Posted on 12/27/2006 11:42:27 AM PST by neverdem
Given recent events in Durham, N.C., concerning the alleged Duke University lacrosse "rape'' case, it is now possible to declare parody dead.
How does one parody a parody?
All is not lost, however. We can celebrate the addition of a new verb to our American lexicon -- "to Nifong.'' When the moment calls for activities that need no elaboration, we already "Bobbitt,'' "Bork,'' and "Lewinsky.''
Now we can "Nifong'' someone when we want to trump up criminal charges based on flimsy evidence allegedly for political purposes. In short, when we want to screw up someone's life.
Nifong would be as in Durham County District Attorney Michael B. Nifong, who earlier this year brought charges against three lacrosse players -- Reade Seligmann, Collin Finnerty and David Evans -- for the alleged rape of an African-American stripper who had been hired to perform at a team party.
Last week, Nifong dropped the rape charges when the alleged victim decided she wasn't sure she had been raped after all. That is, she wasn't sure she had been vaginally penetrated, a distinction required by state law for a charge of rape.
Last March, after the party, the stripper had a different recollection, telling police that she had been raped every which way. But, well, these things are difficult sometimes to keep straight. Rape being so nuanced and all.
Meanwhile, hundreds of lives have been turned inside out, none so much as the three accused players. All because, well, let's see, because the stripper said so. The absence of corroborating evidence seemed to pose no obstacle for Nifong, who ran a successful re-election campaign on the strength of his convictions.
And, of course, the story had good legs and plenty of sex appeal, if you like that sort of thing: race...
(Excerpt) Read more at realclearpolitics.com ...
ME....read what I said.....
I know a guy like that, who claims he got a full scholarship for his last year at Tulane, like that. As soon as he got his U.S. citizenship, during his Junior year (he have been in the U.S. since early childhood), he marched down to financial aid and filled out the forms. Says the black woman who accepted it was completely indignant about it, but that the languange they have for African-American scholarships made him a shoe-in.
/have been/had been/
That's what posting before coffee will do to you. Sheesh.
I LIKE that. How about Southern American? although.....I would rather just be called Bill or George or something.
For that, they have been subjected to unholy hell.
If we apply that same standard to everyone who sees a stripper, what do we say about the poor guy who was shot in New York the night before his wedding? Are we saying that he showed poor judgment, he made poor choices, and should not have been at a strip club, and so therefore contributed to what happened to him?
I think you got in everything I was going to say to him. Thanks for saving me the time. ;)
Nifong is as a big a whore slut as the dancer.
I totally agree with you my friend. I hope these kids sue the pants off of Nifong and that county. He ruined their lives in order to get elected .
I read what you said it has nothing to do with my question.
yep.
"...anything less is treasonous in my book..." Anyone not a "very conservative republican..." is treasonous? OoooK.
Who are some examples of these all-knowing folks?
FIRST of all, you took what I said out of context....I said that anything in MY book that isn't black or white is treasonous.....and that I AM a very conservative Republican....got it now?
This is how I feel....how you feel is your business...
There was never a time when I didn't "get it". I was merely trying to see if there was some way "it" could make some sense. My mistake.
Why I'm Not Saying “African-American” Anymore Posted on March 30, 2006
Retaining the label “African-American” perpetuates past attempts to suggest that blacks are less than full Americans. If anything, it is pejorative—it is insulting—it says “you are still different from real Americans.” So I won’t say “African-American” anymore.
My wife is a great example of how absurd hyphenating can get. Is she Hungarian-American? Her mother’s ancestors came from Hungary early in the Twentieth Century. And her father’s ancestors complicate matters even more. They came from the Russian section of partitioned Poland, also early in the Twentieth Century.
Does that make his people Russian-American or Polish-American? Did I mention both of my wife’s parents were born Jewish? So is she Hungarian-Polish-Russian-Jewish-American? She gets impatient with all this. She considers herself an American. Period. She doesn’t want any hyphens.
How long does an American have to be here to lose the hyphen?
I agree completely, that's why I posed the question.
I would be an Italian-American, but I've never been to Italy!
Hyphenating certainly is prejudicial.
When will it end? Not anytime soon.
Theodore Roosevelt would be very disappointed in the perpetuation of this hyphenating. He loathed it.
Good post, MRT!
"Well, two of the accused are sophmores. When the team throws a party, the whole team goes to the party. Seligmann didn't even want to go, but did so in order not to appear rude. He and Finnerty saw the stripper for about five minutes only, in her 'dance', and then left. "
Too bad for Seligmann--that was unfortunate. Perhaps if he left immediately, he wouldn't be among the accused today.
"For that, they have been subjected to unholy hell."
The ones who decided to hire the stripper--their poor judgement affected not just themselves, but many others. If they didn't hire the stripper, they would not be having their problem today. It's a harsh lesson.
"If we apply that same standard to everyone who sees a stripper, what do we say about the poor guy who was shot in New York the night before his wedding? Are we saying that he showed poor judgment, he made poor choices, and should not have been at a strip club, and so therefore contributed to what happened to him? "
Sorry, I can't comment on that story--I haven't read about it and am not familiar with the details--but from what you describe it sounds like trouble.
My point is that the young men are suffering the consequences of their bad judgement. I don't think it's fair what's happening to them to the degree that it is, and I think the accuser is a pathetic loser and Nifong is thoroughly despicable--but the men share a part of the blame for inviting trouble to their party. They aren't totally innocent victims in this story. Strippers always equal trouble. Are you familiar enough with "exotic dancers" to know what type of dysfunctional world they dwell in?
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