Was it planned?
Recently, David Fellerath asked on Triangulator whether the recent mugging of Center For Responsible Lending President Martin Eakes was planned. He refers to a North Carolina News & Observer column by Barry Saunders at http://www.newsobserver.com/134/story/1335527.html which ventures the suggestion that Mr. Eakes was not merely in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Considering his position at the head of organizations (Self-Help, Inc. and the Center For Responsible Lending) that have made their share of enemies, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that the mention of Eakes could spark strong feelings. Saunders takes another step by suggesting that those feelings burned hot with violent intent, like an “attack we normally associate with ‘The Sopranos,’” writes Fellerath.
They blocked his escape routes
Based upon crime scene reports, Saunders draws the conclusion that “the four thugs who used (Eakes’) head as a punching bag” coordinated the entire thing, all the way down to where they positioned themselves on the stairs of the parking garage where the beat-down took place. They didn’t want to leave an escape route. “That’s what all street robbers do, right?” said Saunders.
Fellerath points out that “neither Eakes nor Durham police are saying he was targeted because of his work on behalf of poor people and against those lending organizations that prey on the poor. But I am.”
Aspiring for the top of the mountain
Saunders interviewed Eakes, and in that interview, he asked him about his enemies. Here’s Eakes’ reply:
When we first started, the KKK used to threaten us. Then it was the drug dealers who didn’t want us fixing up rundown neighborhoods. After that, we got on the bad side of predatory lenders with usurious rates who didn’t like us providing lending options for poor people. When Martin Luther King Jr. and Gandhi are your heroes, chances are you have enemies.
OK, Mr. Eakes. You certainly have my condolences for the vicious attack you suffered. And I’m all for doing whatever can be done to fix up America’s diseased neighborhoods. But your indictment of “predatory lenders” throws much too wide a net. You place payday loans under the same banner as loan sharks, and the two are simply not equivalent.
Two-week loans, terms outlined up front, a 15 to 25 percent fee paid for the service, and a high percentage of loans paid off on time… drum up as many self-serving statistics you like, you’re simply wrong. Furthermore, your motivation for presenting blatantly incorrect info is to steer consumers toward Self-Help Credit Union’s own short-term loan products. Compete fair or don’t compete at all. Martin Luther King and Gandhi would not approve.
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I certainly hope he hasn’t suffered any ill effects from the mugging. That said, it seems that a white collar criminal got roughed up by violent criminals, which is something Bernard Madoff might have to contend with soon enough.
What goes around comes around. I’m sure a man so dishonest has made many enemies over the years. It is unfortunate, but true. Maybe this will urge him to re-think his future business practices now that he realizes he is not untouchable.
It sounds like there are a lot of low lifes around that don’t like to complete with an honest man. I chear Martin!