The Duke Lacrosse Scandal and What It Taught Me

I should preface this essay by telling you the reader that I got interested in the Duke case because of 2 similarities between Collin Finnerty and myself. First, Collin and I both come from the same hometown, Garden City N.Y. Second, we both chose to go to school in North Carolina. I did not attend Duke. I went farther south to a little town named Salisbury, which sits about 30 minutes north of Charlotte on I85. I moved out of town 2 days after graduation only to return three times in the 30 years I’ve been gone. I am not scholarly save to say I have some college under my belt and that I read and further my interests in watch repair, music, science fiction, and amateur radio (I hold a technician licence with code).

Where to start….who knows. I remembered hearing about the case and the charges and then let it go. Then one day I tried to lookup the case on the net to see if a resolution was to be found. That’s when I was hit with several (excellent) blogs and the realization that the case wasn’t even close to over. So I did what any cybergeek does at a time like this….I read. What I read was just about as bizarre as the success of William Hung as a singer. I’m still reading the archive sections of some of the blogs and commentary. At this point I should state that the major blogs I read on this are Durham In Wonderland, Liestoppers, John in North Carolina, and the Johnsville News. Add to that the excellent work of Dr William Anderson at Lewrockwell.com. On to what these 5 sources and others have taught me.

In reading these blogs, the single biggest thing I’ve learned is how the main stream media is no longer a source for news. After seeing K.C. Johnson pick apart this news story or that academic’s essay, I’ve learned to read the heartstring tugs or the inflammatory phrases more clearly. On the subject of the mass media, I’ve been looking on the net for any news video about the case. I believe that the major news outlets are about to self destruct. CNN is going after Fox. MSNBC is going after CNN, and Fox is willing to take on anybody who gets in the way. Just my personal opinion. The media, no matter which side they are on, seems to discount this evidence or vilify whomever they see fit. So now I read my news on the net from less known sources like slate.com or similar sites.

What else I’ve learned. I have 2 boys ages 10 and 12. I would hope that down the road I will be able to either see them through college or at least help them part of the way. To that extent I am absolutely amazed, no, make that shocked, at the number of academics who are trying to build a case for their cause on the foundations of the “Duke rape case”. If you are not familiar with that case, its now referred to as the Duke rape scandal or the Duke rape hoax. In short, the accuser lied to stay out of detox as I understand it.

I read Peggy Reeves Sanday’s article wherein she tries to put the case into perspective by sidestepping the 2 points that are the perspective of this case. She won’t address if the rape actually happened and she won’t address District Attorney Michael Nifong’s role in the case. This shows me she is trying to build a case for her gang rape mentality, on which she is supposed to be an expert, on a story that is as much fiction as Harry Potter. If her research were as thorough as this, I wouldn’t want my children learning from her. In college, I was expected to show facts in my psychology classes to support my assertion that something exists or not. If I took a story to my professor and said this supports my assertion that such and such exists, he or she would have responded that it does only in my mind and the mind of the writer. The gang of 88 did this when they rushed to judge the lacrosse students as guilty because of race, class, and privilege. Now we have numerous professors at Duke who are trying to show racism or sexism from the fictitious facts surrounding this “case”. This truly frightens me. I was relieved to know that the group of 88 are only 88 of over 750 teachers.

What else I’ve learned. The writings I’ve read talk about race/gender trumps class/whatever…..what is true most of all is opinion trumps fact for far too many people with the power to affect you and your family. If you are young and in college, these folks are especially worrisome. If you are like me with a family as I stated above, these folks will teach our kids.

Opinion trumps fact. Irving Joyner is the case monitor for the NAACP in North Carolina. In reading his statements and bringing them to a criminal lawyer I know, Joyner is commenting on what he would like to see, not what is. I wrote to the NAACP about him and their official stance on the case. I would hate to have Joyner defending me based on his opinions.

There are other things I’ve picked up on during my time reading about this case. While I knew that corruption existed and people in positions of power used that power for personal gain, I never thought that the corruption could run as deep as it does in Durham. The appearance alone is chilling.

Perhaps I will continue this thought later, for now its time to go