Julie Campbell

I recently learned of the death of some I hadn't thought about in a long time. Her name was Julia Campbell, though she went by Julie. By sheer coincidence there was a semi-famous actress by the name of Julia Campbell who happened to attend the same high school I did (Lake Braddock) and appeared in one forgettable sitcom called "Women in Prison." Anyway, I remember her as a sweet girl who prided herself on physical fitness, journalistic integrity and urinary expediency. “I’m the fastest pee-er in the West!” she would brag. Small bladder, evidently. And she didn’t want to waste time. She certainly didn’t waste any time getting fired from the Connection, the weekly newspaper where we worked although it did take her two times to get it right. 


I forget exactly why the editor, Todd Holzman, canned her, but the second time was a foregone conclusion. Todd's successor, a lesbian named Robin, was actually a pleasant enough woman but also the girlfriend of a woman named Kathleen who schemed to get Todd fired and did not like me, meaning I had to watch my back at all times. Julie seemed determined to make Robin's life miserable, specifically by complaining about the work habits of the sports department. I tried reminding Julie that high school games often lasted till 11 p.m., sometimes hours away, meaning the sports guys’ days routinely went on past midnight and nobody got paid overtime at the Connection. Of course, Julie would have none of it. She continued to rant and rave as if she ran the place.
For some reason it was left to Kathleen Rothenberg, the business manager, to deliver the coup de grace. I found Julie in the hallway in a state of furious disbelief. "I can't believe it!" she kept saying, though she was the only soul in the building who could not. I walked Julie to her car and she told me, between sobs, that if she left the office immediately she would receive her full two-weeks severance. I guess they were afraid she’d fire-bomb the place.

So when I learned she’d been murdered almost 8 years ago in the Philippines working for the Peace Corps, I was sad of course. But so help me I wasn’t all that surprised. Not really. Idealists like Julie can inspire, uplift, elevate. But they can also piss off the wrong people, and I’m assumed that’s what happened to Julie. When you’re that committed to a cause, whether it’s journalism or altruism, there are no grey areas. You’re either in the newsroom or you aren’t. You’re either helping people or you’re hurting people. The world needs more committed idealists like Julie precisely because their work, and their very nature, places them in such dangerous situations. And because there are so many more people to piss off.

That was my initial thought. Then I learned that her killer was simply a 25-year-old woodcarver who "killed Campbell in a fit of rage after mistaking the American for his enemy in the village." He hit Julie 15 times in the head and body with a rock. She did nothing to piss him off. He was already pissed off. At a Philippines trial he was sentenced to life in prison.

How does a young, vibrant, idealistic woman who quits her journalism job in the US to help poor people in the Philippines end up in a shallow grave with her head bashed in? I find no moral to this story. 

http://globalnation.inquirer.net/news/news/view/20080630-145573/Life-in-prison-for-killer-of-Peace-Corps-volunteer

http://juliainthephilippines.blogspot.com/