Headline June 21, 2017/ ''' AMERICA AVERS ANSWER '''

''' AMERICA AVERS ANSWER '''

I AM A GRADUATE STUDENT at a prestigious university in the rural United States. On a recent evening..............

And the honour of this great story : *Should I report the bias expressed by a campus cop*  from a full bloodied     'The Ethicist',  continues........

''There used to be stabbings and rapes every night in the dorms,'' he assured me.

Thinking about recent accusations of rape and campus statistics nationwide, I replied that there were still a lot of rapes. 

At that point, he said that  80 per cent of rape accusations now were  ''just to get attention'' and that the real problem was that-

''Fake accusations'' made it worse for the ''real ones.'

He concluded, "Women don't like to hear it, but that is true,'' 

I replied, ''Including this women''.

Recognizing that we were alone in the building and that, police officer or not, this man had a gun, I decided not to pursue it and was grateful when his phone rang and finally left' 

Though I don't think of myself as a victim of his bias, I am torn about whether I should do something with the knowledge that a member of the campus police thinks and says these things,  

I thought about filing a report with the university office that documents bias, which might lead him to be asked to go through some training, but that seems exactly the kind of thing someone like him would resent. 

[He told me how great his son, who is a police officer in Virginia, had it, because he didn't have to go to any training].

Not only do I feel that if he were confronted by an administrator, he would know it was me, but also that it might not help show him the effect of his beliefs.

I thought about inviting him out for a coffee and having an honest conversation,  but my boyfriend thinks that is silly.

Yet given that I benefit so from the unfair privilege of passing as White, I feel that doing nothing leaves others who are more visibly members of minorities,  as well as women,  at risk,  and that seems irresponsible.

*What to do? Name withheld*.

The Police Officer clearly has attitudes and dubious beliefs-  that could make him respond unsympathetically to the victim of a rape crime.

But there's more going on in your account than this. You talk about ''passing'' as White and about your responsibility to visible minorities [a commendable sentiment]-

And you evoke a sense of  free-floating bias.

Still, you describe nothing that confirms your conclusion that the officer would treat minorities unfairly. 

When he learned that you were a Latin American, you report no sudden chill; what ensued was a conversation about naming customs.

Demographics aside,  what do you really know about him? Maybe he goes home to an African-American wife and a couple of mixed-race kids.

When you say you  ''suspected where the conversations might go''  after you talked about coming from Latin America, you were going with your stereotypes about middle-aged, rural, white, working class men.

And while a guy with a gun can be scary, you don't appear to have grounds for supposing you were in danger, when you disagreed with him about rape statistics.

Your boyfriend is surely right about inviting the fellow out for a coffee; Given your preconceptions  [and, perhaps, your air of class privilege], the officer could well experience your attempt to correct him as more condescending then enlightening.

What to do?

You'd like police officers on your campus to have sensible, informed views about rape and to recognize the importance  of objective records of police-civilians interactions.

One option you have is to contact the Title  IX coordinator on your campus

Tell the coordinator that you're not making a  formal complaint  but that you have a reason to think that  campus police officers  would benefit from more education on  sexual assault-

[And a discussion about the advantages of  objective records of  police-civilian interactions].

Suggest that she bring this up with the campus police chief. Explain why you don't want the chief to let the officer know that this started with a specific report from a student.

While your officer will doubtless resent a special focus on him, proper training for him and his colleagues might improve campus policing a bit.

The World Student Society has learned for sure, and  thanks Professor Kwame Anthony Appiah of N.Y.U. The learned professor is also the author of  ''Cosmopolitanism'' and ''The Honor Code''.

With respectful dedication to the Students, Professors and Teachers of the world. See Ya all on !WOW!  -the World Students Society and .........Twitter-!E-WOW! -the Ecosystem 2011:

     

''' The Ethicist '''

Good Night and God Bless

SAM Daily Times - the Voice of the Voiceless