On Strippers and Thugs, Part II: On Caricature

One word slipped into my earlier post on the Duke lacrosse scandal was "caricature." I rely on this term in responding to two critiques of that post. I rely also on a very simple observation: there are a lot of facts in this world.

On Thugs

One astute reader commented to me privately that some media outlets had, in fact, compared the athletes to "thugs." This connects also to the comment on my original post about the extent to which these players have been negatively portrayed.

I grant the details about the story are not flattering to the players involved. My basic point remains, however. Unlike some commentators, I feel like the coverage of the incident has been largely apologetic about the players' behavior. There seems a high degree of skepticism about the complaint. Unlike other incidents where athletes may be practically assumed to be guilty, these players have been generally excused for any misbehavior. Even if not guilty of rape, the behavior of these athletes is no less offensive than that of their peers who are routinely assumed to be guilty, to be "thugs."

On Strippers

Certainly, the fact that the women were exotic dancers was the basis for their physical presence at the party that evening. In that limited sense, commentators are correct that it is relevant. Yet this is an awfully thin description: it speaks little to the events surrounding the allegations and not at all to whatever events precipitated it. Specifically, if the claim is that the players are not responsible for her injuries, who was? What impetus brought her to perform at the house that night?

While considering these questions, it is also worthwhile to ask then why these individuals are "lacrosse players" or "athletes." If the notion is that her description as a "stripper" pertains only to the reason she was there, what does their athleticism really contribute to that story?

Factually, yes, the professional description is basically accurate. But there are many facts in this world, many facts to each event and the facts we select indicate how the story will be told. It is only that these details are selected, not that they are false.

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