Wikipedia defines conventional wisdom as a term used to describe ideas or explanations that are generally accepted as true by the public or experts in a field. Such ideas or explantions, though widely held, are unexamined.
Do me a solid and read that second sentence again.
Now apply it to nearly all the media, LSU fans and other "experts in the field" in the case of Jordan Jefferson and his three amigos.
Its conventional wisdom that the BRPD has turned a simple bar fight into the reincarnation of the OJ saga. From calling the four LSU football players prominently involved to the BRPD for statements, to getting a search warrant to Jefferson's apartment, then swabbing him for DNA samples. Most observers have blasted , get this, the POLICE, for doing their job. "The BRPD are showboating", "They are an embarrassment", "This is a simle bar fight between college students", blah blah blah.
More often than not...alot more often than not, conventional wisdom is wrong. This is one of those occasions.
First, This is not simple bar fight between college students. When the highest profiled athlete on campus is involved there is nothing simple about it. Here's a guy two weeks outside the most important start of his athletic life. A senior. Probalbly would have been voted team captain. From all accounts an upstanding student athlete. He breaks curfew, goes to a bar and scrums with two sophomores and a freshman?! What's his thought process? "Let's see, do I stay in tonight or break a team rule? Hmm, this is toughie." We all know what his decision was. Bad judgement.
Second, theres a second degree felony charge that somebody's about to get hit with. You don't just phone in an investigation when jail time is a possibility. You need to talk to all parties involved. Collect all evidence available. Evidence that could either implicate or exonorate the accused. I ask you, if your son was beaten so badly that veterbrae were fractured, allegedly kicked in the head while prone and unconscious then left in the street while the perps were escorted away by loyals, would you want those so called showboating keystone cops to find out who's responsible? Don't answer. I already know.
Third, it occurrs to me that the BRPD is bending over nine ways to sundown to make sure no stone is left unturned, no eveidence is omitted, no questions remain so there can be no second guessing in the event the players are let go. If I'm Les Miles, I want all channels examined as thorough as can be.
I'm a fan of the BRPD. Are they perfect? Of course not. Are they dedicated? Hells yeah!
I'm not a fan of conventional wisdom. It's lazy. It's easy. In this case, it's wrong.
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