Wharton, the classicist: "Wray's story seems to have the essential arc of a Greek tragedy: a good man makes a serious mistake which entangles him in his own destruction...

"...It's a tragic irony that Chief Wray may have become a bad cop out of an obsessive desire to collar a bad cop, and acquired a reputation as a racist out of his efforts to avoid a race incident."

Comments

[The CA]

Wray didn't acquire the reputation of a racist- it was put upon him by the News and Record with no evidence to support it and plenty of evidence that contradicts it. This is probably the number one reason so many people are upset about the Wray matter and feel he has gotten an unfair shake. Meanwhile, the N&R continues its policy of racial obsession at the expense of the truth.

[Dr. Mary Johnson]

An excerpt from a comment I made today at Joe's:

The Wray debacle is proof enough of traditional media pursuing a story without hearing all sides. The N&R crucifed David Wray with slanted reporting and "confidential" documents . . . that they were not supposed to have and they would not let him see before he offered comment or granted an interview. So he didn't comment (it's not rocket-science). Now they're looking like fools as the man who lived the story is talking to the Rhino.

This morning, based on a Wharton post, Ed Cone styled the "Wray fray" thusly: " . . . it's a tragic irony that Chief Wray may have become a bad cop out of an obsessive desire to collar a bad cop, and acquired a reputation as a racist out of his efforts to avoid a race incident."

It is indeed a tragedy. My question is, if you accept that premise, WHO is responsible for putting David Wray into that great big hole in the first place?

Why WE are. What is wrong with our system that is was so hard for the Greensboro Police Chief to deal with issues of right and wrong (or legal and illegal) and simply collar a "bad cop"? What is wrong with our culture that Wray had to even factor race into the "good-cop/bad-cop" equation?

[David Wharton]

Sam, it's in the nature of reputation that you acquire it whether you deserve it or not. I don't think Chief Wray deserves the reputation of a racist, but his own actions seem to have been involved in his getting it (hence the word "irony").

Dr. Mary, those words you quoted were mine, not Ed's.

[Bubba]

"....but his own actions seem to have been involved in his getting it (hence the word "irony")."

And his own actions have been wrongly attributed to him by those whom stand to benefit from that attribution.

Hence the pushback by those of us who want the record corrected in this regard, all in the face of powerful political and social obstacles.

[Bubba]

Hmm....change "whom" to "who" in the last post.

[Dr. Mary Johnson]

Re: "those words". I know, David. They were in quotes. I acknowleged your post as the source. Perhaps "styled" was not the right word, but it was fairly clear Ed admired the verbiage and shares the opinion.