Sexism and Racism Cover Duke Lacrosse case
original article-Thursday, April 20, 2006
If anybody thinks Racism and Sexism are not rampant in America they havent been paying attention to the Duke Lacrosse case. It does not even matter if you think she is telling the truth or not. The handling of the Lacrosse players and the alleged rape victim are opposites spectrums.
Personally I think that something happened, let me state that for the record.
They may have the wrong two but something happened. It’s funny that although one of the accused players was on probation for a bias attack this indictment has not affected his probation.
In case you did not know Collin Finnerty already had to cop a plea on a gay bias attack. Finnerty agreed to perform community service, pay the victim’s medical bills and stay out of trouble for at least six months.
Heres what happened November 5 (less than 6 months ago out here in the DC area) Finnerty, the rich, NY athlete who was one of two Duke Lacrosse players to be charged this week in the rape of a black mother and student who strips.
Jeff Bloxsom and a male friend were walking through Georgetown early on Nov. 5 when Finnerty and two pals yelled derogatory anti-gay slurs at them, according to Washington police reports. Bloxsom, whom his attorney said is not gay and has a girlfriend, shouted back, so Finnerty and his friends crossed the street and attacked the two men. Bloxsom suffered a bruised chin and a busted lip, according to a police report filed two hours after the incident. Bloxsom attorney said “It’s our expectation that everything is back on the table in terms of how the district attorney in Washington will deal with the accused,” but those of us in D.C. should keep our eyes on this because it doesnt look like they will do anything.
This violent guy is given the benefit of the doubt by media.Its ironic that the feminist organizations use a past history to jump on an alleged suspect but not much noise from many of them now, especially the most vocal ones and this is from the outset.
I think the Reason why is simple -the accused is a struggling black female and the accused are well to do white men. Typically National Organization Women (NOW) show up for black women in high profile cases if the alleged assailant is black also ex. Clarence Thomas and Anita Hill or Mike Tyson and Desiree Washington.If its Black and White like Kobe Bryant and Fabe forget aboout it, the loyalties are out on the table, there is never this wait and see approach as the Duke accuser.
The woman at the center of the rape scandal is a 27-year-old African-American student from a Historically Black College called North Carolina Central University (NCCU) ironically it is known for its prestigious Law Degree Program. She is also a mother. Since the alleged attack, she has been in seclusion and under a doctor’s care. Her cousin, who wants only to be called Jackie, appeared on “Good Morning America” on her behalf. saying “She’s exhausted, emotionally and physically, but she’s happy that the arrests were made, Who could stand this much pressure?, It’s become this huge media circus. My cousin is a petite, humble and family-oriented person who was trying her best to raise her two children, ages 6 and 7. My Cousin did not make up this story but its a strong possibility” that she could have consumed a drugged drink at the party. Date rape drugs are often associated with outfits like the lacrosse team threw and which she showed up at.
Granted the absence of DNA evidence is a major blow but it does not prove that none of the team members assaulted her. A large percentage of rape cases have no DNA evidence. Since prosecutors can have DNA evidence that matches no alleged assailants and still move forward as in the Central Park case why anybody should be surprised at this turn of events.
In 1978, Congress passed Rule 412 of the Federal Rules of Evidence; better known as the Rape Shield law. Since then, 49 of the 50 United States have adopted identical or similar laws, which vary in practice from state-to-state.
What rape shield laws do is limit defense lawyers in rape trials as far as bringing the alleged victims sexual history into play. The laws are intended to prevent the alleged victim from having their credibility attacked and their reputation sullied with information that supposedly has nothing to do with the case at hand. The pressure that goes along with high profile rape cases is something that victims have to endure, it happens. I am not surprised that the student/mother stripper even considered pulling the plug after the case turned into a racial pressure cooker. While at Duke Campus, hundreds of students are wearing T-shirts emblazoned with “Innocent till proven guilty.” At NCCU it seems from media coverage that everybody has been forced into a wait and see attitude. (I need to inquire with Jupiter Hammon) and support her but wont wear their activism on their sleeves. Not sure what has happened to student activism on Black College Campuses maybe Universities like Hampton are killing it “At one point, she wanted to just drop the charges,” said Jackie. “But as a family, we told her to stand her ground.
I do not know happened yet since there has been no trial. However I am disgusted by the media handling of it, they intentionally plant doubt in the black alleged victim story and always offer media rebuttal to any idea that she is telling the truth.
According to the NY Daily news The stripper at the heart of the explosive Duke University rape case has been forced into virtual hiding as photos of her were aired on TV yesterday. Threats from Duke supporters have forced the woman, who is black, to stay with different friends almost every night after she accused white lacrosse players of raping her at a wild party. The stakes went up again when a local NBC station aired photos of the woman taken the night of the party, which the lacrosse players’ lawyers say show her possibly drunk. The time-stamped pictures, with her face obscured, were later widely disseminated on the Internet.
Question for you. How can you show somebody drunk with a obscured face in a still picture and no sound? Answer you cant. Its a racist media tactic to show enough of her image so that those who know her can identify her and cause further humiliation to her. If you thought that the Rape shield Law makes it illegal to show alleged rape victims in the media , its does not . It is simply an agreement by media that to do so is tacky. When you get emailed these photos do me a favor send them back to the person that you got them from and tell them its tacky.
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