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I think Skube gets it half-right here.

He's certainly correct in saying there was a rush to judgement - by some at Duke, but mostly by folks in the community. He's also right to ask those critics for a second opinion and even an apology - which doesn't seem forthcoming.

But Skube misreads the tea leaves when examining the root causes of this rush to judgment. Most of this came not from within the university but from the community itself. While I'm sure some left-leaning professors and socially active students did pile on, the majority of the initial outrage came from Durham's black community.

Skube fails to understand the depth of the scism between Duke and Durham (particularly black Durham). I'm sure the community shares some blame for this, but there is a culture of entitlement and elitism at Duke, just as there is at most private universities that attract an overwhelmingly well-to-do, white student body.

Working-class people in Durham, many of whom happen to be black, cook the meals in the student union, clean the dormitories and cut the grass on the quad. Sadly, the Duke students don't always treat these people like equals or even human beings (again, this isn't just a Duke problem - it happens at a lot of schools).

This resentment created an atmosphere where people in Durham readily believed Mike Nifong's fairy tale. An alcohol-fueled frat boy party goes too far and a poor black woman gets raped? It really wasn't a hard story to sell - heck, I believed it when I first heard it.

I hope these bogus charges get dropped and these three young men are able to get on with their lives. I also hope Nifong is punished for the sham he perpetuated.

However, I also hope that Duke students and administrators will realize that they do have some fence-mending to do with their Durham neighbors. A reservoir of community goodwill can only help the university.

For another perspective, here's a comment that was posted yesterday on my blog entry of last April 16, "The Duke rape case and media coverage," by someone identifying herself as Candace:

"Poor little rich white boys.(tsk tsk):( It must be so hard for them having to go through all of this. Let's not even think about all of the black men who have been lynched in American history if they so much sneezed on a white woman. Let's not think about all of the white women who screamed false rape of a black man for whatever reasons. None justifiable might I add. That's not important, right? But nobody likes to discuss things like that. White guilt maybe. Is that why black history isn't even taught in high schools in America? I would think-as an intellegent person-that black oppression would be a very vital and pivotal part of American history. Now, I'm supposed to feel sorry for these rich white boys because they might be "falsely accused" of raping a black woman? In my opinion, they can go straight to hell. I could care less about their civil rights. Nobody gives a damn about this poor innocent black girls civil rights. Why would a bunch of rich white boys hire black e! xotic dancers anyway? Were there not any available white exotic dancers in town. I believe that these evil white boys had planned on luring these poor innocent black women to their frat house with intensions to rape and humiliate them. These lacrosse players even sent emails to one another discussing how they wanted to mutilate some strippers. That's repulsive. They also shouted racial slurs at these poor girls in intensions to intimidate them. I guess the raping of black women during slavery wasn't good enough for white men now they want a little striptease from us too. The only way they could get a black woman is by rape. What a pathetic excuse for a human being. How dare anyone say anything negative about this poor woman. She is the victim here. She was violated by these ignorant, racist assholes. I hope that they do go to jail. Do I care if they are innocent or not? No. Until I can shed enough tears for all of the black men who died from false rape accusations by white w! omen, then maybe I'll...consider feeling sorry for these evil demons."

Sadly, I don't think she's the only person who feels this way.

Candace is right that bogus rape accusations were used to unjustly imprison and murder black men in the past. That tragic part of history shouldn't be forgotten.

But treating these three lacrosse players in the same way is just another injustice and is every bit as wrong.

That one post is stupid and ignorant. What a horrible thing to say. Must suck to go through life with that attitude.

Maybe the past should have learned our lesson before the Duke case. Maybe we should have looked to Emmet Till or Tawana Brawley. There was a very interesting comparison early in the case where some reporter compared to the Brawley case.

When we're quick to judge, or take sides before we know the facts or let investigations play out in a case like this, we run the risk of feeling bitter when our worst assumptions are not realized. That's what happens when the DA focuses on racial appeasement, instead doing his job.

Thanks for your comments, js and Z. I feel as you do.

In fact, the longer this travesty continues, the greater sadness, rather than anger, I feel about it.

If Durham police and the DA had handled this case with more sensitivity and discernment from the beginning, it should have been possible to determine that a very confused and troubled young woman needed help, not to be thrust to the center of a sensation criminal case based on fantasy charges. They could have avoided subjecting her to this angry storm, avoided the misplaced allegations against the Duke lacrosse players, avoided the community turmoil, avoided the damage to Duke University, avoided the now-likely destruction of Mike Nifong's career. This incredible rush to judgment has done terrible harm to many people, and for what? It's some kind of Greek tragedy, and some of the worst repercussions may be yet to come.