All charges being dropped

[Grits]

Originally Posted by somerfrost

No Brian...we are saying that they are doing what they should be doing...calling attention to an issue that has great significance to their community. They are leaders and that is what leaders should do! Nobody is saying they don't make mistakes...as I said (repeatedly) I was very vocal when Sharpton screwed up the Brawley situation...innocent people suffer when accusations are treated as facts. And the times do change but people change a lot slower! We are the sum of our experiences...like them or not, we need outspoken leaders such as Jackson and Sharpton. There is no justification for the hell the Duke boys have gone through, but it was a corrupt WHITE official who caused their pain and the sins of our fathers who made it an issue!

No Somer, you're mistaken, without the lying of the accuser, NONE of this would have transpired to begin with.

DNA evidence of 3 men, whose semen was found in/on this woman, none of which were the three accused men, further lead the Attorney General's Office to realize the alleged victim was lying.

And you may be unaware, as many are on a national level, that this woman had done this very thing before. She had a history, and that was ignored. She was lying and she propelled, and put into place, the entire ghastly proceeding that cost a lot of people tremendous sums of money, not to mention the anguish.

Its interesting that you believe these men to be such fine leaders, but listening to members of the Heritage Foundation and other members of the black community as I did last night--they do not seem quite as convinced of their leadership skills.

[somerfrost]

Originally Posted by Grits

No Somer, you're mistaken, without the lying of the accuser, NONE of this would have transpired to begin with.

DNA evidence of 3 men, whose semen was found in/on this woman, none of which were the three accused men, further lead the Attorney General's Office to realize the alleged victim was lying.

And you may be unaware, as many are on a national level, that this woman had done this very thing before. She had a history, and that was ignored. She was lying and she propelled, and put into place, the entire ghastly proceeding that cost a lot of people tremendous sums of money, not to mention the anguish.

Its interesting that you believe these men to be such fine leaders, but listening to members of the Heritage Foundation and other members of the black community as I did last night--they do not seem quite as convinced of their leadership skills.

Grits, I don't have much knowledge of what the woman said or didn't say...I do believe that she should be held responsible if she lied and while not familiar with NC law, I assume that filing a false police report is a crime. My point is that I will not assume anything about her behavior until the evidence is presented. The DA, on the other hand, is clearly responsible for using this mess to further his career and I feel confident in saying that. Clearly, there was a deliberate miscarriage of justice here and these boys suffered at the hands of a corrupt public official. We can debate forever the attributes (or lack thereof) of Jesse and Sharpton but I will always maintain that they were doing exactly what I would expect of them in becoming involved in this situation...now, could they have done things differently, spoken differently? Perhaps...and that is a matter for the black community to address...if they feel they are not good leaders then they can replace them...but, as leaders, they simply couldn't ignore a case such as this! And they aren't the ones responsible for the boys' pain here...lets put the blame where it belongs...with the DA, perhaps the woman, and our culture with it's history of abusing minorities and it's mindless preoccupation with dirt disguised as "news".

[Grits]

A good finale Somer, very good.

[somerfrost]

Originally Posted by Grits

A good finale Somer, very good.

Yeah, I think I've gone about as far as I can here...we have much more in common than different and after awhile, we get stuck on an issue. Besides, I have the last episode of Xena to watch before Idol!

[Payson Dave]

Quote of the NC Att General:
“We have no credible evidence that an attack occurred in that house that night,” he said. “The eyewitness identification procedures were faulty and unreliable. No DNA confirms the accuser’s story. No other witness confirms her story. Other evidence contradicts her story. She contradicts herself. ”

I realize that it may be expecting an awful lot but..... those in leadership positions that jumped on the band wagon (including sharpton and jackson) to condemn the Lacrosse Players should be at least somewhat vocal/visible to acknowledge the reality of their innocence...

[skippy3481]

Jackson said his PUSH group would pay her way through college, I wonder if that offer will still be good. Somer heres my problem with jesse and Al. They both run groups that if by run white people would be considered racist.. Instead of advancing black people why don't we advance all people. Why can't they be equally outraged with when a black man rapes a white woman. Anytime something happens to a black person, its because they are black. I've seen this thought again and again firsthand. Until they get out of this thinking, they will never get closer to equality. Jesse and Al need to realize, sometimes its not about race.


If its more politically correct you can substute african-american for black. To be honest I'm not sure which is the current pc term

[ALostTexan]

Screw all of this being nice and asking for apologies. The DA and the accuser should go to jail...

ALostTexan

[somerfrost]

Originally Posted by skippy3481

Jackson said his PUSH group would pay her way through college, I wonder if that offer will still be good. Somer heres my problem with jesse and Al. They both run groups that if by run white people would be considered racist.. Instead of advancing black people why don't we advance all people. Why can't they be equally outraged with when a black man rapes a white woman. Anytime something happens to a black person, its because they are black. I've seen this thought again and again firsthand. Until they get out of this thinking, they will never get closer to equality. Jesse and Al need to realize, sometimes its not about race.


If its more politically correct you can substute african-american for black. To be honest I'm not sure which is the current pc term

Been over and over this and frankly, I'm unwilling to spend any more time on it...my points have been made in this thread. Last comment: You cannot act as if there is no past, no history. "Treat everyone the same" rings hollow in the ears of folks who have seen their entire race treated unfairly. As a human being, I decry any act of violence against any person, it simply isn't that simple though, not when you factor in generations of hatred, mistrust, abuse etc. One of the cleared Duke players said it best in his news conference yesterday...he said words to the effect of...this really opened my eyes to a world that I didn't know existed. If the police and DA can go unchecked and railroad someone like me, what must they be doing to people who don't have the resources that my family has to fight back? As I stated previously, the great irony here is that all the media attention probably saved these boys from being railroaded and landing in jail with made-up evidence...this is the reality of black folks in this country even today! How often are innocent black men and women found guilty of a crime simply because the police expected them (they were black afterall) to be guilty and a DA prosecuted more to advance his/her career than to worry about what really happened. How often are they victimized by a Public Defender either too overworked and without financial resources or simply incompetent? How many rich white guys are on death row? How many rich white guys are in prison period? OJ beat the rap because he had the money to hire the best lawyers in the country, the police and DA's office were at best incompetent and yes, cause a jury said..."take that!" in response to years of perceived injustice. So, simply saying, "everyone should be treated the same" is a joke until those with the power to actually see that happens take a stand and insure same!