Geraldo is not the epitome of hard journalism except in comparison to so much else that passes for journalism. Usually, he seems fairly balanced in his reporting. However, tonight he really stepped over the line, IMO.
Talking about the two Duke lacrosse players who were arrested in this land of supposed innocent until proven guilty, he said something to the effect of "these two rich punks who thought they could get away with rape." Now, that's not exactly what he said, but it captures the thought close enough. Does this sound even remotely unbiased? These two players have already been tried, convicted, and crucified by Geraldo (and certain other groups as well).
This is WRONG.
Yes, if the woman in this case was raped, those responsible MUST be brought to justice, no question about it. To pick these guys because they're rich (or white) just so we can have some sense of "getting them" is wrong. And hey, if the DNA evidence indicates it's NOT these players arrested, what purpose is served in continuing to go after them? Only the community that has already convicted them will not be appeased by ANY evidence contrary to what they want to believe.
My supposition in the previous paragraph, "if the woman in this case was raped" is NOT the typical "she was asking for it" or "deserved it". Rape is a horrible crime. My only reservations here are that the circumstances are questionable: potential video showing her messed up before the party even took place, potential alibis for the players in question, the circumstances in which the woman was found (most importantly, drunk). I don't think it's possible to definitively say what happened, at least not right now. Is it possible we can put aside racism as motive and study the facts of the case to pursue true justice?
I doubt it.
1 comment:
Preach on, my brother! I cannot believe the amount of press this story has gotten. NO ONE KNOWS what exactly happened. That's why we have things like trials and juries. Man, this makes me mad. I agree that if any of these guys committed the crime being alleged, then they must be punished accordingly. The first and most egregious perpetrator of trying this in the media is the District Attorney. That idiot went on TV saying "I believe this happened" and all but promised that the DNA would prove it. Well, 70 press conferences later, what do we have? A purported victim with, unfortunately, no credibility. I listened to a former San Fransisco police officer make a very solid argument that this sort of allegation normally would not have made it past the sergeant's desk.
But, this D.A. is running for reelection in a racially tense area. The Durham population, largely black and poor vs. the "rich white" Duke community.
Truth is the first expendable commodity when it's PANDERING TIME!
Just look at other ridiculous race card melees: Mumia Abul-Jamal, OJ Simpson, Tawana Brawlee, James Beard, etc. In every case, the blackness of the perp or victim trumped facts. This is no surprise, and it has less to do with race than it does with the left's dogged attempts to bring down traditional culture. Most of the time, they don't really even know what they're doing. Sick, really. But, it truly goes back to the seminal Communist propogandist, Willi Munzenberg, but that's a very long and different story.
Wouldn't it be nice if the first we as the general public ever heard of this particular incident was "XXX Convicted of Rape" - and if they were exonerated, the names should never even be published.
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