JFK Jr. is a Villain and Should be Remembered as Such
Ultimately, it was his ego that killed himself and two innocent people.
Everyone is watching Love Story right now. If you’re unfamiliar, it’s a Hulu series that documents the romance between John Kennedy Jr. (son of JFK and Jackie O) and Carolyn Bessette. I admit I’ve only seen clips in passing, but I will eventually get around to watching the whole thing.
I don’t really know much about John Jr.’s life beyond the basics: son of President John F. Kennedy, had a magazine, married out of his league, etc. But what I am more familiar with is how he died. For years, it has stood out to me as one of the worst deaths I’ve ever heard of. Not even because of how awful dying in a plane crash is, but rather because a) two innocent people died, b) this was extremely preventable, and c) John Jr.’s ego is what caused the whole thing.
If you’re not familiar with the specifics of what happened, I’ll give a quick recap. On July 16, 1999, JFK Jr. was piloting a light aircraft with his wife, Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, and Carolyn’s sister, Lauren, onboard. They were en route to the Kennedy Compound in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, to attend the wedding of John’s cousin, Rory. The journey ultimately ended in tragedy when John crashed the plane into the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard. All three passengers on board died.
Now here’s what aggravates me: this was all John’s fault and he is not held accountable enough for it.
The night of the flight, it was dark and rainy. He was repeatedly told/warned/recommended not to fly. He also lacked an instrument rating qualification. I’m not a plane person, so I don’t really know what that is, but from what I gather, it would have been an asset in navigating tricky weather. Oh, and he had a broken foot. So, to recap: an injured amateur pilot with inadequate training for the bad weather he flew out into, after repeatedly being told not to, crashed his plane and killed two innocent passengers.
The official reason given for the crash was that Kennedy “fell victim to spatial disorientation”. But, beyond that, it was sheer ego that led him to believe he could pilot this plane when people who knew better told him no. That arrogance is what really killed his wife and her sister. That is awful.
The Kennedy estate inevitably settled with the Bessette family for a rumoured $15 million in a negligent death claim. But who cares about the money. I feel so bad for Ann Bessette, the mother of Carolyn and Lauren. It’s awful enough to lose a child; it’s worse to lose two, it’s worse that they died in such a tragic way, it's worse that it was at the hands of a family member, and the worst of it all was that they died because of that family member’s ego.
And yet, whenever the story os John Jr. is told, it’s always told with sympathy. People romantize him falling into “the Kennedy Curse”. They mourn how young and handsome he was; a quality man gone too soon. But why do we let him off the hook in the retelling of his life and legacy?? He overestimated his abilities and killed two people. He’s a murderer. If he were an everyday person and managed to survive, but still lost the two passengers in the crash, he would probably have been charged with manslaughter.
As a society, we usually look down on people who kill others through reckless actions. Yet, somehow, John Jr. has always evaded being lowered to the same standard. Why? Because he’s a rich, handsome white guy?
How he died is awful, and I am deeply sympathetic to his family for the loss they endured. But it was his fault. He is the villain in his own story and in that of Carolyn and Lauren Bessette. And he should be remembered as such.