I’ve eliminated Whitey from six of the 19 murders. Before going on discussing the other 13, I will write about this subject today and for some days next week about the scam in the U.S, attorney’s office Boston.
Going through the murders allegedly committed by Whitey Bulger brought today’s issue to my mind. It happened when I was rehashing the murders of the two women, Debbie Davis and Deborah Hussey that it was pointed out clearly to me. We are sort of a pretend society. We want to pretend one thing exists such as equality between men and women when our actions show that is not the case.
The intent behind the statement “black lives matter” was missed by my cousin from Maryland, Martin O’Malley, who is wasting his and our time running for the Democratic nomination, when he said “all lives matter” which he subsequently apologized for saying. The “black lives matter” statement is a shorthand way of people complaining that blacks are not treated equally especially by law enforcement authorities.
Here I suggest “women’s lives matter.” I do that in the context of our overall relationship to women in the United States. I cannot speak for the rest of the world, Many customs found outside our country seem to contradict this although they may not. So I talk about only what I know, America.
We’re all familiar with the “equal pay” movement and know about how women were not allowed to vote in national elections until 1920 although in some parts of the country they voted much earlier than that. Surprisingly those were not in the so-called enlightened Eastern states but out in the far western reaches of our country where things were much rougher and women much tougher. There were little frills in “dem dere parts.” Lace, silk, and satin were unknown to them.
Few people have commented on the nexus between women getting the vote and the country outlawing alcohol which happened about the same time at the end of what has been called the Progressive Era 1890 to 1920. That era coincided with the worst days of the Jim Crow Era which makes one think those progressive folk had little concern for blacks. Groups such as the Women’s Christian Temperance Union helped push both laws through. They were voted in by men.
The idea behind prohibition was that by keeping working men out of the bars and saloons they would stay more in the home and become more responsible citizens. The women put up with the man being about the home for a little more than a dozen years and as each year passed they became convinced they were better off with them in the bars. So in 1933 they chased them out again by repealing prohibition but they hung on to the right to vote.
Now you know during the trial of James “Whitey” Bulger we heard much about people being murdered. John Martorano told of his twenty murders, Steve Flemmi told of ten or so others, and there were the 19 that Whitey himself committed which were delved into with great care.
Some of the murders were of young men. Tony Veranis who I knew was 26 or 27; Martorano killed a couple of teen age black kids; Michael Milano was in his early or mid twenties. When hearing of their deaths no one seemed much bothered. Then there were the deaths of the two women. It was reported that some of the jurors cried when hearing of them. Everyone seemed to agree that it was a tragedy such young women had their lives destroyed in their mid-twenties.
It was reported one of the most important things Whitey cared about was not to be associated with their murders; that there were 17 other murders charged did not seem to matter. I was particularly incensed that Steve Flemmi would have involved himself murdering women. John Martorano during the Connolly trial was adamant in insisting that he never knowingly murdered a woman. (He would say that when he murdered the young black girl he did not know it was a girl. Would that have really made a difference to Martorano who never left behind witnesses?)
So when I say “women’s lives matter” it is in the context of comparing them to men. Why is it the deaths of young women cause such anguish while the deaths of young men seem to matter so little?
Janet’s observations are right on point. By factionalizing Flemmi’s stepdaughter/girlfriends’ murders, dismemberment of their hands, feet, and teeth, to shift blame onto Bulger but not Pat Nee or Kevin Weeks, AUSAs Wyshak and Kelly minimized Stephen Flemmi (aka Dr. Mengele) for the gruesome butcher he is.
Last Wednesday, I attended a “Meet the Prosecutors of James ‘Whitey’ Bulger and Black Mass” at Harvard Law School (HLS). It was nothing less than a U.S Attorney’s Office propaganda show by Fred Wyshak, Brian Kelly, with Zac Hafer offering free pizza. They knew I am aware of their OPR-OIG cover-up schemes to defraud the public and victims’ families of Justice, wrongful death damages, or any restitution whatsoever.
Having Wyshak and Kelly mentor these aspiring law students is analogous to having Marv Albert and Bill Cosby teach domestic relationship. When they couldn’t avoid my asking a question, they cringed, but I asked them to participate in the annual HLS Ames Mock Trial [judge and jury] of the Bulger case in competition against the HLS students. Kelly responded with a snipe, “No, we’re good.”
Next time I’d ask, “Wyshak, why are you and Brian Kelly shaking down Mayor Walsh and the City of Boston for astronomical legal fees with former AUSA Tom Frongillo (AUSAs Gary Crossen/Paul Kelly’s pal) and where Kelly is clearly conflicted by Supreme Judicial Court Rule 1.11 due his prior involvement in the Bulger spinoff Teamsters Local 25 cases, Teamsters internal affairs prosecution misconduct, and use of informant Boston Globe and Herald reporters to plant smear political stories in violation of the Hatch Act and Mass.R.Prof.Conduct 3.8?”
Matt,
The death of a young person, having barely experienced life, is truly tragic — man or woman. You are right. Most adults, I should think, feel more emotion over the murder of a young innocent compared to the murder of a young not-so-innocent, be they male or female.
Let’s face it, the deaths of Debbie Davis and Deborah Hussey were propagandized (in my opinion) by Flemmi, the Federal prosecutors and the media. The ruse was to pin their deaths on Bulger and to horrify the masses with detailed accounts of their demise by his hand.
If there were honest accounts of their deaths, then Flemmi would be the gruesome murderer of these two woman that he was responsible for protecting (step-daughter and girlfriend). That thought alone is horrifying to any feeling person. But, Flemmi’s victims, and certainly those of John Martorano, are of no consequence to the Federal prosecutors. In order to set these two monsters free, it was important that their victim’s become non-existent. No need to focus on their youth. No need to focus on their innocence, or simple lack of judgement at such a young age. No need to consider restitution for the families that were (and remain) tortured by the loss of their sons and brothers. No need to vindicate their deaths. The propaganda machine has made certain that they become nameless, faceless, and soul-less.
We’re fooled by their spinning of the truth, into especially caring about D. Davis and D. Hussey simply because Bulger must be seen as Satan incarnate. Flemmi, on the other hand, has become a ‘hero’ of sorts, in vindicating these women by naming their murderer. Come on, folks! He’s not so bad — after all, he didn’t want to hurt the girls! It was all Jimmy’s fault—!
I will admit that the story of Deborah Hussey has impacted me greatly. Not because of her gender, but the horrific violation of her life throughout her life. From the age of two, this person didn’t stand a chance. Her life was damned before she began kindergarten; her death of betrayal written in stone. Flemmi should be drawn and quartered for what he did to her — and the Federal prosecutors should be positioned close enough to be covered in his blood.
I think because the young woman were not underworld players, while (most) of the men were part of that world. These women were not engaged in organized crime, it is not like they had obliged themselves to take on the risks that lets say a drug dealer or loan shark would have by knowingly engaging in criminal acts.
That being said, your point is not lost on me, and I believe all of the deaths should be looked at with equal disgust and contempt.