Duke Case (Where's The Outrage)

Any discussion of race in America invariably leads to frustration and a profound feeling of futility. It's virtually impossible to have a meaningful dialogue on the subject.

The anger directed at Imus is on target. Sure, the piling on from discredited figures such as Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson is absurd, but that doesn't excuse what Imus did. We're quick to leap and uphold the honor of the Rutgers women by beating up on Imus. But I'm just wondering: Where is the outrage over the blatant injustice endured by three members of Duke's men's lacrosse team?

The three players were formally accused of rape and other trumped-up charges that finally got tossed away on Wednesday by the North Carolina attorney general, Roy Cooper, who held nothing back in criticizing this as a shoddy, shameless and baseless prosecution.

But these Duke players will always be stained by the mud of these false allegations. Before any of the facts came in, these players were essentially deemed guilty by the Duke administration, the local Durham, N.C., community, and the national media. So how do they get their good names back?

I want to know why the angry forces, white and black, that mobilized to take Imus down aren't heading to Durham, N.C. to condemn the despicable wrongdoing that threatened the very freedom of the Duke players. Is this because they're white males who come from affluent backgrounds? It shouldn't matter; they are still victims.

Early on in this process, the New Black Panthers, a black hate group from Atlanta, traveled to Durham and made threats against the three lacrosse players. And the woman who filed the false charges against the Duke players is black. So how come Sharpton and Jackson aren't in North Carolina, speaking out against blacks who harmed the reputation of three white athletes? Must be a selective conscience. And the double standards are detestable.

I'm not playing down what happened to the Rutgers women. But they were victims of name-calling from a worn-out shock jock. And I believe that some good is coming out of this for Rutgers; because of the publicity, we've gotten an opportunity to learn a lot more about the players. And they're an impressive lineup that includes an aspiring doctor, a future veterinarian, an accomplished musician, an actual Girl Scout, and strong academic backgrounds. Coach Vivian Stringer, a member of the basketball Hall of Fame, was widowed 15 years ago and raised three kids on her own — including a wheelchair-bound daughter born with spinal bifida.

Just about anyone who saw the Rutgers coach and players speak at length Tuesday would come away thinking that this would be a great team to be a part of. By calling them a bad name, Imus gave the world a chance to discover just how wonderful these players truly are.

And the three Duke players? Well, they'll get on with their lives, except that the word "rapist" will follow them forever. And I ask again: Where is the outrage?

 

Just to be clear on the matter. They were not "deemed guilty by the Duke administration". In fact, the Duke administration was one of the loudest proponents of waiting until all the facts were known.

The only reason that the "Durham Three" were suspended from Duke is that Duke (as well as most, if not all major universities) has a policy that says, in effect, that any student who is charged with a felony is automatically suspended pending the outcome.

 

regardless, these guys were done wrong. I'm sure all the "outrage" will come along with the lawsuits. I think all the activist for the girl should run down here and apologize to the players , Duke,and the community. They said quite a few bad things about this and they need to step up and do what is right for everyone. NAACP needs to check into things further instead of automatically jumping to conclusions as the DA did. What ever happened to innocent until proven guilty?

 

Have you ever seen the discussions here? There is usually a very few who do not jump to a conclusion with a minimum of information and those few generally try to make just that point.

If I remember correctly when that story broke here it was the same situation with a call for lynching. As the stroy dragged on the call was still there but to lynch others rather than the accused.

 

The problem is that, to the detracters, the "Durham Three" were proven guilty in the court of public opinion. Nifong as much as said that he had irrefutable proof that they were guilty. What more do people need?

I'm sorry to say that it's pretty much human nature. Take a look at the threads that are started here on almost a weekly basis. A 4042er posts a news link about someone who was arrested for child molesting and 75% or better of the rest of the thread amounts to a lynch mob ready to go after them. For some reason, the general attitude is that the police wouldn't arrest someone, or the grand jury wouldn't indict, unless they were guilty. The trial is obligatory, only to keep the person from getting off on a technicality, and could really be done away with if they could only allow the cops to execute the person on the spot.

 

My most vivid memory of the early days of this was the interview Nyfong granted Kevin Miller on WPTF. I am sure Miller was just doing his job but he got Nyfong so worked up that I was amazed at what I heard. As a result Nyfong dug himself into a hole he could not crawl out of and Miller was offered a job in a more prestigeious market and soon left the Triangle.

 

Correction Clif, There were 83 Faculty members that called these players guilty!! It was published in the campus paper and on a website that the 83 formed. That is a strong fact. Not only did faculty jump on the race band wagon the campus as a whole did the same thing. All of this is published.

 

Yeah, and we are normal people just chit- chatting on here. The NAACP are a national group. They stand for more than us regular joes on fourms. They still need to apologize to the players. The Black Panthers were here ready to get those "white boys".Why didn't NAACP try to control these people better. When someone mentions a black person in despair the NAACP comes running.

Read this:.
Duke Rape Prosecutor Shares Evidence with Black Panthers - Update
May 08, 2006 02:20 PM EST


by Jim Kouri - Malik Zulu Shabazz, an attorney with the New Black Panthers, told Fox News Channel that the prosecutor in the Duke rape case shared information and evidence with the Panthers during a meeting.


In an interview with Fox News Channel's Brian Kilmeade and Juliet Huddy, Shabazz said that members of his group, who are protesting the treatment of the alleged victim of a rape by the Duke University lacrosse team, met with the prosecutor to review his evidence against the students. He says he was assured the case would move forward and the students would be convicted.

Shabazz also told Fox News that the victim's father should keep his mouth shut.

During a rally near the Duke campus, members of the New Black Panthers lead protesters in chants and made several speeches. They are recognized by many as a racist, nationalist black group.

“What do we want? Justice! And when do we want it? Now!” the Panthers shouted.

They arrived by police escort outside the Duke gates, but they also had their own security, some wearing combat boots and others with knives on their hips.

“We're here today because a human life has been violated in the city of Durham, and we’re here seeking justice,” said Dr. Bruce Bridges, a member of the New Black Panthers party.

“Black power, black power!” chants echoed throughout the crowd as members explained their cause.

“We will defend our black women. (The) New Black Panther party and black men is not going to stand by, idly by, and let our black women be raped,” said Nigi Muhammed. “You say we are playing the race card. No we're not playing the race card. You with all the cameras, your forefathers been playing race cards for the past 450 years.”

“I am here with these brothers because it appears Durham does not want to see the truth,” said Durham school board member Jackie Wagstaff.

The New Black Panthers are convinced members of the Duke lacrosse team raped the N.C. Central student and want a conviction.

“We don't care whether our sister was stripping or not. We say that that was only a temporary condition of circumstance. But to us she is a righteous and divine woman by nature,” said party member Malik Zulu Shabazz.

Campus police turned the protestors away before they could go on campus.
Shabazz added that he believes Duke has played a role in allowing this scandal to happen:

“For the record, the history of Duke University is riddled in slavery, racist oppression and racism against black people.”

Moments later the protesters tried to walk onto Duke's campus, but campus police stopped them.

“Are you telling me that the president of Duke University is denying the African-American community from coming on this campus?” one protestor asked.

Campus police said the president would not allow the protest to take place on campus because this week is exam week.

When the marchers were turned away from Duke’s gates, they decided to take things into their hands and walk down the streets of Durham straight to the lacrosse house.

The New Black Panthers want the city to turn the lacrosse house into a rape crisis center, and they want to make sure the trial remains in Durham.

The New Black Panthers offered the woman accusing the lacrosse players personal security, but the family has denied that request and says they did not ask the Panthers to come to Durham.

Update: The Durham District Attorney's office did not return calls in order to deny or confirm the statements from the New Black Panthers that the prosecutor in the Duke rape case met and shared information with the leaders of the New Black Panthers.

Now, is that a way to conduct yourself?

 

Yes, but they did not represent the Duke administration. Duke President Brodhead does. Here's his statement.

The faculty have a right to express their opinion, but do not necessarily represent the university's policies or opinions. Just like things you say here I do not believe represent your company's policies or opinions.

 

When will the Duke men be on Oprah? The Rutgers ladies were in short order. When will Sharpton, Jackson and the Black Panthers apologize? When hell freezes over! Both these stories were driven by idiotic exaggeration by the parties involved. Nifong just made things up. The Rutgers women were "scarred for life! FOR LIFE!!!" Too many people playing for the media in both cases

 

Don Imus was fired for calling the Rutgers University basketball team "nappy headed hos". Sure, that was inappropriate, but did the punishment fit the crime? Maybe we should look at the two guys who pushed this issue until Imus was fired.

Jesse Jackson says it's a question of morality, and what's right and what's wrong.

Just so we're clear:

Imus Calling Black Women "nappy headed hos": Wrong.

Jesse Jackson calling Jews "Hymies" and referring to New York as "Hymietown" : Right. (Washington Post, 1984)

Imus Calling Black Women "nappy headed hos": Wrong.

Jesse Jackson having an affair and Impregnating Karin Stanford, then using rainbow coalition funds to pay her $40,000 and purchasing a $365,000 house to keep her quiet: Right

Jesse Jackson not paying child support for this child, and not visiting her: Right

Jesse Jackson Saying Duke La Crosse Rape Suspects who have been aquitted "deserved the negative attention" because they weren't acting morally by hiring a stripper: Right

I'm glad we have someone with strong moral values like Jesse Jackson to make sure nobody makes racist jokes on radio stations!

Thanks for showing us what's right and what's wrong Jesse.


And who can forget Al Sharpton, another strong moral figure who knows the power of words:


After District Attorney Steven Pagones failed to prosecute white suspects for raping a black girl (because evidence showed the story was fabricated) Al Sharpton accused Pagones Himself of raping the girl. Pagones successfully sued him for Defamation. Right

But it gets better:

Imus Calling Black Women "nappy headed hos": Wrong.

In 1995, Sharpton led a protest in Harlem against the plans of Freddy's Fashion Mart, a Jewish-owned clothing store, to expand into a black neighborhood. Sharpton told the protesters, "We will not stand by and allow them to move this brother so that some white interloper can expand his business." Three months later, an armed protester forcibly entered the store and burned it down, killing himself and seven others. Right

Thanks Jesse and Al for showing us what's right and wrong. I'm glad we can finally see the light now. I'm glad you guys stopped this guy, and all his charities for sick and homeless children, that will now dry up. Thanks guys!

 

I don't think he was fired for calling the girls that, he was fired for costing his employers millions of dollars. If he brought in additional sales from his comments do you think he would have been canned?

 

My hero

 

He cost his employers a lot of money because sponsors started backing out of this show, because of what he said.

Would he have been canned? Yes. Some people cant let things go until they win, ie: South Carolina

 

http://froogle.google.com/froogle?q='nappy-headed+ho%22+t-shirt&hl=en&safe=off&rls=GGLD,GGLD:2004-37,GGLD:en&um=1&sa=X&oi=froogle&ct=title

 

I'm sure, someone, some where will be wearing something like that.

 

The Rutgers team accepted Mr. Imus' apology.

Two thoughts:

1. It seems like, in the national spotlight, the only ones acting like adults are the Rutgers team and Mr. Imus.

2. Since the Rutgers team has accepted his apology, and they were the only ones actually affected, shouldn't Mr. Imus be reinstated?

 

Maybe the outrage is misdirected. Just maybe the outrage needs to result in looking into a system where district attorneys can manipulate the system and get indictments without solid evidence. After retiring with 25 years of service working for the Department of Correction, I can truthfully say I met many inmates over the years that I felt like were pulling time because they had no money to fight the charges, and a plea bargain was the cheapest way out.

Remember, this lacrosse team didn't have a sterling reputation to begin with on the Duke campus. If some poor kids with a bad reputation from the "wrong" neighborhood had been suspected of rape, and had no money and no parents to help them out, the district attorney probably offers a plea bargain of assault on a female when he has no evidence. Bet it happens more than most of us imagine.

Let's get outrage about the system, review, and make it more just.

 

As far as the Duke case. . .the "outrage" is mostly internal - kept at bay, as always. It will be fought out in court and hopefully Nifong will get his just rewards - his sorry butt belongs in a prison cell and his $ belongs in the pockets of the young men and their families which he tried so hard to destroy.

Tweedle dee and Tweedle dum (Jesse and Al) enjoy getting their panties in a knot when the mood suits them.

Consider this. . .IF the entire media didn't have a field day with Mr. Imus' remark - then I wouldn't have heard it out of the mouths of TV reporters, various DJ's, nor would I have read the words in the newspaper - dozens of times in the past few days. I, like a great number of folks don't tune into Imus In The Morning - If the media whores didn't decend upon the comment, most of us never would have heard his words.

Jeeze Louise, why is if okay when the 'media' is using the term "nappy headed hos"? ? ? The very media who dis Imus and report that these terms hurt an entire race of people, especially the children, have made certain every man, woman and child is all too aware of it, no matter what form of media they tune in to, nor what time they do it. Heheheheh - am I the only one who sees irony in this?

Yeah, it's a slur and yes, it's inappropriate - Shame on you Imus, you're only supposed to pick on whites, Jews and Latinos for God's sake!

Imus also mentioned their ink, but I don't see a coalition of tattooed people coming down on him.

The only way slurs can ever become a thing of the past is IF nobody can get away with using them - I hear the blasting of radios in vehicles next to mine all too often and young black males have lots of songs. . .if you can call rap music - which uses the "N" word over and over. This needs to be put to a stop. One race should not be given free use of a word the another is branded racist for using PERIOD!

((stepping off my soap-box now))

 

I guess one of the things we have learned here is that the court system needs to define "timely".