Playing the race card in politics is nothing new. Oversensitive and manipulative people will often say and do whatever necessary to achieve their goals and objectives, with little or no remorse for whatever repercussions may follow. It does not matter who gets destroyed in the process, the only thing that matters is, a favorable outcome for the person that plays this card.

The most famous race card was played in the O.J Simpson case. But many more have been played before and since then, some high profile and some not so high profile. Many have been long forgotten, like the Tawana Brawley case, in 1987. (For those that do not remember the case, it is outlined very well here.)

It was a case that polarized blacks and whites more than they already were and served no useful purpose other than to advance an agenda based solely on race, at a time when there was an atmosphere of improved relations between blacks and whites. There were those that feared that a more harmonious relationship between blacks and whites would imperil their jobs and would render their existences, obsolete. That’s right, they wanted to justify their existences, in spite of the fact that actual valid complaints of racism were declining. (It also helped launch the career of one, Al Sharpton, into the national limelight as an unofficial spokesman in race relations.) America was living in the Cosby era, where people were able to see some hope in the future.

Now, don’t get me wrong here, there were people at that same point in time that were bigoted people that were full of hate and discriminated against people of color, just because. There are way too many today. And that is to be considered most deplorable. But to manufacture such instances for the purposes I have so outlined here, I think, bastardizes all legitmate complaints and dilutes them. It puts them into a category that I will name, the boy who cried wolf. It is its own form of racism and does much more damage to the cause of equality, than anything else.

But despite the allegations and the intense media coverage, the whole incident was proven to be a hoax. Bro. Al and a couple others were successfully sued over the incident and should have hung their heads in shame. But that didn’t happen. In fact, ask any of the” so-called” advisors and those that had an active role in the rhetoric that contributed to the hoax and you will see them dig in further; while using every lame excuse in the world for their role, in it.

Now, bring this up to today.

The Duke lacrosse team has been under extreme scrutiny because of allegations made by a stripper that happens to be black. By contrast, the accused happens to be white. From the beginning women’s rights groups and leaders in the local and national black communities have tried and convicted based on this woman’s accusation, alone.

I know there’s some evidence. But quite frankly, it’s very weak at this point in time. The DA is facing re-election and has been on this bandwagon from the outset. The pressure from the special interests have been the driving force in this, from the beginning. And because he is a Democrat, he will need a huge amount of black and feminist votes, to have any chance at being re-nominated. So, we can see his motive.

With that said, it’s easy to see why he is not backing down even after one set of DNA tests have come back negative, not inconclusive, but negative.

So, do you think that would cast some doubt on the situation? So far it hasn’t. The accusers are digging in further. In fact, the DA has sent for more DNA tests. He didn’t get the evidence he wanted, so he takes another route. But, what if that comes back negative? Does he send off for more, does he go with the weak evidence he already has, or does he relent and not bring the case to trial?

Your guess is as good as mine.

The point of all of this is not to say that these guys are innocent or guilty. If they are guilty and there is enough good solid evidence to convict, go for it. I want them convicted, if they did it. But he has to understand that just because there is a public outcry by both feminist and black leaders (that see this as an open and shut case), he has to follow the law. And if the the next set of DNA tests do come back negative, he needs to come to the realizattion that bringing this case to trial for political purposes, will not be the wisest thing for him to do. He has to realize that it could very well backfire. And if he goes through with it with weak evidence, he is going to lose and he is going to be partially responsible for driving a wedge even further between blacks and whites, than it already is. (Remember the old “for every action there is a reaction” adage, as it is applicable here.)

No, the point to all of this is, if this turns out to be another Tawana Brawley-like hoax, the proverbial fecium will be hitting the fan, complete with lawsuits for everybody that had a hand in promoting this. Not only that, if they were to ever turn up new evidence that could tip the scales towards conviction and they have already been acquitted, that’s it. Game over.

I don’t pretend to know what’s what here. I do not have all of the evidence, I am not intimately involved so, I just don’t know. But if you want my gut feeling, this is fastly becoming a witch hunt that no one will want to back down, even if there turns out to be no there, there. Not the black community, not the feminists, and not the prosecutor.

Written and posted exclusively for The Wide Awakes.
By LASunsett of Political Yen/Yang

Said LASunsett @ 7:47 pm | Permalink   

1. Much Ado About Some Cartoons (VIDEO)

   If we don’t face up to the realities of the world in which we live, we are doomed as a society if we ignore them as history will most certainly repeat itself.

   Trackback by Ms. Underestimated — 4/15/2006 @ 3:42 am

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2. As a brotha who has followed this, the Lacrosse players were found guilty before the DNA came back.
   The players are being railroaded pure and simple. I admire the players and those connected to them for keep their mouths shut, and sticking together.
   Bringing this case to a trial is ridiculous. Also the black folks running the racism game in this case is another in the long line of uneducated misinformed people wanting to blame whitey for something. This country already has enough racists pricks tearing away at the fabric of this nation without “inventing” new ones for political gain.

   Comment by Sniffer — 4/15/2006 @ 7:36 am

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