Night Lyin'
Now that the writers are on strike, the people at ABC's post-Koppel Nightline are suggesting you might check them out, since they're not in repeats.
One of the hosts is Terry Moran. He wrote something earlier this year that might be the dumbest thing I've ever read, and highly offensive at that. In essence, he sneered at the Duke students who were accused of rape, saying they're low morally, and since they're privileged, will turn out fine, while the Rutgers women's basketball team had it much tougher.
If you recall, Don Imus, a DJ, following his usual (unfunny) MO called them "nappy-headed hos." It was a stray, stupid comment that no one in the world took seriously. For some reason, it got blown up into a national scandal (Imus regularly says stupid things that no one cares about) and Imus was fired. The Rutgers team, not known to most of the country before then, enjoyed a few days of non-stop lionization.
Meanwhile, the Duke students were falsely accused of a felony; persecuted by a crazed and powerful prosecutor aided by crooked health professionals and cops going along with the railroading; presumed guilty by the powerful on campus; had their faces spread all over the media while millions thought they were guilty; had serious jail time and ruined lives hanging over their heads for a year (even though there was never any serious evidence against them--in fact, there was overwhelming evidence for their innocence); had to pay over a million in legal fees; and could regularly read and hear lies about themselves in the media.
So no thanks. I don't see any reason to watch a show hosted by Terry Moran.
posted by LAGuy @ 12:17 AM
4 Comments:
LA Guy, didn't you catch my comment where I told an anonymous poster that here on Pajama Guy we link to the articles we discuss?
Of course, this is always the first thing I think of when I hear Mr. Moran's name, which is unfortunate. Damned web memes.
Oh, and in case it's of any interest, we're in complete agreement on the substance. There is no legitimate comparison between the Duke and Rutgers cases -- give any person a choice between being publicly slurred once by a radio dj and being wrongly prosecuted for sex felonies and you'll get the same answer every single time.
Of course, we've now spent about 15 times the word count Mr. Moran {snicker} gave to that one line in his article. And there is a legitimate point to be made about poor black people often not getting the same media attention when they're wrongly prosecuted. But he did a piss poor job of it, and therefore is unworthy of my viewing time.
Oops, sorry, I meant to link. Forgot.
Actually, rereading it, it's even worse. The title, his I believe, says "Don't Feel Too Sorry For The Dukies." Yeah, that was the problem--we felt too badly about what they'd been through.
"They got special treatment in the justice system--both negative and positive."
No, it was all negative. If they'd been poor black kids, they wouldn't have been prosecuted. And the fact they were rich white kids was played up as a reason to feel hatred and resentment by the prosecutor (let's not even talk about the media).
"The conduct of the lacrosse team of which they were members was not admirable on the night of the incident, to say the least."
No, Terry, you're saying too much. I don't need to get into how much community service the team did, or how good their grades were, blah blah blah--their conduct that night was pretty much on par with how young man act all the time. And maybe you missed this, Terry, but the whole team wasn't on trial, just three guys. Maybe all rich white guys look the same to you, but they were all individuals that night acting in their own ways. But he continues, blaming these three for the actions of the whole and even misstating what went on.
"As students of Duke University or other elite institutions, these young men will get on with their privileged lives. There is a very large cushion under them--the one that softens the blows of life for most of those who go to Duke or similar places, and have connections through family, friends and school to all kinds of prospects for success."
So all's well that ends well. They have no right to complain about anything, while we should remember every day to resent them and their ilk.
"And, MOST IMPORTANT, there are many, many cases of prosecutorial misconduct across our country every year."
Perhaps, but this case, even without the class/race angle, was pretty spectacular. I challenge Moran to find a case in the past few years that had so much deceit required to start it and keep it going.
"The media covers few, if any, of these cases. Most of the victims in these cases are poor or minority Americans--or both. I would hate to say the color of their skin is one reason journalists do not focus on these victims of injustices perpetrated by police and prosecutors, but I am afraid if we ask ourselves the question honestly, we would likely find that it is."
The fact is most cases, good or bad, black or white, are not covered by the media. That's the way it must be. The white Duke kids had it extra-bad because if they were black (and were tried), they could have escaped all that nasty coverage. The media didn't start to cover this story as the biggest news in the nation because they thought they had prosecutorial misconduct. They covered it because they had the Great White Defendants. Many were disappointed when the narrative turned around, but it was too late, the story had to be covered.
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