Three Part Essay on the Duke Lacrosse Case

[MarkRougemont]

  Don't know how many of you may have seen these.  Written by a nine-year part time teacher at Duke with no connection to the main characters in the caswe, it is an attempt at balance and fairness I have rairly seen in many writings on this case.

Part 1:  The Duke lacrosse racket

http://reharmonized.an-earful.com/2007/11/the-duke-lacrosse-racket/

"After a few months of dealing with unfinished business, I’ve managed to put together a two-sides-of-the-coin analysis of the Duke lacrosse case that’s been on my mind for a while. For better or worse, the lacrosse case has been a blogger’s boon, and while I was taking stock of my time at Duke anyway I thought I better do my part."

Part 2:  The trouble with potbanging

http://reharmonized.an-earful.com/2007/11/trouble-with-potbanging/

"After taking a closer look, I believe this protest was ill-conceived and self-defeating. It’s a shame that those who have pushed for a broad discussion of social or gender or racial equity have let the issues raised by this and similar protests fester."

Part 3:  A perfect mess

http://reharmonized.an-earful.com/2007/11/perfect-mess/

"With total dedication to ferreting out the “most horrific possibilities” in everything they’ve done, he’s constructed a perfectly skewed Wonderland, using the so-called “Group of 88″ as a sponge to blot all the stigma off his side and spread it on the other."

[Sydney Carton]

   At the end  of three essays scavaging on behalf of the group of 88 ,Professor Zimmerman has yet to uinearth a single incriminating bone from Durham in Wonderland. He says he wants Professor Johnson 's permission  before he priints the critiques Johnson  has been sending him.
Why does Zimmerman think Johnson has been sending him rebuttal iif Johnson doesn't  want his correction of Zimmerman's  misrepresentations published.
   However,Zimmerman promises  to provide  us with two further essays giving  the full nitty
 gritty on "irrational" Durham in Wonderland today or tomorrow. Judging from what  he has printed so far,they will not lure any new adherents to  the Duke 88 mutual admiration society.

[MarkRougemont]

   At the end  of three essays scavaging on behalf of the group of 88 ,Professor Zimmerman has yet to uinearth a single incriminating bone from Durham in Wonderland. He says he wants Professor Johnson 's permission  before he priints the critiques Johnson  has been sending him.
Why does Zimmerman think Johnson has been sending him rebuttal iif Johnson doesn't  want his correction of Zimmerman's  misrepresentations published.
   However,Zimmerman promises  to provide  us with two further essays giving  the full nitty
 gritty on "irrational" Durham in Wonderland today or tomorrow. Judging from what  he has printed so far,they will not lure any new adherents to  the Duke 88 mutual admiration society.

 Much of the exchange is covered here SC:

http://reharmonized.an-earful.com/2007/12/the-exchange/

More to come from Both, I am sure.

[Mr X]

just another Klan of 88 enabler.

[MarkRougemont]

just another Klan of 88 enabler.

You know of course that it is just this kind of thinking that Zimmerman is critical of.  He doesn't see this as 2 completely opposite forces, one good and one evil, lined up on different sides in this case, what he is critical of is people that stereotype others into one of these camps.  Some of the 'Klan of 88' as you put them may have had other than evil intentions regarding the accused in this case, just as some of the 'Duke 3ers' may have some reason to be critisized despite the stance they took.  The idea of perfection is misleading on both fronts.

The curious thing to me is that KC has actually shown some good thinking in this regard with his 'forgiveness' of a certain judge and investigator in this case.  He did stop short when it came to a certain nurse, however.

Overall, I think these essays are an attempt to look at both sides of the issues without taking sides.  That is a hard thing to do, as I can attest to.  Zimmerman does a good job and these are well worth reading, in my opinion.

[MarkRougemont]

  There are 2 comments I believe reflect what Zimmerman is trying to do here, the first is from Zimmermans blog from  LAX Supporter:

"I’ve been following DIW since mid-2006. I admire KC Johnson and his relentless efforts to get the facts of case out in the open. IMHO he is very bias and takes the most extreme possible interpretation when assigning blame to the faculty — who, again IMHO, are themselves extreme in their own right.
Your posts on the Duke Hoax are a refreshing departure for both extreme positions, and I appreciate your effort to present a more measured view."


This comment from D in Washington on KC's blog:

"They are quite good for someone admittedly attempting analysis without any purported involvement in the affair at the time. If he were an enabler or apologist (which I don't feel is a fair label), then in terms of writing ability and analysis, the music teacher puts the supposed English and Humanities professors to shame in my view.

There is a slant, but nonetheless, he attempts to address both sides of the issue."

[Mr X]

just another Klan of 88 enabler.

You know of course that it is just this kind of thinking that Zimmerman is critical of.  He doesn't see this as 2 completely opposite forces, one good and one evil, lined up on different sides in this case, what he is critical of is people that stereotype others into one of these camps.  Some of the 'Klan of 88' as you put them may have had other than evil intentions regarding the accused in this case, just as some of the 'Duke 3ers' may have some reason to be critisized despite the stance they took.  The idea of perfection is misleading on both fronts.

The curious thing to me is that KC has actually shown some good thinking in this regard with his 'forgiveness' of a certain judge and investigator in this case.  He did stop short when it came to a certain nurse, however.

Overall, I think these essays are an attempt to look at both sides of the issues without taking sides.  That is a hard thing to do, as I can attest to.  Zimmerman does a good job and these are well worth reading, in my opinion.

absolute barf.
if any of the Klan88 were truly worried about these supposed issues they claim to champion, they would have apologized for the "Listening Statement" and the "Clarification Statement" and seperated themselves and their causes from the case. They did not and have not. They are miserable human beings IMO. Zimmerman is just the latest of their group making an effort to rehabilitate these creeps.
they hate K.C. because he uses their own words and deeds against them. he does not need to make anything up, their record and deeds speak for themself. Klan 88 and the enablers are just unhappy that the light of day is pouring in on them.
waiting for Zimmerman to make a factual based post, also.

No Sale.

[wumhenry]

Zimmerman is very definitely taking sides: against KC Johnson, although his anti-Johnson argument is little more than unsubstantiated name-calling at this point.

Robert Mosteller's article in Fordham Law Review is far more cogent than Zimmerman's maundering.

[Sydney Carton]

   The link to the excellent Mosteller article cited by Wumhenry is:
          http://law.fordham.edu/ihtml/page3.ihtml?i...&articleid=2594

[MarkRougemont]

   The link to the excellent Mosteller article cited by Wumhenry is:
          http://law.fordham.edu/ihtml/page3.ihtml?i...&articleid=2594

To be fair, SC, I have provided a link to the pdf download here:

http://law.fordham.edu/ihtml/page3.ihtml?imac=1137&pubID=500&articleid=2594

It is an excellent article, I am impressed by the multitude of footnotes and source material he provides.  His primary focus seems to me to be the lineup procedures used.

It would have been interesting to see how the motion to supress the ID had played out at the hearing, a lot of people don't think that would have been a slam dunk for the defense.  In any case,  Zimmerman is not talking law here.  The subjects are vastly different.  Zimmerman's focus is on the way the Duke faculty handled the situation, good or bad, and his personal feelings on the matter in contrast to much published lambasting of the group of 88 and the listening statement.

[MarkRougemont]

  Mr. X,
You may be pleased to know that Part 4 is up, and you even get some mention:

"A smart man arguing a strong case doesn’t need to make wild insinuations, and I consider the insinuations about the “castrate” banner and about Pressler’s harassment both to be wild. In an environment where, for instance, “Mr. X” can write me off as “just another Klan of 88 enabler” in the TalkLeft thread about my posts, they make for fine demagoguery (there are a fair number of references to a “Klan of 88″ in the comments on DIW, as well). "

Link here:  http://reharmonized.an-earful.com/2007/12/other-prosecutor/

Both Tortmaster and KC have added comments.

[Mr X]

Thanks mark

any press is good press and TalkLeft can use some more traffic.

Zimmerman's post is disappointing. He doesn't like K.C. or the Sunshine Band picking on his friends.

Boo Hoo

[MarkRougemont]

Thanks mark

any press is good press and TalkLeft can use some more traffic.

Zimmerman's post is disappointing. He doesn't like K.C. or the Sunshine Band picking on his friends.

Boo Hoo

You may be surprised to learn that I was somewhat disappointed in Part 4 myself.  The problem as I see it is that Zimmerman seems to have moved further away from looking at this from both sides of the fence.  I don't know if this was due to the many exchanges he had with KC over the first 3 parts or not, but in this one, it seems to me he is more interested in being critical of KC than the attemps at fairness that I liked in his first 3 posts. It just seems as if part 4 is more cynical than open-minded and he is not willing to give KC's explanations and counter-arguments any credence.

[Mr X]

surprised indeed.
I saw Z as an enabler/defender from jump and his posts have done nothing to change my initial view.

[JoanOfDark]

any press is good press and TalkLeft can use some more traffic.

I didnt' realize TL was lamenting her loss of traffic?

From what I can gather numerous posters left as a result of the seemingly non-sensical censorship practices here.