The John Karr Show

Karr's mug shot -- Photo courtesy Wikipedia

by blogSpotter
When I first went to the State Fair of Texas back in the 80's, my guiltiest pleasure was probably the Freak Show. There, we could look at Fish Boy or the world's shortest man. This unholy fascination was brought to an end by political correctness; sometime in the mid 90's, the Freak Show was discontinued -- our waning freak fascination would have to be quenched with tabloid headlines. Now comes John Karr, a fragile wisp of a man, confessing to the decade-old murder of 6-year old beauty queen Jon Benet Ramsey. John Karr's bizarre traits ratcheted up interest much as the OJ trial stirred race, sex, money and violence into a spicy brew. We had a beautiful blonde child victim, pedophilia, wealth, possible incest, lingering mystery and sexual ambiguity to top it all off (Karr was considering a sex change and appeared to be wearing layers of make-up when arrested).

Right off the bat, there were problems with Karr's confession. Extradited from Thailand, a Gulag of the child sex trade, he gave accounts that didn't wash. He said he drugged Jon Benet -- there were no drugs in her system. He said he picked her up from school the day she died; that day was a school holiday. Moreover, his family in Alabama was fairly certain he was with them all thru Christmas of 1996. Several media watchers were surprised there was even an arrest, given the shaky legs of this case. The charges were dropped on August 28th, although Karr still faces child pornography charges in Sonoma, California.

"Step right up, right this way. Come see the miraculous fish boy!" ... All we lack with Karr is the carnival barker. It matters not a whit that more important things are happening in the world. We have Hezbollah, gas prices and mid term elections to start with. And your point is? People want to know about that 'nice boy' down the street who has a screw loose -- the Eagle Scout who cannibalizes or the altar boy who kills 33 with a high power rifle. What vagary of nature causes the brain's neurons to fire in the wrong way? Other than knowing the psycho is finally apprehended, it's not even so important whether they get jail or a life in an institution. All that matters is the lurid reality, the horrific knowing that a monster has run freely in the streets. Before apprehension, maybe one of these monsters could snatch us away too.

John Mark Karr was interesting in his own right -- he combined the sexual androgyny of Michael Jackson with the creepiness of Roman Polanski. Had there been a DNA match, the feeding frenzy would've turned the journalistic eddy blood red. But no -- Karr's oddities stop well short of a sensational murder. You'll have to 'appreciate' what there is, no less, no more. Then proceed down the midway of the Fair -- cotton candy over here, turkey legs over there.

© 2006 blogSpotter.