Editor’s note: This article was initially published in The Daily Gazette, Swarthmore’s online, daily newspaper founded in Fall 1996. As of Fall 2018, the DG has merged with The Phoenix. See the about page to read more about the DG.
Unfortunately, it looks like we may have jumped the gun, as this “controversy” is quickly going the way of the discredited 2006 Duke Lacrosse team rape case and the story pushed by the “victims” in this case is quickly unraveling. This is not to say that justice is race-blind in this country, but the story of these 6 young men is just not the best case in point for us to rally around. Not only were some of those 6 black young men hardly angels, with a couple of them having long criminal records sprinkled with violent offenses, but the “noose in the tree = ultraviolent free-for-all against lone white kid” narrative has some serious holes in it. To argue that they attempted to kill the boy is hyperbole, but they did beat the living daylights out of him long after he had already become unconscious from his injuries. I’ll save my poster boards and Sharpies for the truly innocent.
Unfortunately, it looks like we may have jumped the gun, as this “controversy” is quickly going the way of the discredited 2006 Duke Lacrosse team rape case and the story pushed by the “victims” in this case is quickly unraveling. This is not to say that justice is race-blind in this country, but the story of these 6 young men is just not the best case in point for us to rally around. Not only were some of those 6 black young men hardly angels, with a couple of them having long criminal records sprinkled with violent offenses, but the “noose in the tree = ultraviolent free-for-all against lone white kid” narrative has some serious holes in it. To argue that they attempted to kill the boy is hyperbole, but they did beat the living daylights out of him long after he had already become unconscious from his injuries. I’ll save my poster boards and Sharpies for the truly innocent.
See for yourself in this article from a newspaper frequently lauded for its objectivity: http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/1024/p09s01-coop.html