Duke Rape: Reade Seligmann's Suffering--UPDATE

UPDATE: LaShawn Barber has another must-read post about the MSM turning against Mike Nifong:

Mainstream media (MSM) have turned against Mike Nifong. It’s funny how they “reported” his version of events as though it were gospel in the beginning. Never have I seen left-leaning journalists parroting a district attorney and cops the way they’ve done in this case. They weren’t simply reporting facts. They wanted to believe three white men gang-raped a black woman. Compared to how they covered the “Duke rape,” MSM virtually ignore black-on-white rapes and intraracial crimes in general. Deathly dull.

Who among them could resist incessantly reporting on and editorializing about an “oppressed” black woman being brutalized by “rich” white men? Nifong played the race card to the hilt, even going so far as to speak at the black college the stripper-accuser attended. One pea-brained black student said the men should be prosecuted whether they committed the crime or not. “It would be justice for things that happened in the past.”

For those who cover the crime beat in the Durham area, it must have been like striking gold: a black victim stripping for a living “to feed her kids,” loud, rude, and drunk white athletes, race and class divisions, town-and-gown issues.

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Imagine, another Duke Lacrosse player is human. I'm sorry Newsweek, but you can't atone for plastering his picture everywhere the first time. (via Betsy)

KC Johnson has today's round-up.

And what are the fabled Gang of 88 up to anyway? Let's see:

Duke student Ryan Miller did some research on what, exactly, members of the Group of 88 are teaching this semester. Several have either left Duke or are on leave. This chart excludes independent studies and other such courses.

Some courses appear to be both academically challenging and intellectually appropriate. Some, on the other hand, appear blatantly one-sided, almost caricatures of the race/class/gender approach that dominates the contemporary academy. Women’s Studies offerings include “Interpreting Bodies,” “Hook-Up Culture at Duke,” and “The Hip-Hop Aesthetic.” Other Group of 88 classes include “Cannibalism and Anorexia: The Anthropology of the Body”; “Marxism and Society”; and “Racism, Capitalism, and De-Colonial Thinking.” And for Wahneema Lubiano, spring semester will bring “Introduction to Critical U.S. Studies” and “Teaching Race/Teaching Gender.” Professor Lubiano declined a request from a DIW reader for copies of her syllabi. She no longer accepts emails from me.

Does anyone shudder at the notion of these twits teaching young people anything about racism, sexism and any other -ism? My personal favorite: Racism, Capitalism and De-Colonial Thinking. Yeah, I want my kid taking that class.

Oh, and Cathy Davidson spins like a top, continuing her inane rationalizations. If she believes in Karma, she shouldn't be surprised by "false accusations" in her future.

And Time Magazine, in the spirit of the back peddling times, features a story about professors at Duke who secretly supported the players but couldn't say anything because they are complete weenies:

Until now, no faculty member at Duke had come out to support the players. Roy Weintraub, an economics professor at Duke, drafted this week's letter. "It was something that had been bothering me for a while, that the Duke faculty was being characterized as being hostile to its own students, especially statements by faculty members that have been construed that way," Weintraub told TIME. "I wanted to make sure that there was some expression that students are welcomed in our class, including lacrosse players, students in good standing."

Too. Late. The faculty has earned this reputation, Professor Weintraub. Had you written a supportive letter a month after the Gang of 88's screed, perhaps the whole faculty wouldn't be painted as prejudiced and politically correct to the point of being closed minded ideologues. Do you remember the outrage that no one (except for those in the blogosphere) stood up for the players at that time? Here is what I said in July and I'm a little toad in this puddle:

But here is what really bothers me: how many members of the academy are there at Duke? That no one from the math, science, business, law, or even one or two professors among the liberal arts crowd stood for defending the students until proven guilty speaks volumes about the tyranny of political correctness within the academy. That the coach himself threw the team under the bus and then resigned reveals the insidious malignancy of cherished, clichéd beliefs. Why, the pusillanimity demonstrated in the face of calumny came so fast, so easy, one wonders how the coach inspired a fighting spirit in his players.

Intellectual no-talents and crack-pots will always be part of the education world. They are attracted to the stage and captive audience. Students are often held hostage in required courses for their majors. But other professors? They could at least defend the moral high ground, if not the accused. And in case anyone in these institutions wonder: the moral high ground is innocent until proven guilty especially a case with so many dubious elements.

The facts, when examined, gave fair-minded people plenty of reasons to support the players months ago. But only now, when YOUR reputation is being questioned do you find the energy and moral courage to mount a defense...of yourself. So very brave.