Posted on 12/08/2014 2:40:27 PM PST by jazusamo
The fiasco of "Rolling Stone" magazine's apology for an unsubstantiated claim of gang rape at a University of Virginia fraternity house — and the instant rush to judgment of the university administration in shutting down all fraternities, when those charges were made — should warn us about the dangers of having serious legal issues dealt with by institutions with no qualifications for that role.
Rape is a crime. It belongs in a criminal justice courtroom. And those found guilty belong behind bars for a long time.
What could possibly have led anyone to believe that college professors or campus administrators should be the ones making decisions about charges of criminal acts that can ruin the lives of the accuser or the accused?
Many years ago, the late William F. Buckley said that he would rather be ruled by people with the first hundred names in the Boston phone book than by a hundred Harvard professors. Having spent more than half a century on academic campuses across the country, I would likewise rather have my fate decided by a hundred Americans chosen at random than by a hundred academics.
Have we forgotten the charges of gang rape against members of the Duke lacrosse team in 2006 — and how quickly the lynch mob mentality swept across the campus, before there was a speck of evidence to indicate whether the young men were either guilty or innocent?
Do we want people punished, based on other people's preconceptions, rather than on the facts of the individual case? Apparently there are ranting mobs who do, and many in the media who give them a platform for spouting off, in exchange for the mobs' providing them with footage that can attract an audience.
(Excerpt) Read more at creators.com ...
I love Sowell.
A similar problem exists for those people who work in places that are ruled by politically correct ‘sensitivity’ polices where they can be accused of anything, at any time, and then be santioned for it with absolutely no evidence and no recourse.
All that matters is the perception of the offended party.
Talk about a tyranny, there it is.
It is for ‘rat emotional thinkers.
It IS amazing that nothing was learned from the Duke experience. The 81 (give or take) professors who signed that “open letter” have yet to apologize. But they’re still there, collecting their salaries from the mega tuition students pay, heading toward, or collecting a hefty pension. None should be in a position to collect another dollar in their lives until they apologize to those young men.
Sowell: Is Law Optional?
Of course it is....
You can choose to follow the law, or choose to not follow it..
Like the founders; that were traitors to King George.. thank God..
Sodom had “laws”.. as did Gormorrah..
Obama seems to think law is optional (”memos” are enough).
Holder seems to think law is optional (justice thru community organizer uprisings).
Hillary seems to think law is optional (”what difference does it make?”).
Reid seems to think law is optional (House bills? “STFU”).
Biden likes cheesecake.
I couldn’t agree more.
Even after it was proven it was all a lie those profs couldn’t bring themselves to apologize.
Goes to show us all how screwed up our education system is. It’s not about learning, it’s about leftist indoctrination.
Bump
The 81 Duke professors did not apologize.
UVA President Sullivan has not lifted her suspension of all fraternities.
Academics will preserve the tyranny of political correctness no matter the facts.
There was a time when colleges were revered for bringing forth the best and brightest. Now more and more we see clever clowns.
A year or two ago, UVA’s Board of Visitors tried to get rid of Sullivan but there was a very vocal reaction from students/recent alums, and she was reinstated. I don’t know how/if she’d survive a second firing if one were attempted.
This is for everyone who complained, regarding the Eric Garner case, that it was just about untaxed cigarettes.
Yes exactly. I am in awe of him.
I love his random thoughts columns the most.
With respect to the attempt by the Board of Visitors to fire UVA President Sullivan, the then GOP Governor McDonnell ran from the controversy instead of affirmatively backing the board’s decision. Without political support or cover, the board backed down to the media firestorm and pressure from the faculty. McDonnell at the time was being touted as a potential Republican presidential candidate. Taking the appropriate assertive role in a controversy involving the premier state university would have pitted him against the Washington Post, New York Times, and women’s groups. He chose political expediency over the welfare of the university and the state.
Sullivan turns 65 in March or April. It would be an appropriate time for her to retire. Hopefully Democrat Governor Terry McAuliffe, is being prodded by a number of the major alumni donors to the school and Democrat campaigns. Unlike McDonnell I suspect McAuliffe is capable of handling the delicate private conversations with Sullivan about her future plans. Somehow Democrat politicians are more capable of using both the scalpel and the dagger to remove irritants than GOP politicians.
There was a time when colleges were taught by the best and brightest. (Now more and more we see clever clowns.)
I miss the military-industrial complex.
The academic-media complex is killing us.
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