INC NEWS - [Fwd: Re: Moneta co-chairing presidential committee???]

[Tom Clark]

Ms. DeLacy,

I think your use of the 'lifeguard, beach, shark' analogy demonstrates
clearly that you've so far missed the significance of the points raised in
Kelly's assertive, thoughtful, and insightful letters to the police, Durham
City officials and now Duke officials.  Allow me to take a stab at using it
to make the situation clearer to you.  

One of the things Kelly is trying to clear up is the question of why, when
sharks may be approaching unsuspecting swimmers, would someone acting in the
role of lifeguard only clear part of the beach, leaving the other swimmers
(the non-Duke residents of the neighborhoods surrounding Duke) as possible
victims?

Another question is why the administrative officer of the lifeguard company,
clearly someone with scant actual training in beach population management
under emergency conditions, the precise and timely recognition of sharks
etc. take it upon himself to issue a warning without consulting even the
people within his organization that are paid to manage such issues (Duke
does have an extensive police department-wouldn't a genuine warning have
been better--more effective, more authoritative, more professional--coming
from say, the Duke police watch commander?  Hey, there's another line
questioning we might take up in addition to Kelly's good ones:  Did Moneta
talk to the campus police that night?  Did they advise a broadcast email?
And follow up both those questions with, 'If not, why not? )?

Still another question is:  Why would anyone begin their attempt at warning
beachgoers with an acknowledgement that the information prompting the
concern is 3rd hand and only vaguely connected with any more substantial
authority?  Imagine a lifeguard yelling "I only have 3rd hand rumors and it
is with great discomfort that I tell you this but: 'Shark!'  My point of
course, is that any lifeguard, anyone with even a few minutes experience at
wielding authority, would know to either just yell 'Shark!' or do nothing
until s/he had better information--that's what competent authorities do,
decide when to act and then take responsibility for their actions.

And finally, one has to ask exactly what this putative do-gooder-lifeguard
might be up to since the most recent trouble at the beach, and way too much
of the seaside trouble in the past few years, has come not from sharks, but
from the lifeguard company's own personnel.  One doesn't have to be too much
of a cynic to consider that this administrator/lifeguard figure just might
have an interest in changing the subject from his own people's immoral,
obnoxious and perhaps criminal behavior to the ever-present public paranoia
about getting attacked by a shark, something that has been shown over and
over again to be disproportionately reported on and overly worried about in
the public mind. 

I'm honestly not trying to simply mock you, Ms. DeLacy.  I don't blame
anyone for wanting to assume that the Duke administration basically knows
what they are doing, and basically has everyone's best interest at
heart--that's the way it should be.  I've just seen too much evidence to the
contrary recently on both counts.  

I do mean to suggest that you and anyone else who can't see the basis for
criticism of Mr. Moneta's email, haven't yet grasped what's at stake in this
situation, particularly how damaging, inept and possibly calculated that
email was.  And of course, all of these questions make Mr. Moneta's
credibility for serving on a high-level commission to investigate this whole
situation mighty suspect.

TC

Tom Clark
905 Alabama Ave.
Durham, NC 27705
919-286-5510

-----Original Message-----
From: inc-list-bounces at rtpnet.org [mailto:inc-list-bounces at rtpnet.org] On
Behalf Of Regina deLacy
Sent: Thursday, April 13, 2006 10:58 AM
To: kjj1 at duke.edu
Cc: DurhamResponds-discuss at yahoogroups.com;
dukeDurhamTownGown at yahoogroups.com; pac2 at yahoogroups.com;
inc-list at durhaminc.org
Subject: Re: INC NEWS - [Fwd: Re: Moneta co-chairing presidential
committee???]

I guess it comes down to whether you prefer to swim at a beach where the 
lifeguard clears the water on report of sharks or waits until he sees 
blood in the water.

 From your lack of other commentary, I assume you agree that he is 
otherwise well qualified and well placed to do the job.

 - Regina