Duke Lacrosse - The Next Step in the Analysis
OK. Now that we have our threshold insight that at least some of the other 17 or so Duke Lacrosse players in attendance at the infamous stripper party in that small Durham house are actual eyewitnesses to the crime, let's do a second thought experiment. The second key insight here is... these are all Duke students.
1. Duke costs a lot of money.
2. Duke parents care a lot about their kids' education, enough to spend the $35-40,000 a year to send them there. (Even if the Duke Lacrosse players are on scholarship, I still assume that those Duke parents also care a lot about their kids' education, enough that they did well enough in high school to get into Duke.)
3. Duke students care a lot about their own education and futures. They don't want things marring their resumes. They are looking forward to law school, business school, Wall Street, Washington, medical school, etc. These are achievers, or else they wouldn't be at Duke.
4. Duke students are also good kids generally. They volunteer. Many and probably most are regular churchgoers. They come from good families, and usually two-parent families. They may party when they are 18-22, but they also buckle down when they have to study, and generally become highly successful, responsible adults.
5. The Duke Lacrosse team is not atypical of the student body. The Duke Lacrosse team has a 100% graduation rate from a very tough academic school. The Duke Lacrosse team has more of its members on the ACC Academic Honor Roll than all of the other schools combined. The Duke Lacrosse team has a demonstrated commitment to charity work and volunteerism. All of this has been shown in a recent, comprehensive report on the lacrosse team.
6. In short, the Duke Lacrosse team is made up of kids who are above-average academically, above-average in their commitment to volunteer work, above-average in their achievement in extracurricular activities -- they were a favorite to win the national championship this year, and were runners-up last year. They are, in short, based on all of the evidence prior to the stripper party, exemplary young men. Rowdy? Sure. But to put it bluntly, smart, tough, good-hearted, rowdy young men won World War II for America. These are the types of guys you'd get in a foxhole with.
Which brings me to my second key insight on the Duke lacrosse situation.... assuming as I have that the rape took place as the accuser says it did in a small house in Durham during a party and assuming that the 17 or so other young men at the stripper party are basically good kids from good families who have solid careers ahead of them and assuming that at least some of the young men were eyewitnesses to the rape.... assuming all that, does it at all stand to reason that none of the young men came forward at a time when all of them were under suspicion to give evidence to the police regarding the truth of that night? Does it at all stand to reason that none of the parents of these achievers ever got into their son's face and said, you tell me the truth right now or you can forget about me paying for your law school?
Now, let's put it even more bluntly. If these kids are witnesses, does it make sense that none of them would want to testify truthfully? Do we really think that these otherwise exemplary young men condone the rape?
Go further: if these kids are witnesses, do we really believe that none of their parents would by now have forced them to testify truthfully? Does it make sense that all of these parents, at least some of whom are probably lawyers themselves, are willing to let their sons, in whom they have invested not only money but the hopes of their lives, commit perjury to save friends who are rapists?
To me, the fact that none of these kids has come forward to testify truthfully about a heinous crime committed by their teammates strongly suggests to me that they all believe that no such crime occurred.
To me, the fact that none of these kids has been forced by their parents to give truthful testimony about a heinous crime committed by their teammates even more strongly suggest to me that these parents -- intelligent, responsible, successful adults -- also strongly believe that no such crime occurred.
1. Duke costs a lot of money.
2. Duke parents care a lot about their kids' education, enough to spend the $35-40,000 a year to send them there. (Even if the Duke Lacrosse players are on scholarship, I still assume that those Duke parents also care a lot about their kids' education, enough that they did well enough in high school to get into Duke.)
3. Duke students care a lot about their own education and futures. They don't want things marring their resumes. They are looking forward to law school, business school, Wall Street, Washington, medical school, etc. These are achievers, or else they wouldn't be at Duke.
4. Duke students are also good kids generally. They volunteer. Many and probably most are regular churchgoers. They come from good families, and usually two-parent families. They may party when they are 18-22, but they also buckle down when they have to study, and generally become highly successful, responsible adults.
5. The Duke Lacrosse team is not atypical of the student body. The Duke Lacrosse team has a 100% graduation rate from a very tough academic school. The Duke Lacrosse team has more of its members on the ACC Academic Honor Roll than all of the other schools combined. The Duke Lacrosse team has a demonstrated commitment to charity work and volunteerism. All of this has been shown in a recent, comprehensive report on the lacrosse team.
6. In short, the Duke Lacrosse team is made up of kids who are above-average academically, above-average in their commitment to volunteer work, above-average in their achievement in extracurricular activities -- they were a favorite to win the national championship this year, and were runners-up last year. They are, in short, based on all of the evidence prior to the stripper party, exemplary young men. Rowdy? Sure. But to put it bluntly, smart, tough, good-hearted, rowdy young men won World War II for America. These are the types of guys you'd get in a foxhole with.
Which brings me to my second key insight on the Duke lacrosse situation.... assuming as I have that the rape took place as the accuser says it did in a small house in Durham during a party and assuming that the 17 or so other young men at the stripper party are basically good kids from good families who have solid careers ahead of them and assuming that at least some of the young men were eyewitnesses to the rape.... assuming all that, does it at all stand to reason that none of the young men came forward at a time when all of them were under suspicion to give evidence to the police regarding the truth of that night? Does it at all stand to reason that none of the parents of these achievers ever got into their son's face and said, you tell me the truth right now or you can forget about me paying for your law school?
Now, let's put it even more bluntly. If these kids are witnesses, does it make sense that none of them would want to testify truthfully? Do we really think that these otherwise exemplary young men condone the rape?
Go further: if these kids are witnesses, do we really believe that none of their parents would by now have forced them to testify truthfully? Does it make sense that all of these parents, at least some of whom are probably lawyers themselves, are willing to let their sons, in whom they have invested not only money but the hopes of their lives, commit perjury to save friends who are rapists?
To me, the fact that none of these kids has come forward to testify truthfully about a heinous crime committed by their teammates strongly suggests to me that they all believe that no such crime occurred.
To me, the fact that none of these kids has been forced by their parents to give truthful testimony about a heinous crime committed by their teammates even more strongly suggest to me that these parents -- intelligent, responsible, successful adults -- also strongly believe that no such crime occurred.
posted by PDB at 6:15 AM
1 Comments:
Finally, a blog that suggests what most of believe- no rape took place because it is simply impossible to silence the truth. I will grant to you that these students have a lot invested in the accusations going away. The fact there is not a single rumor coming out as to a despicable act occurring after two months says volumes about this case. If a rape occurred there are dozens of witnesses to the fact that three guys and one stripper had to be missing in action in a small house for thirty minutes. Bear in mind these guys paid $20 each to see some raunchy dancing. Do you seriously thing they would let three of the guys spirit away 50% of the entertainment for their own pleasure while the other guys are sitting on their hands? And how about Kim, dancer two we have yet to hear her say "oh, yeah my friend was in the bathroom for 30 minutes with 3 players". Everyone at that house would be complicent in the commission of a crime and possibly sued if they knowingly stood by. Who can possibly make a case these party-goers are going to run the risk of the story coming out while they are mid-career? This will be one of the greatest coverups of all time if a rape occurred and no one speaks up. I would suggest the CIA could use their services immediately.
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