I found yet another example of police officers abusing their powers in order to indulge their prejudices over on RawStory. While I’m sure that university sororities have done plenty of good things (heck, even fraternities, I’m sure, have done plenty of good things) there is so much awfulness in Greek life that one could reasonably (though erroneously) suppose that I’m resolutely against sororities and all they stand for.
While that’s not true, one has to wonder about this cop from the Pennsylvania State Highway Patrol:
As a part of the adopt a highway program, members of Sigma Gamma Rho were picking up trash alongside Highway 83 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, when a cop accused them of fighting each other, according to COED News.
Throughout the conversation the officer contradicted himself, according to Sigma Gamma Rho member Shawna Naomi.
Originally the officer said: “I’ve never seen anyone out here cleaning and I’m responding to a call.” Later it was revealed the cop “called in” the report himself.
After the women explained to the officer why they were cleaning the highways even pointing to the “adopt a highway sign” with their sorority name on it the cop still asked to see their IDs.
There’s a picture of the women out doing the work and enjoying themselves. At least a couple are wearing jackets or sweaters with big greek letters on them making their sorority affiliation entirely obvious. So when they were pointing to that equally-obvious official green sign declaring that their sorority has volunteered to clean up that stretch of highway, it wasn’t as if their affiliation was in any way in doubt.
Of course, the PSHP is sure to release a statement at any moment that this had nothing to do with race. So one has to ask: is it the PSHP that is resolutely opposed to sororities and everything they stand for?
Just asking questions!
Marcus Ranum says
Your timing is impeccable. Today is the 3rd anniversary of the Waco biker shootout and I have a piece about that dropping tonight. Naturally, law enforcement’s response to the bikers also has absolutely NOTHING to do with race. And by “nothing” I mean “a whole lot.”
Crip Dyke, Right Reverend Feminist FuckToy of Death & Her Handmaiden says
There’s this math classic:
which is good enough on its own, but I kind of like translating that into the social justice milieu: