Continued from Facts are not as important as myths Part 1...

Then think of this. See how many news stories are followed up when the criminal is found to be a White person. See how quickly stories are dropped when a crime is horrendous or obviously racially motivated by Whites.

I offer these examples:

Megan Williams was tortured, raped multiple times by White males and females, stabbed, choked with a noose, had boiling water poured on her, and perhaps more. The story garnered less than 5 minutes of national news media attention to date (to my knowledge)

The Jena 6 case was on-going for months before the media bothered to mention 1 comment on the injustice there. The fact that nooses were used was ignored as being a hate crime – by definition – and the dozen or so cases of nooses being found around the nation got maybe 2 minutes of attention. The death threats from White supremacists against the 6 Black boys received another minute of attention

The case of the White teen being beaten by 6 Blacks received 1 ½ day of coverage until the exact moment that the police in Norfolk stated on national news that this was not a racially motivated case and that there was provocations made by the White teen. Not another second of the case has aired since.

The Duke Rape case was followed for over a year. From the first day media pundits and news anchors disputed the credibility of the victim. Every step of the case and prosecution was questioned, and every facet about the victim’s life and friends was reported promptly. In every reference to the White males the word innocent was used.

Every week since the OJ Simpson trial ended, a reference to OJ being a criminal and guilty of the murders he was found INNOCENT of (by a jury of his peers that included White jurors) has been made and continues to be made. Virtually every case that involves the murder of a woman, especially if an African American is involved or questioned, brought up references to OJ and claims of his guilt.

Prior to the Bobby Cutts case, a White male killed his wife and 3 kids. He was investigated and was arrested. His arrest occurred at the funeral for his family. He blamed, as I recall, his wife for the crime. The entire case got 1 hour of coverage, most of it occurring prior to the start of the Bobby Cutts case. I doubt most Americans can name the state where the murders occurred in, the family’s name, or the industry that the White male held.

Continued in part 3...

Labels: Bobby Cutts, Duke rape case, jena 6, Jessie Davis, Megan Williams, news media, oj simpson, racial controversy

Continued from Media and justice equal?

“For the last year we have seen anger in white men about the miscarriage of justice they claimed occurred against these kids. In the last year they have had a chance to get a taste of the imbalance that can occur when a prosecutor decides he wants to go after a defendant. They got a glimpse of what Black men get all the time.”

But I am not the only voice in this matter. I have not been the only one to question the ‘innoccence’ of they boys. Has everyone forgotten that this incident started because these ‘upstanding young men’ decided that they needed to call an escort service to have women perform sex acts with a broomstick, while they engaged in under-age drinking?

“… ive decided to have some strippers over to eden 2c. all are welcome.. howerver there will be no nudity. I plan on killing the bitches as soon as the walk in and proceding to cut their skin off while cumming in my duke issue spandex.. “

Innocent of the charges but not innocent individuals, though the media has glanced way past this.

But when was the last time that Black defendants received this same level of positive coverage by the media or the justice system? What case can you name?

In the OJ Simpson case the nation displayed a

reaction to seeing how dismayed whites were when the legal system worked for a Black man in the same way that it had worked for whites all too many times. The intelligence of the mostly Black jury was questioned by the media and became a national punch line on late night television.

The Rodney King case, which prompted the riots, had many

figured the case for police brutality was pretty obvious. Everything you needed to know was right there on video. Instead many white people accepted the LAPD’s defense that King was a threat and the Simi Valley jury’s acquittal of the officers. The juror’s intelligence was never questioned the way the jurors in the O.J. trial was.

Beyond this, how many cases have we heard where an ambiguous African American was the perpetrator only to learn that the actual criminal was the supposed victim. How many times has an African American been arrested based solely on this presumption, and the media demanded their conviction with the harshest penalties only to become completely silent when the truth becomes known?

Injustice is not a Black and White issue, according to the law. Inequality under the law is a fact of life. Now that former D.A. Nifong has been quickly disbarred, the alleged rapists decried innocent of their charges, purported millions paid to their families, and the original victim discredited by the media – who have released her name and image – what happens next?

[I have to mention that I have never heard of a case, no matter the outcome, where an alleged rape victim’s name, image and virtually their address has been released to the public and promoted on several broadcasts. It was an unheard of act, but in this case, for this woman, there was an exception of what was previously a media rule.]

Will the justice system and the media start treating all defendants the same? Will Blacks be defended vigorously when potentially involved in an event? Well just observe the coverage on the missing mother Jessie Davis. Perhaps the father-to-be is guilty, but the media seems sure of it. These kinds of cases often involve someone close to the victim so it could be. But if you compare the questions and amount of coverage being directed to the father-to-be versus the coverage and questions of the man whose entire family was found dead in a car, you see a big difference.

This is what I think, what do you think?

Labels: African American, american justice, Duke rape case, Jessie Davis, oj simpson, Rodney King trial

Here is something that really hits home. This involves the Duke Rape Case, OJ Simpson, and the Justice system in America, the Rodney King riots and the news media. While one might think at a glance that none of these events could be linked the fact is that at their core they all are based in the same situation. It is that core that needs to be discussed more.

The question of injustice is always a hotbed discussion and something that gets the mouths of news media executives watering. It means ratings, and usually can be pumped for days sometimes weeks in a row. It’s something that every American has a viewpoint on, and sometimes the entire world wants to comment about. Injustice is the reason why our legal system was created and theoretically works to fight. Yet, it is the most obvious lie known to everyone but rarely ever seriously acted on.

The most recent image of injustice has been the Duke Rape case. Currently the nation was obsessed with the proof of innocence of the boys accused. For a year there has been constant attention to evidence, procedure, witnesses, the alleged victim, and what might have happened.

What was obscured in all this focused attention was the cause of the situation, the motivation for the claimed event, the prior environment leading to that day, and the immediate aftermath before the media got involved. The statement that the Duke students are ‘innocent’ was more powerful than any other fact.

I’ve spoken about the case from time to time

“Like most racial cases there is an opinion being promoted. Like the OJ trials, where a rich man used the best lawyers he could afford to defend himself, and police officers (or at least Mr. Furman) manipulated evidence. Yet the media screamed guilt though we are supposed to be presumed innocent. Or the case of Mr. Daryl Littlejohn. And I look at how the media downplayed the Bensonhurst murder, or Chapaquidiq (I know the spelling is wrong) or the beating of Mr. Rodney King. These are not extremes, and they are relevant. In cases of racial tension the media always picks a side.”

And then there was

“This is not what I would call fair or balanced reporting. Considering that perhaps millions hear your words and determine the facts of the case based on your reporting, I feel you have done a disservice to this News event. The coverage of this matter demands more than 30 seconds of airtime. It also begs an impartial coverage of the facts as they exist and not a view that implies, presents, and influences thoughts to one side or another.”

Most recently I mentioned...

Continued in Part 2...

Labels: american justice, Duke rape case, oj simpson, Rodney King trial

Well I just want to say a quick word on the Duke Rape case. Now that the 3 guys have had the charges dropped, a year of equality in the justice system has ended. I’m serious.

For the last year we have seen anger in white men about the miscarriage of justice they claimed occurred against these kids. In the last year they have had a chance to get a taste of the imbalance that can occur when a prosecutor decides he wants to go after a defendant. They got a glimpse of what Black men get all the time.

There is no question that if this was the Duke basketball team, and there were 3 Black Americans charged with raping a white stripper, they would have been convicted regardless of the DNA evidence or changes in the victims story. I have no doubt of this. Every media source would have been screaming for their conviction from day one. I have no doubt of this.

But in this case they got a moment of what it feels like to be railroaded. And the net effect is that the system has flaws, and many of them are based in race. Those race based flaws are not in favor of African Americans, but when they sway the other way they seem to get America’s attention. It’s like the one other notable case that America can’t get past, OJ Simpson’s trial.

When the system works in favor of people of color to the same degree it works against them, people lose their minds. It would be funny if it wasn’t so serious. And now the cries of how the boys lives have been destroyed. I don’t think so. Several of the kids from the team have graduated, with decent (3.52 gpa’s as I recall) grades and no backlash. A couple of the kids have returned to Duke to continue their college. They all have been exonerated. The email that was sent after the alleged rape has been forgotten a long time ago.

The kids had a very bad year. How many times do we see African Americans that are released from prison because evidence is found, or the case is reviewed and bias is determined as the reason for their conviction? That is a life ruined. This is just a life that has been in discomfort for the lacrosse team. I don’t feel bad for them.

I’ve said this before, I’ll say it again. I want to see the media put this kind of pressure and influence behind a Black defendant the next time there is a questionable case. I want to hear the media declarations of innocence for a poor black kid. It won’t happen, but I’d like to see that. Especially from those that are losing their impartiality at Fox News.

And I’d love to see the outrage when, let just say as an example, 2 teenage white girls rob a bank in the south let’s say near Atlanta (without weapons) and the charges are dropped from a felony charge to misdemeanors even though they were caught on tape doing this felony crime, and witnesses saw them, and they bragged about it as they went on a shopping spree for 2 days afterwards. Robbing a bank is a felony, where is the outrage at the miscarriage of justice there? Do you think for a second I would be treated in anything like the same casual, light-handed treatment?

Wait a second. Fox News is going to reveal the name of the accusing rape victim?? Even without the charges, this is a wrong thing. I’ve never heard of such a thing. Yeah, this is fair. And her PHOTO!!! So this is fair? What a nice first. And her age and family background. Might as well give away her address. And her past history!!! This is so wrong.

This is what I think, what do you think?

Labels: Duke rape case, legal system, oj simpson, rape allegations

This is a copy of an email sent to Ms. Hill, and Fox News. Previous commentary on this subject can be found at Duke allegations part 1, part 2, part 3. The letter below is uneditied and unmodified as will be any response received.
October 30, 2006

Ms. Hill, Fox News, et. al.,

I just listened to your commentary on the news about the 2nd woman involved in the Duke rape case. I found it lacking and somewhat misleading.

The reason I say so is that it seems Fox News is presenting the information inaccurately. That is that while the woman did say the accuser said “put marks on me. That’s what I want” the context of that statement is in question. As reported by you it would sound as if the accuser was in a grocery store and made these statements to create a false accusation.

In fact, as reported by via Yahoo News (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061030/ap_on_re_us/duke_lacrosse ), what the situation was is that the accuser was “talking crazy” and would not get out of the car. The 2nd woman was pushing the accuser to get her out of the car when the quoted statement was made. In addition the 2nd woman mentioned that she was trying several ways to get thru to the accuser.

Given these detail we see a somewhat different view. While it could be a made up situation, as you clearly seemed to imply in my opinion, it can also be taken as a woman in a very unstable condition that could have been caused by a traumatic condition, such as being raped.

Also the fact that the statements made by the 2nd woman have changed multiple times, going from both women being together constantly to being apart several times throughout that night, and the details have been brought into question. Why this is the case, and why she would speak publicly is a question. But you also failed to note the 2nd woman’s concern over how her comments may affect the case. To quote the above mentioned release’ “It's going to solidify their opinions so much, that they're not going to want to hear the other aspects of the case, which I think are just as important.”

Based on your comments and in my opinion anger at the possible “damage to these young men’s lives,” the comments have done exactly what she feared might happen. This is not what I would call fair or balanced reporting. Considering that perhaps millions hear your words and determine the facts of the case based on your reporting, I feel you have done a disservice to this News event. The coverage of this matter demands more than 30 seconds of airtime. It also begs an impartial coverage of the facts as they exist and not a view that implies, presents, and influences thoughts to one side or another.

I, like everyone except those directly involved, do not know what happened. But I do not agree with any broadcaster or organization that directly misrepresents information that is found elsewhere. You should clarify your comments made on October 30, 2006 @ ~11:30. In addition any further reporting on the case should be modified to reflect accurately what was said and not just a catchy phrase and change of context of the information.

You should know better.

I should mention that I am a multiple blog site owner, and I will also post this letter on my blog (mvass.com) in full. I look forward to your response, and will post that response, in full, if and when I receive it.

Thank you for your attention in this matter.

Sincerely,


Michael Vass
President – M V Consulting, Inc.
info@blackentertainmentblog.com

Labels: Duke rape case, Fox News, mvass.com, Yahoo News