Nifong's disgrace! What about PR?!

DAMN HIM for his rush to judgment! DAMN HIM for listening to the crowd and trying to leverage the situation for his own political gain. DAMN HIM for not retracting his accusations.

As you are aware, a North Carolina state ethics panel on Saturday disbarred the Durham district attorney Michael Nifong for pursuing a false accusation of sexual assault against three Duke University lacrosse players. The commission concluded that it was a politically motivated act and that Nifong allowed it to fester for months after it was clear the defendants were innocent.

DAMN HIM!

And while you're at it... DAMN US! Us, i.e. the unruly mob who wanted those boys hung from the nearest tree at the outset. Us, the PR business.

As this had gotten such play in the press, certainly the PR biz weighed in with plethora of opinion as to: who was right; who was wrong; who was the victim needing rescue; and who needed, as they say in Texas, "some killin'." Well, bleeding-heart-feminist sympathizers that we are, scared liberals who find a certain comfort in numbers, the "killin" idea touched our hearts.

Here, this captures it. Listen to the words of a CEO of one of the largest PR firms in the world (4/7/06):

- This (blog) post does not seek to examine the underlying issues... Suffice to say that as a father of three daughters, I am repulsed by the alleged violation of basic human dignity. There can be no excuse for this type of behavior.
- It took too long for the President of the University to lay out the context. The university community was relatively calm until March 27, when protestors chanted in front of the administration building. So there was a week of tolerance until enough details about the party were established to give credence to the accusations.
- The best type of statement in the days just following the event would have established Brodhead's unequivocal support for due process but also a determination to understand the root causes of the problem and a restatement of his commitment to the rights of the accuser, not just the accused.

Translation: make sure you've got public support before ya hang 'em.

Indeed. As we advised, Duke University President Brodhead bowed to the pressure from protesters and went about ensuring broad public support. In a note to the alumni, he said particularly, "There have been reports of persistent problems involving the men's lacrosse team, including racist language and a pattern of alcohol abuse and disorderly behavior." And "This episode has touched off angers, fears, resentments...brought glaring visibility to underlying issues...concerns of women about sexual coercion and assault...concerns about the culture of certain student groups that regularly abuse alcohol and the attitudes these groups promote...concerns about the survival of the legacy of racism, the most hateful feature American history has produced."

Any second thoughts? Can we rely on the general public to judge? Forgetaboutit. In the words of our PR leader, "I believe that there are times when the court of public opinion needs heavier weighting than those applied in the legal courtroom. This could be one of those cases."

Simple: Hang 'em!!!

And we did.

Anyway, hindsight is always 20/20. Why should we care? What's past is past.

Well, the reason we should care is because that same CEO is also leading PR's Web 2.0 revolution. According to him, it is the masses who are in charge now. You vote as you weigh in to the public "conversation." Participation is the resolution process. It is now the "wisdom of the crowd" that outweighs that of a system of laws and due process.

Nifong's disgrace? No. It is on our hands, as well. At least Nifong apologized. What about our PR leader? How much you want to bet we do not hear a word?