Well these are certainly not your grandparent's Bonnie & Clyde days anymore. In possessing technology today which Bonnie & Clyde would marvel at-- law enforcement always seems to have the tools and resources needed-- to get the jump on and quickly hunt down criminals who make a big splash. Just as other recent outlaws who the media has ceremoniously & inaccurately ascended to the level of Bonnie & Clyde-- The Dougherty Gang-- Lee, Ryan and Dylan didn't last long on the run. Hell, it seems they were just witnessed buying their tent-- & barely had time to put the sticks up.
Bonnie & Clyde History is so much more profound than just the antics, crimes & passion of a love swooned pair-- most often viewed in polarizing terms, as either callous hardened killers or unfortunate characters of fate. Their history is "our" history-- as The Great Depression affected all, regardless of circumstance. Those remarkably tough times, manifested true hardship, heartache, legitimate desperation and class struggle.
Compare that to this trio of troubled kids, where the threat of one having to register as a sex offender-- was thought would hamper his ability to see his yet unborn child. That could well be true-- but I'm not sure modern problems of personal inconvenience such as this, measure up to the unmatched challenges and struggles a brave '30's populous had to endure.
Although the overall crime rate reportedly dropped during the Depression-- robbery based murder and domestic violence surged, as frustrations were stretched to the breaking point within many. Desperate times can lead to desperate measures, among those where hope flickers like a candle in the wind. I seem to do one of these posts, every time now Bonnie & Clyde are mentioned in comparison to whichever modern day misfits are on the run. I'm sure it won't be long, until this recurring historical inequity is exercised once again by the media-- in order to prompt a reminder, of what truly tough times & iconic criminals were really like.
1 comment:
It makes me wonder, sometimes, exactly what criteria are used to determine whether a couple is described as being "...another Bonnie and Clyde." In this case it's a trio, but it's still the same idea - and I don't know where they're getting their ideas about Bonnie and Clyde in order to make their comparisons.
I've heard Caril Fugate and Charles Starkweather compared to Bonnie and Clyde - but they were not. Fugate and Starkweather killed Fugate's own family members, including a young child, and this is something that B&C would have never done. Family was important to them, and all evidence indicates that when Clyde killed, it was because he felt that it was necessary - his style of killing was not the same as Starkweather's angry and hateful spree. When Fugate and Starkweather were caught, they did not choose to die together - Fugate instead choose to blame everything on Starkweather and her own youthful "innocence." They were certainly not Bonnie and Clyde.
I could go on, but there are so many cases described like this that it's pretty pointless. I certainly don't see anything in the behavior of these murderous siblings that reminds me of anything I've ever heard or read about B&C.
Once again - blame it on the media!!! (And it goes to show that B&C are still going strong in the public mind, as well, for these comparisons to keep being made, so long after the fact!
Post a Comment