Posted by
Shogrensus on Thursday, April 12, 2007 5:04:29 PM
April 12, 2007
Joy went into an amazing diatribe today about the completely vindicated Duke Lacrosse team and Don Imus. She expressed her belief that the young men from Duke were a part of the “Little White Boys' Club”, the apparent precursor to the “Old Boys' Club” for the old White guys.
When Elisabeth demonstrated some concern about Joy’s “view” Joy seemed to try to back peddle her way out of it. The problem for Joy: everyone knows what the “Old Boys' Club” means. Joy is of the belief that these young men are spoiled, wealthy White kids who don’t respect women in general, but particularly Black women.
Joy: “I don’t believe in firing him. I think the marketplace will determine whether someone stays on the air or not…It’s interesting that it comes at the same time as this Duke rape case you know these boys are now off because the girl lied and she wasn’t raped. However It is interesting to me that the, ah little white boys club was in effect in the Duke University situation, too. You have a bunch of White boys sitting around with Black girls coming in and stripping. All right they didn’t rape them but…”
Rose McGowan: “but they’re gross.”
Joy: “but they’re gross. The same thing with Imus and his old boys club and I mean old. Old White guys sitting around making comments about women.”
Elisabeth (looking shocked) tries to jump in with: “Did these boys specifically request…”
Joy: “It’s really got to stop but I don’t want to be the one to stop it. I want the marketplace to stop it in his case.”
Elisabeth: “I hear you on that. Did these boys specifically request a Black female to come and strip for them?”
Rose McGowan interjecting: “They had two. They had two. They had two. There were two.”
Joy: “It doesn’t matter. It’s still a stripper. I don’t care about the color.”
Elisabeth: “I am just saying, you were saying White boys club so you did care about the color right.”
Rose McGowan: “But they had two”
Joy: “Those are White boys. That’s a White boys club.”
Elisabeth: “I’m just trying to clarify because it seemed to me as though”
Rose McGowan: “But they had two Black strippers”
Joy: “I’m not talking about that. I am talking about the boys. They were all White boys weren’t they?”
Elisabeth: “Yes”
Joy: “Okay. That’s all.”
Joy, that is not all.
What nerve to compare these young men, whose lives have been put on hold for a year, whose families have lived with them in Hell on Earth while their names have been dragged through the mud and whose reputations may never be what they once were, to Don Imus.
How many people stood up and decried these young men and demanded action be taken because a woman who was Black made allegations. Had the woman been White would there have been the same uproar one year ago? I assure you, no.
The people who choose to fan the flames of racial mistrust leapt upon this situation, to capitalize on what they hoped would be a very public example of the evil ways of rich White kids versus a poor Black girl.
Now we know the truth. That girl LIED, LIED and then LIED again. It doesn’t really matter why she lied. While she should be punished for her behavior, no punishment will erase the pain these men endured. These men won’t be able to sue her- she has nothing. How can they be made whole? They can’t. They can simply move forward and begin to live their lives again.
It’s true these boys made a choice to hire a stripper for a party- something I find distasteful but recognize happens across this country millions of times each year. It is also true that the woman chose to be a stripper, a right she has in this country. While no self-respecting woman would choose this as a vocation, there are those women who, for whatever sad reasons, do. While I feel sorry for her and the state of her life, she had no right to falsely accuse these men of one of the most serious crimes facing women today.
Her false accusations will influence public opinion for years to come. Future rapists will remind victims about this case to undermine the confidence about seeking redress. Future jurors will remember this case and may see women as less credible.
All of the people who stood up against these young men and condemned them without regard to the facts should now offer very public apologies.
Joy, you should apologize.