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Mar. 31, 2006 “Yesterday, 46 Duke University undergraduates who are members of the men’s lacrosse team responded to a legal order from Durham authorities and traveled downtown to be photographed and provide identifying information. The authorities made the request in connection with an investigation of an alleged incident on March 14 at 610 Buchanan St. in Durham. Duke University is monitoring the situation and cooperating with officials, as are the students.”—John F. Burress, Duke University Senior Vice President for Public Affairs and Government Relations, Friday, March 24. They’ll say she was a strippers and therefore, already of questionable virtue…they’ll argue that "she should have known better going into a den full of drunken boys”…and the real capper will be with the cavalier pronouncement, “these were just boys being boys and they got caught up in a bad situation.” I’m referring to the alleged rape of a black stripper by several members of the 47-member Duke University Lacrosse team. (The 46 players that had to give DNA samples were white; the team's lone black member is not a suspect, based on the statement of the accuser). The nationally ranked team has been suspended and members have rallied together, remained mute and until the DNA samples were ordered, had been uncooperative with police investigators. Paraphrasing one of the university’s professors, this does indeed have all the markings of “a perfect storm.” The issue of race aside (because when it comes to that factor, black people already have a clear idea how this is going to turn out), we must look at it from the perspective of young men and women interacting. Oftentimes such "partying" includes booze and any number of drugs. Young men out for a night of wilding and engaging in debauchery is no more than a rite of passage. All one has to do is look at MTVs Spring Break coverage or the “celebratory” goings on after sports championships to see what I’m talking about. Women are left to shoulder the blame for the evil that men do. Young male aggression is rationalized by the idea we "live in a more permissive society," and that women who dress provacatively are asking for it. I make the assumption that those who have already hired lawyers (A) have something to hide and (B) come from families of affluence. Money buys an entirely different set of legal loopholes. “Justice” in this case, means “just us rich folks.” When inictments come down, the wealth of the defendant's will preclude any plea-bargaining, unless (1) The charges are for some reason reduced to a misdemeanor (can you say “malicious mischief"?), or (2) one of the players cracks under pressure and snitches. The latter isn’t likely. These boys are teammates and being such, they have formed a strong bond. They will rely on their lawyers, who will argue that it is the players who are victims. Those bound over for trial will walk, as the proceedings will be a farce—as the jury will refuse to return a conviction against these good boys from good homes. These boys have bright futures—why ruin them over a single “bad decision”? This reminds me a lot of the Boston bar rape, where witnesses dfid nothing as a woman was brutally attacked. (This horrible incident was later turned into a movie starring Jodie Foster). Furthermore, if O.J., Robert Blake and Michael Jackson can beat what appeared to be "strong" casses, why can’t these all-American boys? I have lost all faith in the American legal system. Race and money matter—true jurisprudence runs a distant third. I believe the defendants will walk after a “trying” ordeal, the outcome of which they already know. On the other side of the aisle we will find a twenty-year old woman whose reputation and self-esteem will be shattered. She won’t waste her time filing a civil suit. All she will gain from this is experience. She will see for herself that women in America are devalued—and moreso if they have skin darker than blue. ------------ About the author: Timothy N. Stelly, Sr. is a 46-year old poet, novelist and aspiring screenwriter who resides in northern California with his three youngest children--Lawrence, Kimberly and Dante. He is a member of various writer's groups and has three novels in print, his most recent, "Like A Straight-Up Sucka," is available at www.lulu.com. website: http://stellbreadO@tripod.com Email: Stellbread@yahoo.com ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to TopNewsReports.com. Please link to this article rather than copying and pasting it onto your site (which would be unauthorized and illegal). |
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