iradiophilly | News - Delaware Professor Out After Facebook Post; Driver Speeds in Crime Scene; Box Truck Hits MontCo Home

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Delaware Professor Out After Facebook Post; Driver Speeds in Crime Scene; Box Truck Hits MontCo Home

by: iradioal - Philadelphia, PA
started: 06/27/17 4:28 am | updated: 06/27/17 4:28 am

An adjunct professor at the University of Delaware will not be rehired after backlash from a Facebook post regarding an American college student who died following a tragic trip to North Korea. Kathy Dettwyler, a 62-year-old professor in the anthropology department, posed the question, "Is it wrong of me to think that Otto Warmbier got exactly what he deserved?" on her personal Facebook page last week. In 2016, Warmbier travelled to the embattled nation and was arrested for attempting to take a poster from his hotel. The punishment for such a crime was 15 years hard labor. Soon after sentencing, Warmbier mysteriously fell into a coma and was just recently released back to the US. He died last month. Doctors have not determined the exact cause of his condition as of yet. Dettwyler's post pointed fault at Warmbier and his actions and attitude in traveling to a country like North Korea.

Kathy Dettwyler's Facebook Post
Is it wrong of me to think that Otto Warmbier got exactly what he deserved? He went to North Korea, for fuck's sake, and then acted like a spoiled, naive, arrogant, US college student who never had to face the consequences of his actions. I see him crying at his sentencing hearing and think â€œWhat did you expect?â€ How about a few moments of thought given to all the other people in North Korea who are suffering under the repressive government there? Just because they are North Koreans, and not US citizens, we shouldn't care about them? I've spent my whole life teaching folks like Otto (I'm a 62 year old college professor of anthropology) and Otto is typical of the mindset of a lot of the young, white, rich, clueles males who come into my classes. These are the same kids who cry about their grades because they didn't think they'd really have to read and study the material to get a good grade. They simple deserve a good grade for being who they are. Or instead of crying, they bluster and threaten their female professors. His parents, ultimately, are to blame for his growing up thinking he could get away with whatever he wanted. Maybe in the US, where young, white, rich, clueless white males routinely get away with raping women. Not so much in North Korea. And of course, it's Ottos' parents who will pay the price for the rest of their lives.

The University of Delaware issued this statement:
The comments of Katherine Dettwyler do not reflect the values or position of the University of Delaware. We condemn any and all messages that endorse hatred and convey insensitivity toward a tragic event such as the one that Otto Warmbier and his family suffered. The University of Delaware values respect and civility and we are committed to global education and study abroad; therefore we find these comments particularly distressing and inconsistent with our values. Our sympathies are with the Warmbier family.

Philadelphia police are searching for a hit-and-run driver who drove through a crime scene at high speed, just missing several officers. It happened around 2:30 a.m. on Monday at the intersection of East Erie Avenue and I Street in Juniata Park. Police had stopped a stolen red Chrysler Sebring convertible that was carjacked nearby at K and Pike Streets. Police arrested two men and recovered a gun. While police were performing their investigation, a man driving a black Nissan sped through the scene at about 60 mph. He ran over three police bicycles and had officers jumping out of the way. The carjacking victim and his girlfriend arrived at the scene to identify the suspects and questioned how someone could miss all the lights and police cars. Police believe the driver intentionally drove at officers. They are looking at area surveillance to hopefully track down the car.

One person was seriously injured after a box truck slammed into a home in Montgomery County late this afternoon. It happened after 5 pm on the 2600 block of Woodland Ave in Lower Providence. The driver of the truck lost control, left the road, and crashed into the side of a house. The driver suffered serious injuries and was taken to the hospital. The residents of the home who were inside at the time were unharmed. Police are investigating the cause of the accident.