Thursday, September 6, 2007
Get riled up again
Fresh Bilge mentions the publication of Until Proven Innocent and an article on it, The Massacre of Innocence, about the Duke lacrosse players' party and its aftermath that led to so much ghastliness. Indeed there were ladles-ful of appalling behavior on the parts of the prosecutor and his staff, the university and (particularly egregiously) video and print media. It's good that they are all being called to task and that the town-gown aspect of the problem is also receiving its fair share of the blame. But can I just say "Tawana Brawley" here, please? That was *exactly* the same situation except that the initially-identified bad guys weren't glamorous and the D.A. wasn't especially eager to jump on the condemnatory bandwagon. The press and media, and the politically active black community, were every bit as vile, however. And there has been no Until Proven Innocent for that horror. There should be some reckoning, some way to expose misplaced zealotry that assigns blame solely because of decades' and centuries' old grievances, or it will happen yet again.
Labels: books, headlines, reflections
Post a Comment