The Unsolved Bunch

Harry Longabaugh and Etta Place
in New York City, circa 1901,
just before they sailed to Argentina

Chances are, you've seen the movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, starring Paul Newman, Robert Redford and Katherine Ross. The movie ends with a self-evident question mark. While most historical narratives place Parker and Longabaugh's likely demise at the hands of the Bolivian Army, inescapable facts in real life may forever facilitate alternative endings. 

Originally published to the Gainesville Times on Tuesday, December 13, 1988, Criminology Professor Alex Taylor takes a shot at the mystery of the three principals of the film — a mystery that continues to this day.

The Quiet Ones

The movie Minority Report makes for comparative commentary here. Originally published in the Gainesville Times, December 6, 1988, Prof. Taylor speaks to the notion of Pre-Crime and a police state where psychological profiling is a practice compelled on all citizens.

Oh, and please excuse the typos. I think Dad’s editor was having an off day. See? That’s an example of external loci. As much as I loathe them, I’ve caught typos and other grammatical errors in at least 90% of the professionally-produced publications I’ve read. Mistakes happen to the best of us, and it makes me feel just a little better about myself when I, on such a rare occasion, happen to catch one. Tee hee!

I’m somehow reminded of Dr. Leland Goines’ (Christopher Plummer) lamentation of psychiatry in the 1996 movie, 12 Monkeys. Kidding aside, it seems our society is always in danger of creeping away from freedom in the name of some emergency.

The Hangman’s Ball

Prof. Taylor examines our never-ending culture of violence in this week’s Taylor Tuesday. Published in the Gainesville Times, November 29, 1988, his Crime Stories column features the career of Isaac “Hanging Judge” Parker, famous (or infamous) for his frequent use of ropes. Commentary follows the column.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Familiar then, familiar in 1988, familiar today. My father, perhaps wisely, eschewed a direct political commentary as it might not have favored the personal viewpoints of the paper’s Editors. Indeed, our culture of violence existed then as it does today. Movies have spared no imagination in the cruelty and gore splattered upon the screen. Video games have become play-per-view interactions of violent behavior, and many actually reward such behavior (Grand Theft Auto, etc). Direct comparative attributions are debatable, subjective to age and other dispositions, yet the level of civil disobedience and illegal, falsely-moralized entitlement has become a little more than notable, given the severity of recent riots, organized looting mobs, and their political puppeteers. We are as violent and desensitized as we’ve ever been.