i have been following the Duke Lacrosse case on NPR, and heard a couple of commentaries that i thought were very good.
The first was a commentary on the actual sportmanship and how we as a country are enticing our athletes to have the attitude that they are 'untouchables'. The writer is a sports writer who is very good, and very passionate about sports. Everytime i hear one of his stories, i begin to think that maybe i've forgotten about what passion actually is - even for jocks.....
The second was a commentary about the ethnicity aspect of the case. I also thought this was a good editorial, as it has been on my mind as well.
Give them a listen when you have time - at work, at home - they aren't very long. let me know what you think......
14 comments:
I agree with the fact that athletes are treated as they are something special. it is a game played with a BALL gimme a break.. i say castrate them
Hmmm... It seems that NONE of the lacrosse players can be linked by DNA to the accuser. Isn't that strange because you would think that in a 'rape' situation at least some specimen from the 'purpetrator' would be left either at the scene or on the person of the accuser.
I'm not saying that this woman wasn't raped, she may very well have been. From what I've heard of the story, she could've been raped before, during, or after her encounter with the Duke lacrosse team.
I've been on several sports teams. I understand the team mentality. At no point, on any team that I was a part of, would I have considered covering up something as serious as these charges.
To me, the really upsetting thing about this is that people like Jesse Jackson retain credibility after making racial slurs and baseless accusations about the motivation behind an alleged crime. This situation had nothing to do with skin color until Jesse Jackson started talking. Now, because he still has some credibility with major media outlets, the case has become a referrendum on how horrible white college students treat minorities (who we all know wouldn't be stripping/hooking if those white college students didn't oppress them so much.) Jesse Jackson said that he'd still give the 'victim' money for a college education even if it were to be discovered that she fabricated the whole story. What kind of message does that send? It's ok to pay off an extortionist because of their skin color.
Not only are the Duke lacrosse team and Duke University being dragged through the mud, but their reputation has been forever tarnished by what seem to be baseless charges.
If this woman was indeed raped, why did she not immediately go to the police? Why did it take her several hours to contact anybody about the alleged crime? Why is there absolutely no DNA evidence that links ANY of the lacrosse players with the 'victim'? Why did the woman leave the party peacefully rather than screaming rape? Why is it shown in the photo evidence the whereabouts of the alleged victim at every point in the night? Why did the victim have to spend several minutes sitting on the porch outside the house in order to sober up? Could she have been totally wasted?
This reeks of shakedown. Especially since Jesse Jackson is involved. I absolutely cannot believe that guy has any credibility with anybody in America - no matter what color your skin is. This guy is not a leader of men, black or otherwise, and anybody who thinks of him that way will be seriously misled and intellectually crippled.
My blog is gone! It just disappeared! I don't know what happened, and I can't explain it. I'm totally lost.
Aaron, I think Jesse Jackson read your comment and deleted your blog. It's the only plausible explanation. Really.
Why is it that when a woman yells rape, people always ask the same questions: Why did she wait so long to go to the police? Why did or didn't she do this or that? Until men can be subjected to having something forcibly, physically, and cruelly 'inserted' into them whether they be drunk, drugged, or sober, they really should start thinking of other questions. The first one that comes to mind is, "Why is the number of women who are raped unbelievably disproportionate to the number of men?" Once we can answer that question, maybe then we can move on to other questions about rape like "Why did she wait so long to [fill in the blank]?" Or, better yet, since rape is about power: "How do we empower all people so that this kind of crime becomes a thing of the past?" I think we've reached the point--maybe because of the media, mabye because of something more amorphous, like patriarchy--where the victims of rape are often guilty until they can prove themselves innocent. There are, of course, many exceptions to what I've written above, but I wanted to give my $0.02.
I agree with Paul's comment completely regarding rape and views of it in society. It's the old, 'well she wore a short skirt and revealing blouse, so she was asking for it BS'. The movie 'The Accused' brought this out well. As far as this case I have no 2 cents since I just got back and avoided all news...will read up on it. But...and I can't believe I am agreeing with Aaron....I do hate Jesse Jackson seemingly pulling an Al Sharpton and somehow keeping his name in the news. I heard he is even paying for her college tuition regardless of the outcome of the case. Where I think that is nice, I can't help but think it is done for his benefit because there is no need for that to be made public, just give her the tuition money. Racism most certainly exists in the US, but I think Jesse Jackson ceases opprtunities and likes the sound of his voice too much.
I don't think the fact that consumption of alcohol changes the fact that someone was raped. I'm not saying this woman was, because I haven't enough interest to follow this. It certainly seems from the bare minimum of what I know about this, i.e. the comments and a few pictures in headlines that the athletes are being made an example of. But perhaps they did it, and if so, then they should be made an example of, what other perfect way to bring to light the abuse so many women suffer than by tarnishing the image of the overly-loved athletes that too many people idolize. They are NOT gods, as our society seems to want to believe. I think the worst part of high school for me was that I went to the school that had the state championship football team for zillions of years and they thought they were special. People treated them like they were, even teachers. They were the meanest most vicious example of "pack" mentality I could ever think of. They made fun of people that weren't like them, they bullied people, got through classes that they never really passed and basically had a golden ticket through highschool because they played with a ball with other boys in tights. I think the mentality that one must demonstrate to be on a sports team could definitely nurture characteristics that lead to gang rape.
There's a ton of explanations why women do not immediately go to the police and/or hospital. Most police officers are men, and it can be very intimidating for women to talk about something so personal and embarrassing. They have to ask a LOT of detailed questions for their report. Same with hospitals--they need physical evidence, which can also be physically and emotionally painful. Post traumatic shock makes many women disoriented and in denial that it even happened. There may be no physical evidence because the woman felt so disgusted with the events that she took a shower. Even rapists use condoms sometimes.
No one knows what happened, but I agree with Paul that our culture does not make it easy for women to come forward, because they know they will have to defend their own behavior and character after being the victim of a horrible crime. It is like another violation and until you've been through it you can't comment on what the right or wrong thing to do is.
~Jade
Laura-
why would someone who has been raped actually make this discussion more valid? and maybe someone has been but just like the alleged victim do not feel comfortable saying so. While I agree with Aaron and This and That about the comments regarding Jesse Jackson...reading Aaron's comments regarding the believability make me sick. He sounds like a true frat boy...defending the brothers and stating how much this is tarnishing Duke's reputation...please. He doesn't know his shit, but you certainly bought it!
Relax ANONYMOUS. The facts in this case are quite plain. None of the facts point to this woman being raped. I don't know why these discussions always come down to personal attacks, but it's just a shame.
I can't believe that anybody thinks I'd defend somebody just because of some organization they belong to. I, rather, defend the innocent until proven guilty. Although nobody else would like to believe it, the Duke lacrosse players are the innocent, and the young lady has the burden of proof - which is severely lacking.
What scares the hell out of me is how easy it is to accuse a man of rape without ANY physical evidence or corroboration. All this woman has to do is say that somebody raped her - another red flag of extortion. There have been two men arrested, the lacrosse season has been cancelled, the lacrosse coach was forced to quit, and the local community of Durham is screaming for the heads of all the lacrosse players. For what? Because some drunk girl didn't remember what happened at a frat party in which she was there to do a strip show.
As far as physical evidence goes, it's not remotely limited to semen. Rapists would leave hairs, skin, saliva, and maybe blood. The girl would get the skin under her fingernails, hair stuck to her area, and saliva wherever they might find it. None of these were found.
Why didn't these girls have a bodyguard? Have you ever met a dancer that didn't have a bodyguard?
It's possible that she was raped, and if she was the purpetrators need to be punished. BUT, the facts in this case absolutely do not point to any sort of unwanted sex. If these guys get convicted it will be solely based on the recollection of a drunk stripper.
I was just listening to Darla Jaye on 980 here in KC. A dancer called in with some wonderful insight about the profession. She layed out a scenario in which a dancer doesn't get all the money she wanted or she makes promises she has no intention of keeping, conflict ensues, and the woman leaves and charges rape. The scary thing is that the caller said that the women are usually successful in purpetrating the fraud.
There's a picture of the woman sitting on the porch of the place smiling with her pursein her hand a couple minutes after she was allegedly raped. Strange?
A cop found her drunk and passed out in a car later on that night. When he told her she had to leave she didn't mention anything about rape. Coincidence?
These guys are facing 16 to 20 years minimum for something that (it's obvious to me) they didn't do. The main defendant has a well documented alibi which includes phone records, a taxi ride, an ATM receipt, and a fast food receipt.
I can't imagine why a woman would falsely cry rape. In this case, it was high profile because of a big name school, but, in most cases, it is the woman who gets her name drug through the mud, not the man. There is a LOT of proof required to convict a rapist. Most women either don't tell or don't let it go to trial because of how it affects their reputation negatively. I am speaking in generalities because I don't know the particulars of this case. It could be that this person saw an opportunity to either get press or money. But, like I said, most of the time, there is nothing to be gained for the woman to make up the story.
~Jade
Jade -
I think the woman might have gotten some advice or heard a story about extortion involving rape charges and settlements to keep said charges from going to trial.
The triumphant return of AaronKCMO is at hand. An explainatory post is upcoming.
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