RIP in 2009

[JWBear]

Originally Posted by Alex

I have. I just don't consider pretending it didn't happen and expunging it from the record through some moral statute of limitations to be a necessary element of such respect.

And apparently nobody has any respect for him and his loved ones, every single career recap/obituary I've seen in the last 24 hours has included mention of the black mark on his career that Chappaquiddick was.

I never said that it shouldn't be mentioned. But neither should his entire life be summoned up by the name "Kopechne".

Originally Posted by Alex

You obviously disagree but personally I see it as quite obvious that a lot of how the aftermath went down was more a result of his last name, not the merits of the situation. If she had been driving him I somehow doubt she'd have just been off with a leaving the scene charge.

If everything had otherwise been equal, then why not? Leaving the scene was the only illegal thing he did. The actual driving off the bridge was an accident; it could have happened to anybody. We can not know what was going through his head afterwards. Concussion, panic, fear, guilt, horror... these all can make you do things you wouldn't otherwise. We all do things that we later regret. No one is immune, not even US Senators. He reacted like a Human; how horrible of him. But all these irresponsible actions were after the accident. Even if he had done everything correctly and properly, Mary Jo Kopechne would still be dead.

Originally Posted by Alex

Though I'm a bit curious if Kevy Baby was intentionally turning the tables on the thread that happened when Jesse Helms died and everybody was quite clear that being dead was no reason to ignore the bad things a person had done (I believe the suggestion was made that simple respect for the people who loved him could warrant restraint, and this was rejected), regardless of how long ago. He may have suspected that this is a sentiment that isn't necessarily truly universal. Just sopposition on my part, though.

I did not, and I still do not agree that making light of Helms’s death was ok. I can not give Kevy a pass just because others made light of it.

Originally Posted by Ghoulish Delight

I'm no enemy of dark humor, I just found Kevy's entry a little lame as all it did was drag the Kopechne family's name into it just to take a pot shot at Ted.

Agreed.