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Dorothy Bland

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by Gator, Nov 4, 2015.

  1. Blitz

    Blitz Active Member

    Anyone support the idea that she planned this whole thing to get attention.
    If she is a Dean of Journalism, she might have wondered what sort of media reaction she might get by dressing that way, acting however she acted, and going through the motions of a "plan" … maybe this disturbance/event was not spontaneous at all.
    And don't play the card that I am saying it DEFINITELY was staged.
    I'm not. But I wonder if it was.
     
  2. heyabbott

    heyabbott Well-Known Member

    Not when you are an Affirmative Action Dean
     
  3. Gator

    Gator Well-Known Member

    I do not think it was staged.

    A few months ago, I got pulled over. I was coming home from work, wasn't drunk and I don't do drugs. I wasn't speeding, so I was like, 'Huh?' I think we all get a little agitated at being pulled over, because we think we're doing everything right. Turns out I had a headlight out and didn't know it. The cop wasn't a dick, just told me it was out and asked how long it's been out. I told him I didn't know it was out. Per protocol, he took my information, ran it, made sure the insurance was up to date, made sure there were no warrants, came back, told me to get it fixed and let me know.

    During the time he was running my information, and I'm sure we've all felt this way, you get a sense of uneasiness from people driving by. In your mind, the people who see you pulled over already have convicted you, or feel you're some sort of hard criminal, when in all actuality, it's just a headline.

    I think this is where Bland is coming from. She's done everything right in her life. She went to Harvard and worked her way up to be a dean at a university. She's built quite a life for herself through hard work. So when two officers approach her, she gets that sense of uneasiness. Turns out, they were trying to protect her from becoming part of the pavement. I think interaction with police, especially when your black, but also when you're anybody, can put you on edge.

    If given the chance, and time to cool down, I think Ms. Bland would have done things differently.
     
    franticscribe likes this.
  4. doctorquant

    doctorquant Well-Known Member

    I very, very, very, very seriously doubt it.

    First of all, she wasn't dressed "that way," she was dressed exactly as upper-middle class women do when they're out walking.

    Second, if you're going to try to play racial profiling gotcha! with the police, you're not going to dangle a mid-50s black woman in front of them.

    Third, if you check out her background -- her c.v. is available on the university's website -- it's been pretty much a steady march upward along the margins of middle- and upper-management. That kind of a track record does not speak to a willingness to join in any crusades.

    Finally, someone of her age and station is highly unlikely to risk everything she's built just to get some attention. She's got a good, good gig*, one that she's not going to be inclined to jeopardize just to be a player in a conversation.




    *Her base salary's in the $175K range, and I suspect she also holds a tenured faculty line (so that if she gets canned as dean she's still locked in). If she doesn't hold a tenured line, I'm even more skeptical that she staged the whole thing.
     
  5. doctorquant

    doctorquant Well-Known Member

    She's not a Harvard alum. Her degrees are from Arkansas State (BS) and George Washington University (MBA).
     
  6. Songbird

    Songbird Well-Known Member

    It was my first thought.
     
  7. Dick Whitman

    Dick Whitman Well-Known Member

    I actually had a pretty great interaction a couple weeks ago. I was in Florida, the panhandle, and got pulled over doing 68 in a 45. The cop was almost sheepish about pulling me over. I told him I didn't realize the speed limit was 45, and he said, "Yeah, well, it switches from 65 to 45 right around here." I didn't have my insurance card in my wallet - I actually later found it in my computer bag, which was with me, but he didn't make a big issue out of that. He went back, ran my license (I was in a rental car), then came back with a warning.

    About a year ago, I had three light beers before 6 p.m., then got pulled over at 1:30 a.m. The police grilled me about drinking, I told them the truth. They had me blow. The cop says, "You blew a .14, twice the legal limit."

    I said, "That's not possible. I think your equipment is malfunctioning."

    He said, "How many did you have again?"

    I said, "Three. All Miller Lites. All more than six hours ago."

    He had me do the field sobriety tests, and immediately said, "OK, you're free to go."

    I don't know, to this day, if they were fucking with me, or had a malfunctioning breathalyzer. I was pulled over for having a tail light out.
     
  8. Gator

    Gator Well-Known Member

    My bad.

    From the DMN story: "Do you realize I bought the hoodie I was wearing after completing the Harvard University Institute for Management and Leadership in Education in 2014?"
     
  9. Dick Whitman

    Dick Whitman Well-Known Member

    That's just a humblebrag. She took some seminar there.
     
    Gator likes this.
  10. Songbird

    Songbird Well-Known Member

    Benefitting while White.
     
  11. doctorquant

    doctorquant Well-Known Member

    I read that and laughed. Sure, a cop is gonna know that you bought your "Boston" sweatshirt while attending a two-week summer seminar.
     
  12. Dick Whitman

    Dick Whitman Well-Known Member

    Perhaps. Cop No. 1 was so nice, though. I'd hate to even think he'd treat anyone differently than he treated me.

    In the second instance, it would have been interesting - though not enough to pursue it - to see how it would have played out. I guess I would have gone back to the station and blown a .00 and been on my way.
     
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