Looking at Rape Through Race-Colored Glasses
Date: Wednesday, July 26, 2006
By: Gregory Kane, BlackAmericaWeb.com
Did I call this one, or did I call this one?
Several BlackAmericaWeb.com columns ago, I predicted that, sooner rather than later, a man either not white or not rich or not white AND not rich would be falsely accused of rape. I further predicted that the gaggle of conservative pundits and commentators — in print and broadcast media — who have defended the three Duke lacrosse players accused of raping a black stripper would not say one word in that man’s defense.
Lamar Owens was acquitted of rape charges last week. You didn’t hear about it? Didn’t I tell you that?
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You sure as heck didn’t hear about it from the likes of Thomas Sowell, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity or Tucker Carlson. All these guys have wailed loud and long about how the Duke lacrosse players charged in the alleged rape of a black stripper got a raw deal. All three of the lacrosse players charged are white. At least one of them comes from a family with, as the saying goes, deep pockets.
Owens is black. He’s a senior at the U.S. Naval Academy who was the quarterback of Navy’s winning football team last year. This spring, one of his female classmates at the Naval Academy accused Owens of raping her while she was passed out drunk. At no time during his trial did you hear a peep from the likes of Sowell, Limbaugh, Hannity or Carlson.
You should have. There are similarities between what happened at Duke and what happened on the campus of the Naval Academy, as well as some glaring differences.
In both cases, there was booze, young men and young women of college age. I’ve said it more than once. I’ll say it again: the combination of these three things has led to more than one charge of either an actual rape or a false accusation of rape.
In both cases, celebrated athletes were involved. It is here that the similarities end.
Duke’s lacrosse team had a history of bad conduct that preceded them. They continued that trend the night of the party when the alleged rape occurred. There was underage drinking and shouts from the players for one or both of the strippers to perform a sex act with a broom handle or stick. In short, it was the kind of conduct that conservative pundits condemn all too quickly when black rappers do it.
Owens’ behavior record was virtually untarnished before the rape charge.
In the Duke case, the accuser is black.
\In Owens’ case, the accuser is white.
Not only white, but a “blonde, athletic, California type” a reporter who attended Owens’ trial told me. It seems Owens may have had a touch of white fever, but I’ll leave that alone.
What’s of interest here is how the alleged rapes of two women of two different races elicit two completely different reactions.
With those pundits on the right side of the political spectrum, the alleged rape of the black woman spurs doubts about her credibility and attacks on her character. The same thing happened to Owens’ accuser, but on a smaller scale. The only negative things I heard about the female midshipwoman came on a local black talk radio show in Baltimore.
Had those stalwart defenders of the Duke lacrosse players wanted to be consistent, or even give themselves a smidgen of credibility, they would have written or talked about the credibility of Owens’ accuser the same way they talked about the black stripper. Believe me, they would have had a ton of ammunition.
Like the stripper, it was established that Owens’ accuser was drunk. She sloshed down nine drinks in a two-hour period the night of the alleged “rape.” Male midshipmen who testified in Owens’ defense said the woman became “flirtatious” and “socially aggressive” when she was drunk.
One Naval Academy graduate even testified that Owens’ accuser, while drunk, offered to give him a lap dance and then cursed him out when he declined.
Lawyers for Owens didn’t just damage this woman’s credibility when she took the stand to testify. They eviscerated her. They picked her clean. By the time they were done the judge was criticizing the prosecution for putting on such a poor witness.
There are credibility issues with the accuser of those three Duke lacrosse players. She may be in for a similar rough ride when, and if, that case ever comes to trial.
Whatever the outcome, women must feel uneasy about both cases. If the color of a woman’s skin — not her credibility or her character — determines how others react to an allegation that she was raped, members of the fairer sex are in for some tough days ahead.
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http://blackamericaweb.com/site.aspx/sayitloud/rape72706?view=Forum
Date: Wednesday, July 26, 2006
By: Gregory Kane, BlackAmericaWeb.com
Did I call this one, or did I call this one?
Several BlackAmericaWeb.com columns ago, I predicted that, sooner rather than later, a man either not white or not rich or not white AND not rich would be falsely accused of rape. I further predicted that the gaggle of conservative pundits and commentators — in print and broadcast media — who have defended the three Duke lacrosse players accused of raping a black stripper would not say one word in that man’s defense.
Lamar Owens was acquitted of rape charges last week. You didn’t hear about it? Didn’t I tell you that?
http://ads.nandomedia.com/RealMedia...one60unt.gif/39653933633235353434636130663630
You sure as heck didn’t hear about it from the likes of Thomas Sowell, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity or Tucker Carlson. All these guys have wailed loud and long about how the Duke lacrosse players charged in the alleged rape of a black stripper got a raw deal. All three of the lacrosse players charged are white. At least one of them comes from a family with, as the saying goes, deep pockets.
Owens is black. He’s a senior at the U.S. Naval Academy who was the quarterback of Navy’s winning football team last year. This spring, one of his female classmates at the Naval Academy accused Owens of raping her while she was passed out drunk. At no time during his trial did you hear a peep from the likes of Sowell, Limbaugh, Hannity or Carlson.
You should have. There are similarities between what happened at Duke and what happened on the campus of the Naval Academy, as well as some glaring differences.
In both cases, there was booze, young men and young women of college age. I’ve said it more than once. I’ll say it again: the combination of these three things has led to more than one charge of either an actual rape or a false accusation of rape.
In both cases, celebrated athletes were involved. It is here that the similarities end.
Duke’s lacrosse team had a history of bad conduct that preceded them. They continued that trend the night of the party when the alleged rape occurred. There was underage drinking and shouts from the players for one or both of the strippers to perform a sex act with a broom handle or stick. In short, it was the kind of conduct that conservative pundits condemn all too quickly when black rappers do it.
Owens’ behavior record was virtually untarnished before the rape charge.
In the Duke case, the accuser is black.
\In Owens’ case, the accuser is white.
Not only white, but a “blonde, athletic, California type” a reporter who attended Owens’ trial told me. It seems Owens may have had a touch of white fever, but I’ll leave that alone.
What’s of interest here is how the alleged rapes of two women of two different races elicit two completely different reactions.
With those pundits on the right side of the political spectrum, the alleged rape of the black woman spurs doubts about her credibility and attacks on her character. The same thing happened to Owens’ accuser, but on a smaller scale. The only negative things I heard about the female midshipwoman came on a local black talk radio show in Baltimore.
Had those stalwart defenders of the Duke lacrosse players wanted to be consistent, or even give themselves a smidgen of credibility, they would have written or talked about the credibility of Owens’ accuser the same way they talked about the black stripper. Believe me, they would have had a ton of ammunition.
Like the stripper, it was established that Owens’ accuser was drunk. She sloshed down nine drinks in a two-hour period the night of the alleged “rape.” Male midshipmen who testified in Owens’ defense said the woman became “flirtatious” and “socially aggressive” when she was drunk.
One Naval Academy graduate even testified that Owens’ accuser, while drunk, offered to give him a lap dance and then cursed him out when he declined.
Lawyers for Owens didn’t just damage this woman’s credibility when she took the stand to testify. They eviscerated her. They picked her clean. By the time they were done the judge was criticizing the prosecution for putting on such a poor witness.
There are credibility issues with the accuser of those three Duke lacrosse players. She may be in for a similar rough ride when, and if, that case ever comes to trial.
Whatever the outcome, women must feel uneasy about both cases. If the color of a woman’s skin — not her credibility or her character — determines how others react to an allegation that she was raped, members of the fairer sex are in for some tough days ahead.
http://ads.nandomedia.com/RealMedia...V170dmpp.gif/39653933633235353434636130663630
http://blackamericaweb.com/site.aspx/sayitloud/rape72706?view=Forum