April 08, 2003

Not Just the River in Egypt

[ EDITED: Reading is Fundamental. Changed the name of the blog below. Apologies for any confusion ]

The New Millennium Elvis points me in the right direction:

Then Last night I got sucked into a show about the central park jogger. I watched the WHOLE show waiting to see how they would talk about the young men who went to prison for a crime they did not commit. She was prompted by Katie Couric to say this was not about race it was about the attack of a woman. If they were falsely accused it was just part of the tragedy of the evening.

Huh?

Why does she get to own the tragedy? I think what happened to her was horrible. I think her recovery is wonderful. I think her story is beautiful. But this is about race. The way the stories of the young men of color was dismissed in this show was appalling. It was implied that we just don't know for sure that they weren't part of her attack. Again. They were impugned.

It also includes discussion of service women taken as POWs or killed in action. I still ain't talking about the "war," so I'm only concerned with the Central Park 5 angle.

But it's so true: Meili wasn't the only victim on April 19, 1989. The Central Park 5, Black and Latin teen boys and really People of Color in New York City were also victimized. I won't compare the hurt, or belittle Meili's suffering, but to dismiss the aftermath of the racist handling of this case is disgusting. I'll give her the benefit of the doubt. She doesn't remember the attack, the police and Manhattan DA's office had her convinced that the five young men did it. White privilege has clouded many to the horrors of "New York's Finest." And if I hear one more lament of officers of color being involved...

It's obvious that the boys were coerced to confess. The 20/20 program months ago showed that with videotaped questioning by Elizabeth Lederer. Hell, Kharey Wise made at least two different, divergent statements — as did three of the others. The facts are just not there. Linda Fairstein and Bert Arroyo will rot in hell for their leading roles in this case. If the city is smart, they'll settle the civil suits brought by the Central Park 5 with as little lawyerly wrangling as possible. Although I'd be happy to hear all the sordid details of the criminal acts committed by those who are supposedly entrusted with providing justice in this city.

Posted by ronn at April 8, 2003 06:12 PM