Nifong Disbarred

matclone · 06-18-2007, 08:48 PM

To Stardust: I never suggested Nifong was right. I was just pointing to the "rest of the story"--the existence of which you acknowledge.

matclone · 06-18-2007, 08:55 PM

Originally Posted by Spider

Any case of prosecutorial misconduct is important. Perhaps this one is recieving so much attention is because people like Al Sharpton helped cast the original case into the national spotlight.

Well, I've made this claim before: the greater sin was a black woman falsely accusing white men. And Sharpton has also caused an egregious sin: a black man aiding a false accusation of white men. One does not have to go very far back in our history, when this would have been lynching offenses. Do you think those notions, that sort of attitude, merely disappeared in the night, sometimes during the 60s? I'm sure the black community in Durham has a historical perspective even if the rest of us don't recognize it. Speaking for myself, I have not heard Al Sharpton once on this case. On the other hand, I have heard endless accounts of what a baad man he is.

Stardust · 06-18-2007, 08:58 PM

oh, I know. I was just pointing out that as a resident of Durham, I can say most of the comments heard around here do pretty much reflect the same attitude on this forum, which is what you are asking about.

It is interesting to have the perspective to see it here, locally, and compare it to national opinion. Up until the last few months I wouldn't have been able to make the above statement. But now that it's become clear what Nifong did, the majority of Durham residents acknowledge his guilt, regardless of their color.

Spider · 06-18-2007, 09:12 PM

Originally Posted by matclone

Well, I've made this claim before: the greater sin was a black woman falsely accusing white men. And Sharpton has also caused an egregious sin: a black man aiding a false accusation of white men. One does not have to go very far back in our history, when this would have been lynching offenses. Do you think those notions, that sort of attitude, merely disappeared in the night, sometimes during the 60s? I'm sure the black community in Durham has a historical perspective even if the rest of us don't recognize it. Speaking for myself, I have not heard Al Sharpton once on this case. On the other hand, I have heard endless accounts of what a baad man he is.

I honestly (and probably naively) didn't see this as a racial issue until black activists made it one. If the stripper had been a white woman, her original accusations and their falseness would have been no more or less egregious. The historical perspective doesn't alter the facts of the case, but Nifong probably pursued a conviction more aggresively to portray himself as a champion of minorities.

I'm not saying that Sharpton is a baad man, just an opportuunist.

Stardust · 06-18-2007, 09:21 PM

Spider - what you say is a great example of what I meant when I said when this first happened, the national perspective was waaaayyy different than the local one.

Here in Durham, the racial/economic aspect of the case was the most important from the very beginning. When you drive through town and see the contrast between the campus and the houses on the "other side of the wall" it really does add that historical perspective. It's been said many times for many years that the campus setup is almost like a plantation.

Nifong Disbarred

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