Now that the Duke lacrosse players have been pretty much cleared of rape charges, the fallout is really getting started. There has to be some sort of soul searching for all the people who were ready to crucify these guys way before any real evidence was presented. There should be some employment consequences, not just for the DA who pressed on despite evidence contrary to the accuser's claims, but also for the local journalists who ruined these kids' lives. Journalists are supposed to report the facts, or at least fact-based opinion in a column, they are not supposed to promote guilt before a trial has even begun, blah blah blah.

And Duke University, as well as other institutions, needs to look at things like this with more skepticism and not be so ready to punish people because they are white, or black, or any particular race. And that's what it comes down to. 50 years ago if a white woman accused a black man of rape, he would be hung immediately without trial. Now it's the opposite, and the white men, while not hung, were hung out to dry. Maybe we should take a lesson from this and realize that innocent until proven guilty works well for all colors.