Posted by
flagwaver on Thursday, January 11, 2007 8:11:07 PM
A few years back, there was an excellent movie starring Diane Lane, George Clooney, and Mark Wahlberg that was called "The Perfect Storm". It was basically a movie based on the story of the sailors on the fishing boat Andrea-Gail that was caught out at sea and lost when a couple of fierce storm systems merged, creating the so-called "perfect storm" that sank the boat and lost the crew at sea forever.
Looking at the "Duke Rape Case" is an eerie parallel to that movie, but instead of a convergence of storm systems, there was a convergence of P.C. sensibilites that have sullied the names of Reade Seligman, Colin Finnerty, and David Evans for the rest of their lives.
When these three men were accused of rape in the liberal haven of Duke University, the gates of PC hell were thrown open and the hellhounds were unleashed on these young men. First came the apparently false charges, and in quick succession came the predictable campus marches, the pious response by the administration, the coming of the PC cavalry, and the professional hate mongers.
Je$$ie Jac$on came blowing into town to show his support for the "victim" and offering to pay her tuition to North Carolina Central University, the New Black Panthers came into town to disgrace the name and legacy of the real Black Panthers with their racist rhetoric, and the campus marchers came demanding that the three men admit they were guilty. Mind you, there was NO evidence that a crime had even been committed, much less that these three were involved in anything more than a loud party; they were being told to claim guilt simply on the strength of an allegation!
Then there was the media that led the charge in branding the Duke Three as rich white boys that were guilty because, well, they were rich white boys. For the media and their PC sensibilities, being rich and white was all the evidence of a crime they needed. It mattered not that the alleged victim had more stories than the Arabian Nights; all that mattered was that they stood accused. Nancy Grace( who always looks like she just sniffed a warm, wet one) was the most shrill in her denunciations of the Duke Three. But she was closely followed by the people at ESPN, their parent ABC, CBS...you know, the usual litany of liberal media outlets. The only people that actually did a good job reporting this story, who actually went to Durham and interviewed people other than the usual suspects was HBO's Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel; for simply doing a solid job, they deserve kudos.
Add to that a prosecutor that sold his soul for a chance to be the elected DA of Durham county, and a police force that broke its own rules in order to get a suspect identification and you have the makings of the perfect storm. Add a liberal dose of the moralistic who act as though the fact that these guys were at a wild party was in some way a justification for the hell they have been subjected to and you have the final piece to make the perfect storm.
But just like in a physical storm, people have lost their view on what is really important here. While all of those that comment on the ethical lapses by the prosecutor, the shoddy police work, and the problems of the legal system are making valid points, they are missing what is most important.
At the end of the day, in the middle of this storm are three young men that have been smeared in the worst way imaginable. Seligman, Finnerty, and Evans stand accused of one of the most vile crimes that we have in our society. They stand accused of raping a helpless woman, of forcing themselves on her, and of holding her against her will. And though the rape charges have been dropped, these men will always stand accused of that crime in the eyes of the world...that charge will never leave the minds of the people.
So while you argue back and forth about what, if any changes, need to be made to the system, or what should be done to Mike Nifong, or what should happen to the accuser, don't forget about the Duke Three. Because this is about them, not us...and we would do well to remember that.
Hopefully, they will will not be ultimately lost like the Andrea-Gail, but will come out clean on the other side of this situation. They have been tossed about by this perfect storm, but by God's grace they will see a rainbow after the storm.
They deserve nothing less.
for more information go to http://www.slate.com/id/2148546/