Posted on 10/30/2006 3:04:46 AM PST by abb
mark
Based on the statement, who is the one with character? Not the Blinco cops or the judge.
I missed this article earlier. My apologies to the board...
http://www.newsobserver.com/339/story/504654.html
Challenging assumptions
Sharon Swanson, Correspondent
"I am Colin Finnerty's mother." Mary Ellen Finnerty wrote in response to last month's Our Lives column where I admitted to a prejudiced reaction to male teenage lacrosse players staying at a sports camp next to my 12-year-old daughter. Finnerty's son Colin is a defendant in the Duke lacrosse case.
"It is so important for you to see what kind of man my son is -- as a mother I am sure you know what I mean."
When this case first made national news, I judged Colin Finnerty and the Duke Three based on my own particular brand of prejudice. While others were debating whether these charges represented issues about race, class or the divide between the haves and the have-nots, I was viewing the scenario through the prism of white liberal guilt. I felt somehow responsible that young black women were still being exploited by affluent young white men in the South. I stereotyped the entire Duke lacrosse team.
But then I talked to Colin Finnerty's mother. Mary Ellen Finnerty caught me on my cell phone in the parking lot of Kmart, where I stood for 20 minutes, moved by her story of how this incident has affected her family. I flew to New York two days later to meet her, her husband and their five children.
Yes, it's true their home is spacious, well-decorated and situated on an immaculately groomed golf course in a lovely part of Long Island. But the Finnertys weren't born into the life of the proverbial silver spoon. Kevin Finnerty, Colin's father, who went to college on a swimming scholarship, borrowed the money to buy Mary Ellen's engagement ring. "He's always had to work hard, he was working seven days a week when I met him," she said.
Still, Kevin acknowledged that they are more fortunate than most because they are able to provide the legal resources his son's defense has required.
I don't need to tell you that this incident is tragic for everyone involved. For the Finnertys, they say it has had the effect of making them even closer. I haven't sat down to dinner with the accuser and her family; they are no doubt victims too, no matter whose rendition of the event you choose. But spending the day with Colin's family raised questions about everything I have heard and read about them.
I asked Colin about a story I'd heard about Emily, his younger sister, a petite 12-year-old. He told me that when he first returned home from Durham, Emily spent her nights sleeping on a couch in her big brother's room, wrapped up in his Duke blanket.
"She'd never talk to me about it," Colin said. "It was just her way of being protective, I guess. I don't know if she even understood it completely."
It seems that Emily Finnerty isn't the only one who doesn't completely understand this situation. Like a lot of other folks, I was quick to assume that I knew who the Finnertys were. Stereotypes, like monsters under the bed, tend to dissipate when you shine a light on them.
I wonder now if a 12-year-old girl may be the best judge of the character of Colin Finnerty. And she's the only one not expressing an opinion.
Sharon Swanson can be reached at sk_swanson@earthlink.net.
That makes it real. I could see myself doing that at that age. Sleeping in my big brother's room. This kind of thing hits home for me.
We'll all be in the ground before Cash comes around.
He is what he is.
Yes, I hadn't seen that letter. Sarah is right, it helps to personalize him.
Thanks abb.
I had not seen that. Brings tears to my eyes.
Colin seems to me to be the most vulnerable of the three. I don't know why I have that impression, I just do. Maybe something the "Mom Antenna" is picking up.
I think I am the only supporter of the Lax players who likes Cash.
(so sue me, LOL! Just don't send Nifong after me)
As AnthonySoprano said, he is what he is. You know what you are getting. He will never come around to our point of view 100%. To expect otherwise is foolish.
But you do know what he is thinking and he will speak his mind.
One thing I have noticed is he has posted on most of the boards, but not the board of record...FreeRepublic.
Wonder if he is scared?
Cash! Over here! Come talk to the Pro's!
I'm thinking this is him in the ping list. Not sure, though...
LOL! Cash, is that you?
He seems the most vulnerable to me too. I'm not a Mom yet so it's probably my "big sister antenna". LOL.
http://www.wral.com/dukelacrosseheadlines/9334003/detail.html
A link to an old article regarding the second set of DNA tests costing $23,000. I'll bet that the amount of taxpayer money wasted so far is in the neighborhood of a half million dollars. Voters should know this when they vote next week.
No telling how much the falsely accused are having to waste as well.
The judge and the DA are both idiots. Incidentally, the defense attorney that got these bozos' charge dismissed on a technicality IS THE BROTHER of Tom Manning, a Duke Rape Case co-defense attorney. Now there's an interesting conflict...
This judge also is not familiar with the human race!
http://www.renewamerica.us/columns/gaynor/061031
D.A. Nifong: My political need trumps wise police strategy
Michael Gaynor
October 31, 2006
Lots of Gaynor articles are somewhat rambling. This one was very much to the point.
"Sherwood was at the party the night of March 13, and stayed through the dance, but then left with other underclassmen, he said."
The story on GMA claims that Sherwood was there for the dance. I don't think it's correct though. If he was there, it would be very big news for the defense. We've heard all along that he left before the dance, and I'm certain the actual GMA broadcast said this as well.
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/LegalCenter/story?id=2617301&page=1
Wow. Devon is clearly a superior young man. No doubt there have been some awkward moments for him in all this, in view of the racist slant that Liefong, black groups of Durham, the NBPP, and the media put on this case.
His belief in, affection, devotion and respect for his accused teammates says a great deal about all of them, himself included. His parents and friends should be proud that he didn't succumb to the race-baiting.
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