I am a fan of the L&O franchise. I even liked the redheaded stepchildren of the genre, the shows that never really got a chance to catch on or, if we want to honest with ourselves, kinda stunk. That "chung-chung" sound is enough to make me sit in a chair for an hour and come away entertained and, in some cases, kind of thoughtful.
In the past few years, though, I noticed that, for whatever reason, I was no longer able to sit through an entire episode of SVU. It wasn't the nature of the crimes - I'm a grown man, and a fan of true crime and books on crime and punishment, I know people do horrible things to other people - but I just found that whenever the show was on, I'd find a reason to be elsewhere, even if all that meant was reading a book while sharing the living room with my wife.
I know I wasn't interested in the show, that something was actually driving me away from it, but I couldn't put my finger on it until tonight.
I never really caught the plot of the episode, but at the end some college boy who bribed another girl to hide up the fact that he raped and apparently murdered a girl is told by an assistant district attorney that in prison, he'll learn what it's like to be raped on the bathroom floor.
The implication is clear, and it disgusts me.
I'm not a fan of criminals, nor am I "soft on crime." I just think that an office of the law being pleased at an impending act of sexual assault, regardless of the repugnant nature of the person it's going to happen to, is an offence. I appreciate the desire to see the bad guys get their comeuppance, to "get what they deserve," but the purpose of justice isn't vengeance, or at least shouldn't be.
So, sorry L&O:SVU. If it makes you feel any better, thanks to you I'll probably finally get around to finishing House of Leaves.
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