More like this
Why is Amanda Knox’s conviction so upsetting?
A psychoanalyst offers an explanation for America's fury at murder conviction
The fierce outcry over Amanda Knox's conviction by a court in Perugia last Friday has been widespread in Britain and even more so in the US. Senator Maria Cantwell from Washington state, home of the Knox family, has gone so far as to denounce the decision by the Italians as anti-American in what she regards as a miscarriage of justice.
Numerous accusations have been made against the Italian judicial system with the presumption that it would have been a "fairer" trial had it taken place under the US justice system. The anti-Italian sentiment is plain to see.
The media coverage of the Kercher murder trial has also been markedly different in the US than in the European press. Much of the US press coverage has selectively failed to report on the more negative aspects of Knox's history as well as her anomalous behaviour during the trial.
Why is there such resistance in the US to accepting the possibility that one of its youth might have committed a heinous crime - and what does Amanda Knox represent for the American public?
Within the international political arena, the US has not been faring so well recently. The nation is hurt by the torture enquiries surrounding Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib. Top level officials have been identified as directly responsible for these abuses and the paternal authority of the recent past has been under attack.
Although there has been huge support for Obama, his foreign policy has not achieved what was envisioned. America's continuing involvement in Afghanistan and its unsuccessful attempts to assert control in the Middle East have raised fundamental doubts about its effectiveness on an international scale.
Amanda Knox seems to have become an icon for the American public of the next generation who will not be tainted by the sins of the fathers.
Parents normally invest their children with their own infantile narcissism. This means that parents tend to see their children as perfect, flawless, and innocent of all nastiness. This is the image of the ideal child that parents, by virtue of life's experience, lose of themselves and yet confer on their children. The ideal is kept alive in the next generation and
provides a healthy aspiration which is then tempered with time.
Just as Knox's parents are undoubtedly finding it painful to consider that their daughter might have done something wrong in fact, something that most would deem evil so Americans may be struggling with the difficulty of keeping "face" in the eyes of the world. This may be especially true at a time when the US is anxious to show that it has eradicated the bad within it and wants to re-establish an image of moral correctness and to assert the constitutional values upon which it was founded.
Americans may have particular reasons to defend the innocence of Knox. However, there is a sympathetic disbelief in Knox's conviction that is also evident in the response of the British.
The Americans and the British have claimed that the prosecution has portrayed Knox as "a manipulative and unscrupulous she-devil". Knox's family and her defence have argued that this was a gross misrepresentation that bore no reality to the bright and normal "girl next door" that Knox was. This touches on the heart of the matter.
Our deepest fear is that the "girl next door", whom we trust and see as innocent and loving, turns out to be a vampire or a murderer. This is the stuff of horror movies and we all want to believe that in real life these horrors don't occur. We also want to believe that we are not capable of doing evil deeds. Evil is something that is done by others not one of us.
The very fact that Knox is in many ways the epitome of the "girl next door" is what is so frightening and threatening. If she is in fact guilty of murder, then we are compelled to face the possibility that each of us has the capacity for evil. This is the real horror that gives rise to protest and disbelief in our attempt to disown this part of ourselves.
ends ·
Comments are now closed on this article
Comments
Amanda Knox may or may not have committed this crime, and she may or may not have been convicted in either Britain or the US, but not based on the case presented by the Italian prosecutors that was high on sexist character assassination and low on physical evidence (and what there was was handled so poorly that it would have carried very little weight in a US or UK court). Regardless of the tenor of the popular criticism of the decision in the US press, this conviction strikes many as unsafe even if Knox's guilt is undecided.
Those who are calling this as a case of American jingoism seem to have forgotten the British press reaction to Louise Woodward's conviction for shaking a child in her care to death (though curiously not when the less photogenic, less white Manjit Basuta was convicted under similar circumstances).
Knox reminded me throughout the trial of the Manson gang; same look in the eyes, same cold psychopath bemused all the fuss was taking place over just a life. Of course she's guilty. Anyone thinking otherwise has a vested interest in dissing Italian justice and siding with an American psycho. There was plenty of evidence presented, Bruce W, how come you missed it, too busy reading this irrelevent book? Yogchick, find an American guilty of anything and one is anti-American by definition. Same as criticise Israel and one is anti-Semitic, and if that fails to convince put it down to sexism. Pathetic argument, she made it clear to all that she's guilty, if innocent she would have behaved totally differently. If you can't tell the difference between guilt and innocence, then rather than display your ignorance, accept the decision of a court of law, one, moreover, which was reached by several judges as well as jurors, a system that beats the US hang 'em high lynchmob system by miles. Maybe it was because she's white that you can't accept she did it.
The book "Monster of Florence" is a big hit in the U.S. It shows the same prosecutor as in the Knox case, listening to a psychic's words and saying that it was fact and evidence. This trial shames Italy, and shames Britian too if Britians try to justify it. Generally, one needs actual evidence to convict, but not in Italy!
This essay is nothing more than media-speak psychobabble.
Americans are upset at the conviction of Amanda Knox not because it upsets their comfortable, rose-colored assumptions of normality, but because a jury actually believed the Prosecutor's claims that Meredith Kercher was murdered in a Satanic, drug-induced sex orgy gone wrong.
This is obviously a witch hunt and I don't think it's paranoid to consider the possibility of anti-Americanism when it's the American suspect who garnered much more media attention and tabloid sensationalism than the other three.
On the other hand, perhaps it's not anti-Americanism after all. Maybe it's just good old-fashioned sexism on behalf of a conservative Catholic country with a madonna-whore complex.
Amanda Knox might have received more sympathetic treatment if there hadn't been so much pro-USA chest beating on her behalf. America needs to realise that it's the world's Playground Bully.
Meredith Kercher is the victim here, not Amanda Knox, Meredith is DEAD, someone killed her and the evidence ( Italian or whatever ) says it was your "all american girl"
I have a very supportive family but had I killed someone they would be the first to turn me in! and that's how it should be!
I think the Knox family should be thinking about their daughter killing Meredith ( as they obviously are ) and accept the truth.
jayprime - I don't know that the verdict was wrong and didn't say that but I do question it. None of us was at the trial. Depending on what we understand, we may have differing opinions. Can any of us be broken down during the course of a long interrogation into making a wrong statement - never been in that position so truly don't know but would think it possible. I have said things during the course of a bad event (nothing remotely close to this and no wrongdoing) that made another laugh; inside of me, very nervous. So, a cartwheel doesn't presume guilt to me. From reading, I get the impression that facts/evidence presented at the trial which were a basis for the verdict were altered, ommitted, slanted or otherwise questionabe, but that's what I interpreted in what I heard or read. I do agree with the point Zac made relative to media credibility. I just don't limit it to American media; I believe what Zac stated with respect to media in general. So, your right, I don't know, just a personal opinion. If you or I, or anyone else commenting, came home to that house, would either of us be in that same situation right now? Don't know.
The usual stages everyone undergoes after being faced with a shock. Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression and Acceptance. With much of the American media's credibility now in the gutter, it is time for the Knoxes to attempt softer approaches to the Italians. When everybody realizes no amount of abuse will force the Italians to give up someone they've convicted, the obnoxious PR firm the Knoxes relied on will be fired and Amanda will have a civilized appeal.
Hi Bea... I agree with your comments. I am also an American. This is so sad. I mean for the victim's family and friends. The arrogance of some is very telling...
My problem, as a human, is that a girl has been convicted of murder because of a cartwheel! If you can point me to a person of another nationality who was convicted for doing a cartwheel, smiling too much, and buying underware, I would be equally outragged on their behalf.
Having followed this trial on a daily basis i find it hard to understand the problem journalists and America have with the verdict.....she's as guilty as hell! America is deeply sick.
Unless of course The US is miffed that a country had the temerity to find CIA murderers guilty 'in absentia' of heinous crimes.
Well done Italy.
It's not that we're all capable of such barbarity, but that the narcissistic, sociopathic personality can exist behind a deceptively happy, nice, friendly (and normal) demeanor.
It is always shocking when true sociopathy bursts through the facade. The family must be in denial.
Also, (speaking as an American), the article's premise, that the U.S. is collectively invested in seeing Amanda as the sweet school girl she appears, is totally inaccurate. That's a fiction generated by the media. Before the verdict, there was very little coverage of the real evidence (besides sound bytes about DNA) in the U.S. media. Now, there is no coverage of the many, many of us who believe that the Italian court pronounced correctly. The Knox family hired a PR company, and it is visibly at work. Also, news organizations are at an economic low, and nationalistic sympathy and controversy are good for ratings. I regret that our media is so one sided about this case; aside from being irresponsible, it projects an embarrassing image of American arrogance, and must cause further anguish to the Kercher family. Please don't view the American people through this generated image of protest and outrage that you see in the media.
Jo Chir - "I believe there should be justice for the Kercher family "
Why are you so ready to believe that they don't already have TRUE justice, with Knox convicted? After all, as you say yourself "I question the verdict but I don't know". You don't know, you weren't there, nor at the trial, but despite that you believe that the verdict is wrong.
There are many Americans who think clearly about International Justice and the part America has to play in restoring confidence in the ultimate triumph of Good over Evil.
Senator Cantwell's myopic utterance undermines the efforts of her countrymen and displays to the World a reason to fear America.
Just a quick note to say I am a 'Yank' who believes Knox is guilty and rightly convicted.
I am HORRIFIED at the xenophobic comments of my fellow countrymen and even MORE at how easily they have been taken in by Knox's PR juggernaut and The 'Monster of Florence' nonsense.
Covington's premise is incorrect by confusing the self-generating American media with actual American sentiment. In the same way that there was no public clamoring for this article to be written, there is no American uproar over Knox. Covington has a point of view; that's nice ... but it has nothing to do with reality. The press is constantly creating news where there was none; this is just another case in point. Hillary Clinton can rest easy.
Neil-I'm one of those Yankees you refer to and I assure you that I don't question the verdict because of nationality. In fact, my ancestry is predominantly Italian. I do question her guilt but don't know for sure. But, I do agree that nationality should not be a factor. We're talking about the life of people here. One, already sadly and tragically (I can't think of a word strong enough) lost. I believe there should be justice for the Kercher family and we should all include them in our prayers. I don't want to see a guilty person go free nor do I want to see an innocent person punished. Guilty or innocent - I question the verdict but I don't know.
What a shame that the United States can't mind it's own business. We know our own courts have sent innocent men and women to prison--worse death row and you don't hear an outburst from other countries. As long as there are appeals, she may be reinvestigated. NO one knows if she did this only herself! So Jerome and others, check out your own legal system before you call someone elses CORRUPT!
ALSO many Americans feel she is guilty. And those here are referring to ONLY Washinton State where the family lives and Senator Maria Cantwellis is from..
The news of this trial BARELY made the national news here.
If Knox were convicted of the same offense, based upon the same evidence, in the USA, she would have received life without parole. All this caterwauling from "journalists" in the US & UK is pure hokum.
we are familiar with anyone or any country which doesn't go along with the US attitude towards justice [look at Guantanamo & Co] Is de facto and de (US) jure anti-American! Every few years there is an outcry coming from over there, fortunately less nations & people at large do pay notice of Americans. Unfortunately, real trouble exist {as I was told recently by many Chinese scholars -I worked in China 4 years after 27 in the USA-} that US can no longer manufacture anything else of any value than weapons of mass destruction. Let's be vigilant, they said! Andy who is scared.
Sorry, no. Many Americans believe the conviction is unjust because the theory of the case is incredible - and because that's exactly what they expect from the Italian legal system, and Mignini particularly, having read "The Monster of Florence." The book's a study of that corrupt, deranged legal system, with an afterword detailing the many problems with the prosecution's case against Ms. Knox.
Would the average yank want this woman cartwheeling her way into their own daughter's life for a bit of 'harmless fun', or is it just convenient to bash the Italian judicial system to redirect their attention away from their own massive internal problems? It may seem a strange comparison but this same head-in-the-sand refusal to accept that Americans aren't all perfect by comparison to the rest of us can be witnessed in the world of boxing. Much as Americans love to claim that 'no one likes a sore loser', they are the worst losers I can think of. When Lloyd Honeyghan stopped their golden boy Don Curry in 1986, Curry was touted as the best pound for pound fighter in the world. After the fight the American boxing pundits had a field day making excuses as to why their man lost, none of which included the fact that he was out boxed on the night and beaten by the better man. It happens all the time. To this day Zola Budd tripped Mary Decker in the Olympic games in LA as far as Americans are concerned, even though Decker was behind her rival in the field at the time. Then there was that basket ball game with the USSR that they lost fair and square and so on. It might help if American parents didn't brainwash their children into believing 'We are the greatest' from day one, then the American people might be a little more grounded and humble. That said, I am generally pro-American and do believe that America is a great country but we all have our faults. Accepting them is a sign of maturity.
No - overanalyzed. I am one who questions her guilt, not because of what she looks like or her age. I question based upon what I've seen and/or read. Do I believe everything reported - heck no - not from either standpoint. But, what I do believe is that, for many reasons given, the trial was not fair, and as a result noone really knows whether justice has been served. I don't take shots at the Italian justice system. A system could be great, but, like a great computer, if bad information is fed in, wrong results come out. I question the accuracy, reliability, truthfulness and bias of the evidence presented and integrety of some involved, and, accordingly the verdict. For example, I question having a person prosecute the case who, himself, is under investigation for wrongdoing (in a court matter). Several other questionable events and items of evidence follow but too long to go into here. So, I don't care if the person imprisoned is the "girl next door" as long as the process, not just the trial, was fair and objective and results in a proper verdict. Antything else would only only make a horrible crime worse for both the Kerchers and the Knoxs. What a person looks like should not excuse wrongdoing, nor should it be used against them.
It's astonishing that yankees believe Knox's nationality ought to play a greater role in the verdict and sentence than whether she actually committed the premeditated murder of her roommate. Sadly it seems Knox will probably be freed on Appeal - not because she's not as guilty as hall, but purely because she's a yankee-doodle.