detective novels, you are familiar with “Miranda rights” where the police are obliged to warn a possible culprit that he has a right to remain silent. An accused can’t be forced to say anything that may incriminate him. The fifth amendment of the USA constitution extends that privilege to witnesses as well.

If the communication between Conrad and Michelle was personal or telephonic (but not recorded), nothing would have happened to Michelle. We have heard the expression ‘his word against mine’ used in eyewitness testimony. In the 1815 case, the Jury pronounced George Bowen “not guilty”. One reason was that his alleged conversations with Jewett couldn’t be verified.

Michelle’s conversations with the dead boy, unfortunately for her, were in the form of a text message. She dug her own grave by recording everything she was saying. One peculiarity of this trial was that the prosecutor and witnesses were reading the text messages from a computer screen rather than recalling from memory.

This case also brings the real world and virtual world closer. Crimes can be committed without physical actions or presence. Orders over the phone or text messages are as good as the person’s presence.  

Euthanasia

One concern raised by legal experts is that this case sets a precedent that can attract “manslaughter” charges for someone offering euthanasia or mercy killing.

First of all, Euthanasia is not legal anywhere in the world. A doctor or a close relative mercy-killing a patient ailing from a painful, terminal illness can be prosecuted for manslaughter.

In certain countries such as Benelux or Switzerland, a Physician Assisted Suicide (PAS) is legal. The regulations are strict; there are enough controls to make sure the process is not abused. The doctor explains to the patient how to administer the medicine. It is the patient himself who must inject or consume the medicine.

Except these countries, assisted suicide is illegal and can qualify as manslaughter. In the case of Conrad Roy, he was a physically healthy young teenager with an anxiety disorder. It’s possible he could have overcome his depression and led a long life.

Your verdict

Apparently Massachusetts doesn’t have a law against encouraging suicide. Many other US states have such a law. That’s the reason some people argue Michelle Carter can’t be held guilty.

If you or I were in the judge’s chair, we would find adjudicating this case equally difficult. Carter’s defence waived the right for a jury trial because, I think, they feared jury are more emotion-prone.

I believe the judge was absolutely right in holding her guilty. Even if you assume a teenage girl may not understand the implications of her actions, you have a dead boy as a consequence. I personally believe in the spirit more than the letter of the law. In this case, justice requires overriding technicalities. Any fair minded person simply reading the anthology of her text messages (included in the footnote) will declare Michelle Carter guilty.

The sentence would be announced on 3 August. Of course, she would not be given 20 years, the possible maximum, I don’t think. The fact that she is out on bail until the sentence suggests the court will be lenient in view of her age. Sending a young girl to jail would destroy her life, it would make her prone to committing further crimes. My prediction is that she will be asked to spend two years or so in some form of community service for rehabilitation.

And one big lesson for everybody else: Be careful when sending text messages. They document your communication that can be recovered even when you delete it. Your reckless text messages can incriminate you and send you to jail as well.

Ravi

Web-o-graphy

(1)               http://www.wsc.mass.edu/mhj/pdfs/murder%20by%20counseling.pdf : the 1816 ‘murder by counselling’ case of George Bowen. A detailed narrative.

(2)              http://www.cbsnews.com/news/death-by-text-the-case-against-michelle-carter/ : Death by text: a detailed video report.

(3)              https://www.scribd.com/doc/276206526/Michelle-Carter-Texts : All text messages between the Conrad Roy and Michelle Carter.   

R. 

Helter-Skelter

Roman Polanski, 83, is a renowned international film maker. For the past 40 years, he has been a fugitive running away from the American law, and trying to escape from persistent US attempts to get him extradited. 

In 1977, while photo-shooting a 13-year model for Vogue, Polanski allegedly drugged and raped her. Even if consensual as Polanski maintains, it was a statutory rape, since she was a minor. The incident happened in Jack Nicholson’s house, but Nicholson was out. Polanski spent a few weeks in jail. Threatened by a lengthy jail term, he fled a day before the final hearing and has never been to the USA thereafter. (Couldn’t attend the 2003 Oscar ceremony, where he won the Best Director award for The Pianist). 

In 2009 Polanski, a French/Polish citizen, was arrested and imprisoned in Switzerland at the behest of the USA. After ten months in jail/house arrest, he was freed, when Switzerland decided not to send him to the USA. In 2015, after a lengthy legal process, Poland refused to extradite him. This week, his victim requested the American courts to drop the case. US media and legal fraternity have begun debating whether courts can drop a rape case at the request of the victim. The fact that the crime is forty years old and that its perpetrator is a celebrity is not relevant, legal experts say. Polanski is in the news once again.

A melodramatic life

I wasn’t really impressed with Chinatown and Rosemary’s baby, the two Polanski films I have seen. But I am more fascinated by Polanski’s life story.

Born in Paris, he moved with his parents to Poland just as Nazis began the Jew extermination campaign. Polanski’s mother was taken to Auschwitz and immediately killed. His father was in a German concentration camp till the end of the war. Roman Polanski, as a Jew child, was expelled from school and was denied access to education for the next six years. Living in the Krakow ghetto, he spent his childhood hiding and wandering. A catholic family sheltered him.   

Natural justice demands that a talented person with a childhood so miserable should be spared further traumas in adulthood. But there is no such thing as natural justice. Even before his fleeing America, the most traumatic day in Polanski’s life was 9 August 1969. On that day, his eight- month pregnant wife along with his friends were brutally murdered in what became one of the most sensational cases in America.

9 August 1969 

Sharon Tate, the 26-year old wife of Roman Polanski, was just ten days away from delivering their first child. On Friday 8 August, 1969 she was in her Los Angeles house. She had returned from Europe three weeks before that. An American actress, Sharon preferred to deliver in familiar surroundings. Polanski, shooting in London, had called in the afternoon. Debra and Patti, her two younger sisters, offered to come over to spend the night with Sharon. Sharon thanked them but said it was not necessary. She was disappointed Roman Polanski was not here, but he had promised to be back in time for delivery.

In the evening, Sharon went with three friends to El Coyote, her favourite Mexican restaurant on Beverly Boulevard. Jay Sebring, 35, was a hairstylist. He was Sharon’s lover before her marriage to Polanski, but all parties had reconciled to the change in relationships. Jay was friendly with both Sharon and Polanski. Wojciech Frykowski, 32, was known to Polanski since his days in Poland. Frykowski was an aspiring screenwriter. His girlfriend, Abigail Folger, 25, was the fourth person at the dinner table. Abigail was the heiress of the famous Folger coffee corporation. By 10.30 pm, they returned to the Polanski house. Sharon’s friends planned to be at her side for the weekend.

After midnight

Polanski had rented the LA property. Its landlord had appointed a young man as its caretaker. The caretaker had a visitor, one Steven Parent, an 18 year old student. At midnight, Steven was about to leave in his car. Had he left even five minutes earlier, he would be alive today.

Not known to him, though, another car had arrived near the house carrying a 23-year old boy, and three 21-year old girls. The boy confronted Steven, first slashing him with a knife. Steven begged for life. The stranger pointed a 22-caliber revolver and shot him four times in the chest, killing him.

The gang then broke into the house. Each of them carried a knife. Over the next two hours, they tortured and killed Sharon along with her yet-to-be-born baby, and her three friends. The descriptions of the torture and brutality are too inhuman to be repeated here. Sufficient it is to say that Frykowski was stabbed 51 times. One of the 21-year old girls took Sharon’s blood, and wrote PIG in big letters on the front door. 

The investigation

William Garrestson, the young caretaker, was the first suspect. He was subjected to a lie detector test. Garrestson denied any knowledge of what happened in the night. He was grieving for his friend Steven, and was in a shock over the massacre. The police released him.

The media talked about drugs. Drug consumption was common in Hollywood. Equally common were drug related murders. However, post- mortem did not find any trace of drugs or nicotine inside any victim.  

Despite that, the American media sensationalized the domestic life of the Polanskis. The personalities of victims were analyzed to boost newspaper sales. Some people wondered why Roman Polanski was on another continent. To create an alibi? If he could arrive on hearing about the murders, why couldn’t he arrive before the murders?

The police were perplexed by another twin murder that happened within 24 hours after the Tate murders. Leno LaBianca and his wife Rosemary were killed the following night with equal brutality. The two incidents could be connected.

The Manson family

Charles Manson was in and out of prison before he formed his hippy commune. Manson called himself a reincarnation of Jesus Christ. Apart from his criminal life, he was a singer-songwriter. He wished to publish his albums.

Manson believed in Helter-Skelter, a title of a Beatles’ song. Helter-Skelter means confusion, disorder, some haphazard apocalyptic event. Manson often talked about the inevitable war between the Blacks and the Whites in which all Whites would be destroyed. Manson conceived strategies whereby he and his commune would survive in bunkers (while the remaining White race would disappear). His cult would then rule the world from their secret place. Manson was a charismatic guru, with several girls out of teens joining his cult. Such was his influence they were prepared to do anything he told them. The commune came to be known as the Manson family.

To fulfill his musical ambitions, Manson first tried the well-known rock band the Beach Boys, and later Terry Milcher, the musician and record producer. Milcher was the only son of Doris Day, singer of the famed Que Sera, Sera Whatever will be, will be. Milcher initially showed interest. Manson even auditioned for Milcher, but Milcher never signed him. That truly angered Manson.

Order to kill

On 8 August 1969, Manson sent Tex Watson (23), Susan Atkins (21), Patricia Krenwinkel (21) and Linda Kasabian (20) to go and kill everyone at the luxury house at 10050 Cielo drive.

“Because we wanted to do a crime that would shock the world, that the world would have to stand up and take notice.” Susan Atkins would later explain the reason for the ghastly murders in which she had participated.

It was true Terry Milcher did not live in that house any longer. But killing everyone in the house previously occupied by Milcher would teach him a great lesson, scare him to death, Manson thought.

The investigators identified at least nine murders committed by the Manson family members. Charles Manson and his co-murderers were arrested and tried on 27 counts. After a lengthy trial, the jury returned a verdict of death for all, the death sentence later confirmed by the Californian judge. However, in this wacky story full of twists, Charles Manson is alive even today.

Twist in the tale

10050 Cielo drive was an LA luxury home that was rented out to Hollywood celebrities. Cary Grant and Henry Fonda were its earlier residents. In 1968, Terry Milcher, the record producer and his girlfriend were renting it. Early in 1969, Milcher split with his girlfriend and decided to leave the place. From February 1969, it was rented by Roman Polanski.

Had Polanski not rented the house earlier occupied by Melcher, Sharon Tate, Polanski’s unborn son, and the three others murdered on that fateful night would be alive today.

Their brutal killers were given a death sentence in 1971. Only Linda Kasabian who acted as a witness for the prosecution was let go. She had told the entire story in exchange for immunity.

Before the death sentence could be executed, in 1972, the state of California changed its law. Death sentence was termed unconstitutional and all death row prisoners were given life imprisonment. A few years later, this decision was reversed, and death sentence was re-established in California. However, once death sentence is commuted to life imprisonment, it can’t be reversed in case of an individual convict. As a result, in that window, Charles Manson and killers from his family escaped death. Manson’s requests to be freed on parole are denied every time. His next parole request will come up in 2027 when he will be 92 years old. 

Five innocent people die, their only fault being residing in the wrong house. And their killers continue to live their full life. If such a bizarre story was offered to Roman Polanski, he would have refused to make a film on it.

Ravi