University of Delaware Anthropology Professor Katherine Dettwyler has not only said that Otto Warmbier got what he deserved after falling into a coma in North Korea and dying, but has also heaped most of the blame on Warmbier’s parents. In a Facebook post which has now been deleted, Dettwyler stated that Otto’s parents “ultimately, are to blame for his growing up thinking he could get away with whatever he wanted.”
Katherine Dettwyler is not just an anthropology professor, but is also acknowledged as one of the top experts on extended breastfeeding , having written books on the subject as well as documents for court cases, and is revered by the natural parenting community. Up until now, she has received nothing but applause for her opinions. However, after the anthropology professor’s comments about Otto Warmbier, she is being widely criticized around the world for her views that Warmbier’s actions earned him his death at the hands of North Korea.
Many outraged people on social media have suggested that Professor Dettwyler has grown disillusioned with teaching by suggesting that the majority of college students are irresponsible rather than just a few of them, and are calling on the University of Delaware to fire the professor after she blamed Otto Warmbier and his parents for the student’s death after being released from North Korea.
Critics have suggested that it is not even clear that Otto Warmbier did anything wrong while in North Korea and that there is actually no proof that he removed a propaganda banner that was hanging up, arguing that the fact he was American may have been enough to have gotten him arrested. However, these critics believe that even if he did remove a poster, this was nothing worthy of death, as University of Delaware Professor Katherine Dettwyler believes it was.
The anthropology professor also said in her Facebook post that it is the new norm for students like Otto Warmbier to feel like they are invincible and can do anything they want, and even equated what Warmbier allegedly did in North Korea with the rape of women.
“Maybe in the U.S., where young, white, rich, clueless white males routinely get away with raping women. Not so much in North Korea. And of course, it’s Otto’s parents who will pay the price for the rest of their lives.”
Let’s all pitch in and buy #KatherineDettwyler an all expenses paid, one-way trip to North Korea. Who’s with me?
— Tom Bergman (@rtbergman1) June 23, 2017
In her Facebook post, Professor Katherine Dettwyler repeatedly used the words “young, white, rich, clueless males,” which some have suggested shows the professor’s bias. She speaks of white male students of hers mainly as ones 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. Or instead of crying, they bluster and threaten their female professors.”
But is the anthropology’s distaste for college students enough reason to make insensitive comments about a student like Otto Warmbier that she had never met before or a legal case she knew nothing about? This is why Facebook groups have been created overnight in an effort to get the University of Delaware to dismiss Katherine Dettwyler.
What are your thoughts on Anthropology Professor Katherine Dettwyler’s comments about Otto Warmbier and do you think he deserved to die for removing a propaganda banner in North Korea?
[Featured Image by Bill Pugliano/Getty Images]