Durham needs to stop kowtowing to the carpetbaggers

In recent days, many in the cash-strapped city of Durham have unabashedly embarrassed themselves by kowtowing to the malicious vendetta-style jihad called upon by the carpetbagger families of the Duke Lacrosse defendants. Sparked by Rae Evans’s call to arms during an interview on CBS – TV’s “60 Minutes,” she directed the focus of their ire on former Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong, when she stated that because he picked on the “wrong families” (wealthy, privileged, and not people of color), he was “going to pay every day for the rest of his life.” However the scope of this desire for revenge goes far beyond Mr. Nifong, and encompasses anyone who is supportive or gives sanctuary to the Nifongs. Also in their crosshairs are individuals who in any way, shape, or form contributed to the prosecution of their precious sons. And prime among this latter group is the Duke Lacrosse accuser, Crystal Mangum.

Late in the evening of Wednesday, February 17, 2010, a 9-1-1 call was placed by Crystal Mangum’s 9 year old daughter, fearing for the safety of her mother who was in an alleged altercation with a man with whom she had been in a relationship. Durham police, under the spell of the carpetbagger jihad, naturally focused on Ms. Mangum and with their mouths watering started ringing up the tab. Ms. Mangum was accused of scratching, punching, and throwing things at her boyfriend, which obviously warrants a charge of attempted first degree murder… right? Then she allegedly said to her boyfriend, “I’m going to stab you”… definitely communicating a threat. Resisting arrest is a good catch-all vague charge that is indiscriminately used, overused, and is useful to automatically put a suspect in a bad light with the media and public. Now the Durham police probably knew the identity of Ms. Mangum before arriving at the scene of the 9-1-1 call, and when Ms. Mangum allegedly gave the name “Marella Mangum,” they tacked on a charge of identity theft… very creative on the part of Durham’s finest. There are other ridiculous charges leveled at Ms. Mangum that are so absurd they defy comprehension.

Upset with her boyfriend she takes some of his clothes, places them in the bath tub, and sets them on fire. Now the Durham officers, who are to my understanding present during this event, stand around and call the fire department instead of turning on water in the bath tub to put out the fire. The delay in time waiting for the fire department to arrive provides plenty of time for smoke to really inflict smoke-related damage throughout the house. And, of course, she is charged with five counts of arson, for each article of clothing burned. (To my understanding, if a house is set on fire, the arsonist is charged with one count of arson, not a count for each item consumed by the fire. Therefore, Ms. Mangum’s charge is similar to that of an arsonist setting five houses ablaze?)

Undoubtedly there have been thousands upon thousands of domestic dispute calls in which couples have attacked one another and made threatening remarks, but to my knowledge they have not been charged with “attempted first degree murder.” Only the selective justice system of North Carolina has chosen to singularly charge Ms. Mangum thusly. In addition, I am unaware of a party in a domestic dispute being held under a million dollar bond… other than Crystal Mangum. The disparity of her treatment compared with others in domestic situations is uncannily similar to the disparity of the treatment Mike Nifong suffered… the only prosecutor to be disbarred by the North Carolina State Bar since its inception in 1933 (the latter a fact that the media goes to extreme measures to keep hidden from the public).

The lunacy of events in the cash-strapped city proceeds as a judge reduces Ms. Mangum’s bond from a million dollars to merely $250,000.00. But then he goes another step further by ruling that if she is able to meet bond, she is to be under house arrest. I’ve never heard of such.

And while the Durham police, court, media, and Durhamites who are under the spell of the biased media gleefully celebrate the misfortune that has befallen Ms. Mangum, the carpetbagger families of the Duke Lacrosse defendants continue their avaricious quest to appropriate thirty million dollars from the cash-strapped city… a city which has already wasted millions of taxpayer dollars in attorney fees to defend the city against the greedy ones. It is truly an irony… the position in which the city of Durham finds itself. It is a position in which the city does the bidding of the carpetbaggers with gusto, while at the same time it is trying to defend itself from them. It reminds me of the scene in the movie “Animal House” in which the Kevin Bacon fraternity pledge goes through a formal initiation in which he receives a swat on the rear and then remarks, “Thank you, Sir. May I have another?” When is the cash-strapped city finally going to stop kowtowing to the carpetbaggers and tell them that enough is enough? For them to do so, all they need to do is allow intellect and logic to rule over hype and emotion.