Unless you've been asleep under a rock somewhere, you already know the in's and out's of the Casey Anthony trial. Shock, denial, despair, anger--it's all there and out for public display since the rendering of a "not
guilty" verdict on all counts against Anthony for the murder of her two-year-old daughter, Caylee Anthony, three years ago. But it's the aftermath of the trial driven by her defense team's behavior that has my attention and provokes a heartwrenching sickness that I haven't felt in a long time. What I've observed is the sheer force of
unconscious and subconsioius psychological behavior by adults in her life that has managed to do the unthinkable--party on the grave of an innocent little girl.
Casey Anthony parties the night away
Sigmund Freud's repetition compulsion theory suggests that we all have a tendency to repeat our pasts, especially traumatic events and through our actions people unconsciously repeat the past. Freud wrote, "He reproduces it not as a memory but as an action; he repeats it without, of course, knowing that he is repeating... he cannot escape from this compulsion to repeat; and in the end we understand that this is his way of remembering." Anthony used partying, drinking, and sex as a coping mechanism to try to forget the horrific murder of her daughter and thus is most likely destined to repeat her "partying" behavior as an unconscious response to the death of Caylee. These feelings and actions can then be "transferred" or "projected" onto others around her via transference and countertransference theory. In other words, the power of Antony's psychological cognitions and behavior can affect others around her like members of her legal defense team.
The Defense Team Celebrates
Perhaps there is no clearer example of the power of psychology than the response of members of Anthony's defense team in a distinct behavioral pattern that "celebrates" the death of a child. Images of Casey dancing provocatively around a pole in photos taken just days after her daughter vanished seemed to mock the disappearance of Caylee in a way most of us cannot imagine. Shockingly, the defense team has managed to replicate the exact same behavior--celebrating at a local bar in full view of the media--toasting champagne to their "victory" at the expense of the young vicitm. Jumping,
laughing, giggling, toasting, drinking, and even flipping all of us the finger--defense attorneys Jose Baez, Dorothy Clay Sims, Cheney Mason, Ann Finnell, and Charles Green's display of public partying mimicked Casey Anthony's shocking behavior that took place after her daughter dissappeared. The behavior was most likely unconsioius on the part of defense lawyers, but none the less everpresent and tangible.
The real tradgedy in this case is that a little girl's life was cut violently short while those who were supposed to protect her danced the night away. The defense team had the right to be excited about their underdog win, but did they have the right to metophorically dance on Caylee's grave just as her mother did? Not only was the young victim denied justice, her mother and defense team won at Caylee's expense--and for all of us, that is the real travesty of justice.
