Over at Mercury Rising, we normally don't do coverage of crimes or alleged crimes that were blown up nationally but are really of only local import at best. (In other words, no wall-to-wall Natalee Holloway stories at our blog.)
But every so often, one of these stories turns out to have national import after all, both for the people involved (rich white sons of powerful men with strong ties to the Bush branch of the GOP/Media Complex versus a black stripper and single mother) and for the way the national media has handled the case (black stripper is painted as a liar, white boys as innocents). One wonders if people like Tucker Carlson will be eating their words now that two of the "innocents" have been arrested for rape.
More after the jump. (Crossposted at Mercury Rising.)
You know, I knew that the Duke lacrosse coach had quit, but I didn't know WHY. (And neither did most of my family and friends.) The exact reason never seemed to get mentioned on the TV evening news -- at least, not to my knowledge, whereas the "no DNA!!!" news was broadcast everywhere and quite loudly the second it became public.
If it wasn't for Steve Gilliard, I'd never have known that the coach quit because one of his players, Ryan McFadyen, had written an e-mail before the event that went as follows:
On Wednesday, authorities unsealed documents stating that less than two hours after the alleged rape, McFadyen sent an e-mail saying he was planning an encore to "tonights (sic) show." The message, addressed "To whom it may concern," said, "however there will be no nudity."
"I plan on killing the bitches as soon as the(y) walk in and proceding to cut their skin off," wrote McFadyen, a 6-foot-6, 225-pound Atlantic Coast Conference honor roll player who was one of five Duke players from the exclusive Delbarton School in Morristown, N.J., adding in vulgar terms that he would find the act sexually satisfying. The e-mail was signed with McFadyen's jersey number, 41.
McFadyen wasn't one of the two guys charged, but it's obvious that he felt very comfy about sending such an e-mail to his buddies. He knew that none of them would say "Hey, man, that's outta line".
The pervasive nastiness -- a nastiness born of
noblesse obligé -- is
all over these boys and their Bush-affliated rich fathers. And you won't hear a peep on the TV evening news about the powerful fathers of these young men.
[UPDATE: Oh, by the way: A third arrest is pending. Wonder what
Smerconish thinks of this now?
It's not as if members of the Duke lacrosse team had never been in similar trouble before this. (Check it out: http://red-states.com/ssquirrel/index.php/2006/04/14/why/ )
And the online media, at least, is mentioning
the privileged backgrounds of these "nice boys".]