Sunday, February 21, 2010

Do You Think They'll Mention She's a Professor?

The feeding frenzy over the biologist at University of Alabama -- Huntsville has been as exaggerated as we could have expected.

She even made the front page of the New York Times today.  

It is a horribly tragic event, but much of the focus is driven by the fact that she was a professor.  It is not an uncommon occurrence when something like this happens.  Should we be flattered that her profession matters so much in a case like this?

Maybe the Northwestern can refer to us all as Amy Bishops instead of Jeffrey Dahmers!


1 comment:

Lammers said...

I suppose it's an example of a story that challenges stereotypes, like the "man bites dog" story, or bank-robbing grandmothers. Science profs are perceived as placid mild-mannered logic-driven brainiacs with high job satisfaction, not given to strong emotion or irrational behavior.