Saturday, September 15, 2007

Only in Durham

Liestoppers is reporting that the Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People has made two endorsements in the race for City Council. One is . . . Victoria Peterson--last seen leading the parade as Mike Nifong headed to jail, carrying a sign attesting to Nifong's goodness and integrity.

This is also the same Victoria Peterson who:

  • advocated burning down the lacrosse house;
  • publicly suggested that Duke Hospital tampered with the DNA evidence;
  • opposed a gay rights measure on the grounds that all gays and lesbians are cross-dressers.

Here is a clip of the endorsee in action, after she was kicked out of the Nifong ethics hearing for threatening a lacrosse player's parent (in front of security officers, no less.)

Only in Durham.

40 comments:

Debrah said...

I've occasionally wondered how someone like Victoria Peterson avoids prosecution for some of the zaniness and the trouble she instigates.

People in the Triangle already know what kind of an organization the Durham Committee is; however, their endorsement of Peterson is bold relief shorthand for those who don't know about this bigoted group......that is fully woven into the fabric of Durham.


Column in the H-S:

Durham must take responsiblity

By Jerry Lynn Grugin Jr. : Guest columnist
Sep 12, 2007 : 4:46 pm ET

Imagine you knew you were innocent of a crime, but police and prosecutors were investigating you for a crime. Imagine being young and having faith in the criminal justice system. You might volunteer to cooperate with police and prosecutors because you knew you were innocent.

Now, imagine being arrested for crimes you knew you didn't commit. You are young and had faith in the criminal justice system. What would be going through your mind? Would it feel surreal? Would it feel like something from a horror movie? As handcuffs go around both wrists, a deep sickening feeling would more than likely course through every fiber of your body. Your freedom is being temporarily taken from you.

Now think about those three young men from Duke who were falsely accused of crimes, yet arrested. What do you suppose went through their minds when they were arrested? How do you think they felt when handcuffs were going around their wrists? Would it put somewhat of a damper on your faith in the criminal justice system? Now, imagine being arrested for crimes you didn't commit and compound that with national media attention. Imagine friends shying away from you because you were arrested. Imagine the outrage from the families of those three young men falsely arrested and the reaction of people in their respective hometowns. Imagine the money spent for lawyers because you knew you were innocent.

Freedom is special, but too many people do not think enough about it. For example, why did our forefathers want and demand a localized system of law enforcement instead of one national law enforcement presence? For those of you reading this, do you know the answer? Why have police always had their power limited or held in check by other officials such as magistrates and judges? Again, for those reading this, do you know the answer? Why do police officers have rules they must follow and laws to obey? It's because freedom and individual rights were foremost on the minds of our founders.

The founders of this nation also demanded participation in government, to include voting. Each separate community is responsible for what goes on in that particular community. In a very real sense, people are supposed to share responsibility. Just because a person doesn't vote, doesn't alleviate that person from the responsibility he or she has within a particular community.

Law enforcement officials have a special responsibility to protect individual freedoms and liberties because they are the only persons in society who can temporarily take away a person's freedom by using legitimate coercive force. It seems that some citizens of Durham, to include law enforcement personnel, have lost sight of this very important and sacred responsibility. It is sad. Just look at the people who have written The Herald-Sun crying that the three young men from Duke should not punish the whole community. My stance is that it is not punishment. They were harmed. The community has the responsibility to attempt to make right the things that went wrong. The issues involved in this case go to the very heart of what it means to live and participate in a community. They are at the very heart of freedom and individual civil rights.

For those who think those three young men from Duke should not pursue a federal civil rights case, please think again. For those who do not think they were seriously harmed, please think again. Not addressing these issues is to accept what occurred. It is taking a chance that something of this nature will happen again. Everybody knows not to pick at a sore, but sometimes sores need to be sterilized and bandaged. Sometimes sores will not heal without care.

For those who wish to turn a blind eye to this sore spot in the history of Durham, shame on you! You should be vigorously supporting those three young men from Duke.

For those who would say "you can't put a price on freedom" it seems clear that $30 million doesn't even begin to heal the wounds those three young men from Duke suffered. And it won't cover the scars that will be with them for the rest of their lives.

Jerry Grugin is a former Durham Police Department sergeant.

Anonymous said...

And just when we thought things could not get become any more bizarre ...

Anonymous said...

And the laughs keep coming!

Anonymous said...

As unsettling as this endorsement is, your title wrong. Endorsements of those who have demonstrated vile and outrageous behavior based largely on racial motives is not, unfortunately, limited to Durham.

The bright side is that it makes the Committee once again look as foolish as it seems.

Anonymous said...

In any other town, a loon like Peterson would be an object of well-deserved ridicule and contempt. Only in Durham. Only in Durham.

Michael said...

re: 2:44 PM

I had read the article before but I didn't notice the line at the bottom. Nice to see that some LE officers recognized the frame.

The only thing stranger would be Mike Nifong as her campaign manager.

Anonymous said...

Heck, I hope Peterson wins. Just what the Bull City needs about now--even more lunatics running things. And the rest of us need more to laugh at.

Anonymous said...

God bless you, Mr. (Sgt.?) Grugin. If only Durham had more police of your caliber, and far fewer of Gottlieb's stripe.

Anonymous said...

Commissioners hear pleas on partner-benefits proposal
Backers urge coverage for the unmarried; foes cite 'expensive diseases,' 'sin'
Herald-Sun, The (Durham, NC)
April 8, 2003
Author: CLAUDIA ASSIS

But local activist Victoria Peterson, with a group called Christians for Morality in Government, told Commissioners her group had collected more than 300 signatures to ask them not to vote or support such a policy.

Lesbians and homosexuals live a "dangerous lifestyle" and are more prone to suffer from "expensive diseases," she said.

"If they are not infected with diseases ... they will be, even women," Peterson said. "Who is going to pay for this if they become sick in their gay lifestyle?"

Anonymous said...

It is PETERSON who is a cross-dresser!

Nifong is about to pay for his double-cross.

She is associating herself with a "Christian" identity, yet must not have read in the good book that one of the sins MOST-HATED in the good book is he who bears false witness against his neighbor!

Please... don't associate that woman with US!!!

But this is actually good. It give Durham a chance to vindicate itself with a vote that speaks for truth.

Let's see if it does.

And for you NC and Durham bashers, let's give it a rest. We didn't invent lying and cheating here. The next spotlight may be in YOUR hometown.

Anonymous said...

So many of the gay activist types in and around Durham (like that pathetic Peoples' Alliance) are probably wanting to write on their blogs and the like against Peterson running, but won't be able to because she's so associated with the Duke case which they don't want any attention drawn to because they acted just as disgracefully. LOL! Talk about being squeezed!

Anonymous said...

Gloria Peterson asks, "Who is going to pay for this [i.e., 'expensive diseases'] if they become sick in their gay lifestyle?" I would ask, "Who is going to pay to put Gloria Peterson in the loony bin once and for all?" Perhaps she can get a room in the same ward as CGM.

Anonymous said...

For a forecast of what kind of city councilwoman Victoria Peterson would make, all one has to do is call a friend who has lived in Wilmington, NC and ask what kind of city councilwoman Katherine Moore was during her terms.

You may be told the similarities between the two are striking.

Anonymous said...

"And for you NC and Durham bashers, let's give it a rest. We didn't invent lying and cheating here. The next spotlight may be in YOUR hometown."

9/15/07 4:30 PM

LOL, yeah but you guys have certaintly taken it to a whole new level. Victoria Peterson for city council, how can you expect us to give that a rest. Durham is testiment to the fact that there is no lifeguard at the gene pool.

Gary Packwood said...

Debrah 2:44 said...

...I've occasionally wondered how someone like Victoria Peterson avoids prosecution for some of the zaniness and the trouble she instigates.
::
Probably the same reason sane Duke professors never went after members of the G88.

Why wants to get a memo from the Dean telling you that you have been charged with being a sexist, racist or worse?

You just know that you will spend the next year either getting ready for trial, in the courtroom or trying to explain to everyone including your kids why you have no control over your own schedule.

And every time you call your attorney s/he says ...HI THERE!
::
GP

Gary Packwood said...

Anonymous 4:30 said...

...And for you NC and Durham bashers, let's give it a rest. We didn't invent lying and cheating here. The next spotlight may be in YOUR hometown.
::
That is absolutely the truth.
::
GP

Anonymous said...

KC could not have named his blog any better.

Anonymous said...

Deborah, apparently one avoids prosecution in Durham by having mental problems. It worked for Crystal. Either that or having powerful people protecting you.

If anyone of us had stolen a car, raced through two counties, tried to run over a policeman, and twice claimed a phony gang rape we would be locked up.

Who is protecting these people? and why? The answer most likely involves money.

Anonymous said...

"Gloria Peterson asks, "Who is going to pay for this [i.e., 'expensive diseases'] if they become sick in their gay lifestyle?""

The very same losers who are going to pay out the nose to the Hoax victims.

Anonymous said...

Vicky Peterson for City Council: or, Durham Do Like D.C. Do


"The laws in this city are clearly racist. All laws are racist. The law of gravity is racist." -- M. Barry, Mayor of Washington, DC

Anonymous said...

I hope Mr Grugin has moved on to much bigger and better things since leaving the Durham PD. He is a shining example of what is lacking in the department.

Anonymous said...

What a field day for the press if Victoria is elected. An unending source of controversial, outrageous, and entertaining quotes from a Durham official.

Will the voters confirm beyond any doubt, they have lost any sense of reality?

Anonymous said...

Thanks for posting that video, K.C.! Whenever I watch it, I know that I am seeing America's Funniest Video. When that floral-printed shoulder sidles into the camera angle, I laugh out loud! Every single time!

I think that VP must have a scanner at home that she listens to, and when something big comes up - involving television cameras - she races out the door.

Peterson is, to me, a cartoon character. Who would actually do more damage to Durham on the council: Cattoti or Peterson? In my opinion, the answer is Cattoti.

Jim in San Diego said...

Those who may sympathize with the Durham community's approaching education on the teeth contained in the Federal Civil Rights Act should consider news like this, then reconsider where their sympathies should lie.

Anonymous said...

Is Mayor Berry kidding????? CGM defied the law of gravity in being levitated in the bathroom. Talk about "rising" to the occasion!!!!!\

Old Vicky has a penchant for the camera. She was Johnny on the spot when she was booted from Mikey's hearing. So good to see her. We all needed a little comic relief at that point. And she delivered!!

Wonderland? Durm.

Funny that people who are residents of Durm now claim to be from the Chapel Hill area or the RTP area. Sounds much more respectable.

Anonymous said...

When faced with the idiocy of the Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People, the only position to take is a "condescending position of ... authority over the insufficiencies of minority reason."

Don't want the condescension? Don't be so insufficient.

Anonymous said...

You couldn't write this kinda stuff!!

What better person to welcome the Feds to Durm??

Anonymous said...

At one time the Durham Committee did not allow whites to attend its meetings. I wonder whether this policy has changed.

Anonymous said...

And some people think that town doesn't deserve to be socked with those lawsuits.

Anonymous said...

Jerry Grugin @ 2:44

...is a quite eloquent defender of freedom. He is also a clear example of the fact that vocational pursuits are in no way correlated with intellect, for his words have great wisdom. He may not be a published scholar, but his words deserve scholarly pursuit.

mac said...

Victoria Peterson:

"The Truth Is Out There" Peterson, a la Brace Channing (Elizabeth Hurley) in "My Favorite Martian." Perhaps she will chain herself to a fence, too.

Or...Aunt Esther, from "Sanford and Son" - (my comment from another thread.) Hey, Aunt Esther: where's Fred when you need him to put you on your UGLY behind?

The truth really is "out there." She'll win. It's Durrhh.

mac said...

Debrah 2:44
Thanks for posting Jerry Lynn Grogin Jr.'s eloquent guest column in the HS-SH.

Perhaps he should be the replacement for Bob Ashley?

Anonymous said...

KC - you missed the fact that Victoria Peterson was was there to lead Nifong into jail to serve his contempt charge. She was also there the next day to pick him up.

Somewhat related, she is also a vehement defender of convicted murder Michael Peterson (no relation).

Anonymous said...

Looks like Florida Evans is running for city council. Great, I hope she wins. Durham deserves her. So, I guess JJ will be the next police chief or will be otherwise employed by the city in some crony position.

Where can I send a contribution?

WINDBAG

christoph said...

I'm really surprised. I thought Lavonia Allison (Durham Committee head) and Victoria Peterson couldn't stand each other. I remember Peterson interfering and grandstanding at a dog-and-pony show Allison staged regarding education in Durham. Is this some kind of spoiler or stalking horse endorsement?
::
If you want to know the moral fiber of Allison, check out the Independent Weekly's article on her in 2001, by Jennifer Strom.

Debrah said...

I hope Lavonia Allison hasn't lost her wig!

Debrah said...

TO "mac"--

LIS!

No such luck.

Most are betting Ashley will try to make the H-S his retirement package.

Anonymous said...

I find no humor in the spectacle of Victoria Peterson running her rabid mouth....

Ignorant and dangerous racists like her were the constituency Nifong was attempting to appease.

The Duke 88 were simply better "educated and employed" than Victoria Peterson..but nonetheless equally ignorant and racist but FAR more dangerous due to their positions.

That folks like this appear to reside in large numbers in Durham and on Duke's campus -- parents should take note and reconsider sending the fruit of their loins into the cannibal's pot.

Durham and Duke continue to prove they deserve to be sued into ruin and despair.

Anonymous said...

Bring on the lawsuits!

Anonymous said...

re quoting other material:

QUOTE IT STRAIGHT, BUT ADD QUOTES

ITALICS IS HARD TO READ--AVOID