Under the lead “Don’t hurt Durham” this letter appears in the Jan. 24 Durham Herald Sun.
I hope that the Duke lacrosse families do not agree with the opinion of letter writer Kelly Bowling and sue the City of Durham. Bowling and the Duke families need to realize that it's the taxpayers of Durham who will foot the bill of any civil award, who are already among the most taxed citizens in the state, and most of whom had no say in this prosecution.I hope someone who knows T. Abashian will call my response letter to Abashian’s attention:
A lot of us didn't vote for Mike Nifong, nor support his handling of the case once the facts began to emerge. And most, if not all of us, are ready for this fiasco to be over.
I find it difficult to believe that these three young men with college educations from one of the finest institutions in the country and the support of successful families cannot overcome this incident and go on to lead full and productive lives.
Will anyone outside of Durham even remember their names a year or two from now?
Egregious mistakes were made by the DA's office, but the hard-working citizens of Durham should not have to pay for them.
Once the remaining charges are dropped, the best thing for everyone is to just move on.
T. ABASHIAN
Durham
Dear T. Abashian:
Per your letter in today’s H-S.
I don’t doubt “that these three young men [can] go on to lead full and productive lives.” People who have suffered great injustices often do.
That they do is testimony to the human spirit at its best. But that in no way excuses injustice and those responsible for it.
Like you, I’m a Durham resident who winces at our tax burden, made heavier than it need be because our city government is one of the state's most profligate and poorly managed governments.
But unlike you, I don’t think “[o]nce the remaining charges are dropped, the best thing for everyone is to just move on.”
Just moving on will be the best thing only for people like DA Mike Nifong, certain Durham police officers, and their enablers in city government, media and at Duke.
But it won't be the best thing for Durham. And it certainly wouldn’t be the right thing, either.
The people of Durham and those who come to our city to study, for health reasons or just to visit are entitled to justice. When they don’t receive it, they have a claim on the city.
And so do all of us who have a right to expect our sworn officials and officers to fulfill their oaths to act justly.
Rather than pooh-poohing those who may bring suit against the city, I hope you’ll instead follow closely what the suits, if filed, reveal.
We need to learn all we can about what went on within the DA’s office, the DPD, our city government, and among Durham’s elected officials following the events of March 13/14 at 610 N. Buchanan Blvd, and the false accusations the woman made a few hours later at Duke Hospital.
The more we learn, the better positioned we’ll be to punish those who did wrong, attempt to fix what needs fixing, and acknowledge and empower those who did right.
Near the end of your letter you ask rhetorically: “Will anyone outside of Durham even remember their names a year or two from now?”
I sure hope so. If we don’t, Durham will be set up for more injustices of the kind that certain officials and officers, news organizations and many at Duke have inflicted on the innocent and the community for the past ten months.
John in Carolina
Durham
9 comments:
I would ask Mr. Abashian,where was your voice before you thought this injustice might cost you money?
Where was your voice and the voices of those hard working Durham residents that didn't speak up while financial ruination was visited upon the unjustly accused and vilified?
Where is your voice now in calling for the prosecution of Nifong and some police officers who abetted his criminality?
Where is your voice in demanding the removal of dishonest journalists that threw gasoline on the fires of racism?
Where is your voice in demanding that the legal expenses of the falsely accused be reimbursed by Durham because of the illegal actions of its DA?
I will answer for Mr. Abashian, since I sincerely believe he would never want to address those questions. I hope I am wrong and my answer becomes worthless, but I suspect it will not be answered by responses to the above questions. So here goes.
"My voice was nowhere. I didn't care enough to insist that law and justice be served, because it cost me nothing. I didn't care so long as I didn't have to stand against the haters and declare myself opposed to evil and racism. I didn't care about moving on when it became obvious the case was a hoax.
I only recently learned to care when I realized there is a downside to moral and societal cowardice and that I may be called on to share in reparations to the wronged. Now! Now, I care."
Bear in mind everybody, that those words in quotes are not words that have been spoken or written by Mr. Abashian. They are only my take on the attitude of a great many of those decent hard working people of Durham who just didn't give a damn.
That is of necessity a glaring generalization, for obviously there were also many that did care, and fought for justice and the reputation of the system of justice. There just weren't enough of them. Had there been fewer that didn't care, or just plain hated, or used it for personal aggrandisement in political power (not just Nifong) or monetary gain, this would have been over almost immediately and none of us would be discussing it.
"Near the end of your letter you ask rhetorically: “Will anyone outside of Durham even remember their names a year or two from now?”"
Getting "Nifonged" will be as smooth to roll off the tongue as "Remember the Alamo"!
No doubt the NCAA will always be able to remember when DUKE could play round ball as well. (back in the days they had enough students to pay for a round ball team).
And maybe just maybe, NC can hope that this wake up call comes soon enough to deny to seat of Gov to another Attorney in the future! If that happens I for one will never forget it either.
NC needs to flush it's toilet, NC is not alone in such need either, but another thing we will all remember is that upon the ashes of NC the entire country woke up!
NC of course gets rebuilt, FEMA is standing by. :)
Am I missing something - "the most taxed citizens in the state"?
Forbes Magazine rated North Carolina the #3 State Best for Business. Forbes also rated Durham as #8 in the Best Place for Business and Careers.
I don't believe they would be rated so highly if they have an onerous tax rate. Is this why some citizens of Durham express the belief that Duke University should pay property taxes?
I am truly puzzled - housing in Durham is inexpensive and the sales tax rate isn't bad either.
Mr. Abashian's letter proves that some people never learn. The letter reflects the quasi-class-based envy relected in the vilification of Reade Seligmann, Collin Finnerty and David Evans, their families, especially in the immediate aftermath of the indictments. It seems that Mr. Abashian believes that Reade, Collin and David should forgo any right to compensation from Durham simply because they are endowed with first-class educations (although Reade and Collin are not finished with theirs) and "successful families" and just get on with their lives. Sorry Mr. Abashian, just as poverty does not deprive a person of a right to compensation; nor does wealth.
I am a life-long durham resident and believe that the three boys should sue durham, the fong, duke, the DPD, the mayor, the city manager, the county manager, the city council, and the county commisioneers for all they can get. The groups listed above saw what was going on and said nothing. It appears that the non-leadership our leaders showed may cost us dearly. Durham has needed a change for years..maybe now it will happen. As far as the forbes ratings goes...that goodness we are alway referred to as Raleigh/durham!
If Abashian thinks his taxes are high, he should consider the taxes levied in Maryland, New Jersey and New York. Taxes in those locales would surely bring a tear to his eyes, as it does mine.
Add the cost of a multi-million dollar defense to the taxes due and we'd hear a tantrum, I'm sure.
I'm sure it'll seem like a pretty fair trade, for Mr. Abashian should realize he's only at risk of trading $10 or $20 of additional taxes so the wrongfully accused can recover millions.
And he didn't even have to go to court. Or give a sample for DNA testing.
Well, our property taxes are the highest in the state, as I recall, but I'm not sure what that has to do with anything.
If they could get the google entries for these boys to come out with "INNOCENT BUT RAILROADED BY RACIST DA" then I'd think a lot of the harm would be reduced.
They should still sue, said the homeowner.
-AC
Mr. Abashian:
With all due respect, sir, that faint (though growing) rumbling noise you correctly sense is a veritable sunami-wave of trial lawyers salivating at the opportunity to unleash a torrent of lawsuits against your fair city (and county, and others, to be sure). Rest assured, there will absolutely be lawsuits and, just as absolutely, significant and numerous civil judgments. You think your taxes are high now? I truly doubt that you or many others have any clue about what is about to befall your city legally. This will not be pretty.
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