Racism's Ugly Face

Remember those monsters from the Duke Lacrosse team?

Three former Duke University lacrosse players Wednesday were cleared of all charges that they assaulted a stripper during a team party, ending a case that widened the fissures of race, gender and class in North Carolina.

The North Carolina attorney general’s office announced that after a 12-week investigation it was dropping all charges against the three, including sexual assault and kidnapping, and sharply blamed the local district attorney for a rogue prosecution.

“The result of our review and investigation shows clearly that there is insufficient evidence to proceed on any of the charges,” North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper said at a news conference. “Today we are filing notices of dismissal for all charges. The result is that these cases are over, and no more criminal proceedings will occur.”

The state office took over the case when Durham County District Attorney Mike Nifong was accused of ethics violations in connection with the case. Cooper was especially harsh in comments directed toward Nifong.

Calling the men victims of “a rush to condemn,” Cooper said flatly: “We believe these three individuals are innocent of these charges.”

I seem to recall that Nifong was accused of taking these actions for the purpose of getting the black vote in his district. I also recall that the especially loud voice of Al Sharpton calling for the heads of these men.

Now we have Imus' big mouth and the backlash from Sharpton and their ilk. The scarring is especially troublesome.

"This event has scarred me for life," said a Rutgers player in the Imus wars. One would have thought Imus himself might have said that, except his visage has been pretty well scarred since at least his earlier days in pre-rehab. But to return to that Rutgers dribbler -- doesn't living in New Jersey leave lifetime scars? Wouldn't losing to Tennessee in the NCAA women's final have added a few new ones? What about the many days during which she and the rest of humanity were kept blissfully in the dark about what Imus had said back on April 3rd? Wouldn't not knowing have created even more scars than knowing now has?

Scarred for life? Well, aren't you the delicate flower. Wonder if the Duke Lacrosse players were scarred? They were condemned, falsely, by their college and it's administration, they were condemned by the media, they were condemned by the Black caucus of loud mouthed preachers. And they were innocent. I can empathize with the Rutger's Basketball team, but frankly, if that comment scarred you, you really need to get out into the world a bit more. Thicken up that skin. Maybe listen to rap music more.

Michelle Malkin goes into the hypocrisy of the whole Imus thing. Not that it excuses Imus, it just gives a little perspective of where the players stand.

Which news story is getting the most play? Looks like Imus is at the moment. I'm kind of happy MSNBC fired him. He's a jerk, and a very liberal one at that. I understand he's a shock jock and pushing the envelope of good taste is how they make money, but I'm thinking that the public purse likely finished him off here. Sponsors don't want to be associated with this.

I caught Jesse "himeytown" Jackson on FoxNews. He's pretty much up there with the other hypocrites. I'm sure he's just doing the yelping for the good of the players.

I found this quote interesting:

Seligman said he did not know how other suspects, who lacked financial and family resources, could prove their innocence.

“I truly hope you never have to experience what we did,” he said.

That is quite telling. It makes you wonder how many people are railroaded into jail each year just for lack of resources to fight people like Nifong.