I don’t know who Terry Moran is, but he advises us not to feel sorry for the Dukies.  (via Strike the Root)

You know, the ones who were wrongly accused of rape. The ones whose families were slandered. Who incurred a million dollars in legal fees. The ones who lost a year of their lives defending bogus accusations.

Shit, don’t feel sorry for them. They’re rich. Well, what if I said, “Don’t feel sorry for all the poor minorities in prison on bogus charges – they’re fucking dumb and ignorant. They’d end up in jail eventually, anyways.” (NB – I’m not saying this except as hyperbole)  He says, “they’ll be just fine,” and my hypothetical posits that “the wrongfully imprisoned poor people would probably end up in prison anyways.” In both situations, the argument is that “since the outcome is the same, the intermediary steps are irrelevant.” But I’m not saying that, I’m just trying to point out his callous disregard for injustice and inequality.

Consider:

The conduct of the lacrosse team of which they were members was not admirable on the night of the incident, to say the least. And there are so many other victims of prosecutorial misconduct in this country who never get the high-priced legal representation and the high-profile, high-minded vindication that it strikes me as just a bit unseemly to heap praise and sympathy on these particular men.

…The media covers few, if any, of these cases.”

The comments section is pretty fairly split between people who think Moran is a giant turd, and Moran supporters, full of vindictive, vitriolic hatred, here’s a choice cut:

When you look at the number of African-American men who have been charged and found guilty in a rush for judgement, they just received a “little taste” of what African-Americans have experienced for decades.

One gets the impression, from Moran and his supporters, that justice doesn’t really matter, as long as injustice is equitable – that everyone receive the same amount of injustice? What he wants is injustice and equality for all. The underlying theme is that because they come from privileged families, with money, that they don’t deserve sympathy – when the fact of the matter is, it’s likely that the only reason they have our sympathy is because of their fortuitous privilege. Had they been poor, or even middle class, hell – had they not been athletes, nobody would know their names. What I want is no injustice.

The conduct of the team on that night – i.e., hiring strippers, drinking beers, may or may not be admirable. The point is, it doesn’t fucking matter! Their conduct earlier that night is not at all relevant in assessing the problem of prosecutorial misconduct. It is only incidental, in that it gave the accuser the opportunity to try and vilify them, to avoid charges against her. The problem stems from her dishonesty, and Nifong’s zeal, not from a voluntary, compensated transaction that occurred earlier in the night.

Moreover, nobody is asking Moran, or anyone, to praise these men, I sure as hell don’t. But admit that they lucked out. By Moran’s own admission, misconduct is rampant. This is the problem, and he is a not part of the solution. Why? Because he’s still talking about these kids, when by his own admission, a bigger problem persists. Instead of doing something to fix what’s broken, he’s admonishing others for only now learning that the system is broken. Is it a bad thing that it takes rich white kids to spark this interest or reveal the problem?

Perhaps. But it’s better than the alternative, which is no interest, and continued abuse of the legal system.