Regarding my last post

So, how am I going to fight stereotypes? I know they'll never go away, that's unrealistic.  I know if I get angry at someone for telling me to "get back in the kitchen," I'm giving them the reaction that they want.  But where do even begin that fight? Where is an appropriate place to point out how incredibly annoying it is? I don't want to be "that lady that can't take a joke" either...

I decided, after a lot of thought and debate, to approach the aforementioned officer that I yelled at during scenarios.  While I didn't really prepare a nice speech, or organize it quite like my Psychology teacher had in mind, I went for it anyway.

Firstly, I apologized for my unprofessional behavior.  Made him know I was serious and wanted to really talk about his comment.  He freaked a tad, I think.  He lost his smile real quick...

I told him why I thought it was inappropriate.  To sum it up, I said,"When you're out on the street, you represent everyone in uniform.  If you lead civilians to believe that you are a racist, or sexist, or homophobic, they're going to assume that every cop is.  And that defeats the purpose of your responsibility, which is to protect civilians.  If no one wants your help, and no one trusts you, it makes your job a lot harder."  I made sure to emphasize the "brotherhood" that he is in, and how he made his whole unit look bad with that one comment.

After that part of the speech, I concluded with a small encouraging statement, "You're doing well, and you'll go far.  Just remember why you became an officer."  With that, he said, "Thank you ma'am. I'll try harder next time," and he was off.

Now, if he really listened, or he really even gave a crap about what I said, I don't know.  Not sure I ever will.

But my feelings were a tad bit better.  I know I'm not an expert.  I'm not a seasoned officer.  I have no idea what I'm doing out there, I just try to help the officers see things from the victims stand-point; I have a very small role.  But I feel that it is incredibly important to make sure that they know what exactly their words can do.  A man or woman in uniform holds a lot of responsibility, and can be very influential.

During the whole ordeal, I seriously thought the dude was going to punch me in the face.  He stand a good 7 inches taller than me and his forearms were the size of my thighs.  I just thought, "Oh no, what have I gotten myself into...why did I even bring it up again?"  However, I persevered for the greater good!

I hope that he will at least consider what I said.  I haven't made him make another comment, but maybe he was just hyper aware that I was there and kept his mouth shut (so I am the lady who can't take a joke).  And he probably told all of his buddies and now they all probably laugh at me.

I hope not.  I really hope that he'll develop a new attitude towards his "racial profiling" tendencies.  He really was a good cop, and I'd hate to see him get in trouble down the road because he muttered some stupid comment under his breath.  And here in Oregon, that can ruin an entire career.



ANYWHO

With no regard to my latest outburst, I have been keeping up on my goal.  It has been hard.  It has been rough.  It must end.

I still have a ways to go though.  Since I have been travelling I haven't really had a chance to incorporate what I've learned into flying, but I think just letting information sink it is a good start.

I've missed 3 days.  Which is sad.  But it's hard to keep track of my progress or whether or not I did it if I don't have my calendar (I left it at home because I thought it would be odd if I just carried a whiteboard with a bunch of check-marks on it around).  THAT isn't really a good excuse though.  I've actually found, in long car rides and afternoons waiting for lunch, that it's nice to have something to read while I'm alone.  I'm sure to on-lookers it is completely weird/depressing to see a 20 year old woman sit and read a giant textbook by herself in a cafe, but hey, it works!

Once I return home, I'll post my progress!



Enough of my novel. Proud of you if you made it this far. You deserve a cookie.

It's not about flying...

But I was doing some scenario based training today with the police department.  They have role-players come in and act out scenarios that officers need to work through.  It’s all really fun and cool and stuff, but that’s not what I care about.

We were doing a scenario with expired tags, and the officers had to pull the role-player over and what not.  Some other officers were just observing, and when the role-player asked, “Why did you pull me over?” the observing officer said, “Well, at least she’s not black.”

For some reason, this really made me angry.  I told that officer to go pound sand, and that that attitude is not only incredibly unprofessional, but it’s just wrong.  I understand that this “joke” was a generalized statement, at that it can sometimes be true, but the preconceived notions people have are messed up, and especially in a place of power like a police officer.

I face stereotypes all the time.  Especially being a woman pilot.  I always hear, “Women can’t drive, so why are you allowed to fly?” or “Don’t you belong in the kitchen?”  These statements really get my blood boiling.  How dare someone question my abilities because I am a woman.  Urgh! 

I realize that some stereotypes are good, like if I was downtown and I came across a biker gang, I’d exercise caution knowing that biker gangs were notorious for being violent.  However, there is a time and place, and if at any time professionalism comes into play, it shouldn’t be tolerated.

I realize that I may have no authority on this matter, and that I’m probably being near-sighted about all of it, but I just really hate that that is how some people react.  Women are not always homemakers.  There are plenty of men who do that too.  And, in a lot of homes, the woman is the primary breadwinner, and they are capable of doing anything they put their minds too.  Including flying.  African Americans are not all criminals or violent.  They are humans, just like the rest of us, and they are perfectly capable of being compliant and honest.

I know it was a joke, but man, even a joke that narrow-minded needs to be addressed.  

See, if had all the money in the world....

Learning more about aeromedical factors in flight, I have thought of something I'd like to try.  

Not anything involving torture...I just want to know if what they're teaching me in my Aviation books are true.  

I was reading about different kinds of hypoxia, which is an illness that is caused by not getting enough oxygen.  At higher altitudes, if an airplane doesn't have pressurization equipment, or their pressurization system doesn't function properly, it can cause serious issues.  The body needs oxygen, unfortunately, and if it doesn't get it, it throws a hissy-fit and...ya know....dies.

So, I learned that at 45,000 feet MSL (which just means above sea level), a pilot has 9-15 seconds of useful consciousness (I say useful, because after that a lack of oxygen makes you loopier than heck) to make a life critical decision to get the required oxygen into your body.  

Is that really all the time I have???  I want 9-15 minutes, not seconds.

I'd like to test these numbers, and see if I can get a similar answer.  I want to put people in a room, and deprave them of oxygen and see how long they can make it before they are totally useless.

I realize that this is not exactly what we would call "ethical," but I want answers!!!

What if I tested something else in the book? Like, the vestibular system from my previous post?

I'd create a simulator that was able to move around like a cockpit would (turn, climb, descend, and create the sensation of movement forward) and put 100 people in it, all in pairs.  

First, I'd create situations where they'd feel like they were turning (like the leans) and ask that they all corrected based off of what they were feeling (I'd give them NO flight instruments, so they can't cheat) and study how they would react.  Then, I'd put them all back in, but with instruments, and see if that changes their reactions on the situations.

A large part of this experiment would be communication between the Pilot in Command and the Co-Pilot.  Since bodies are all different, they might react differently, and one may want to correct one way, and the other wants the opposite.  

AND if all goes well, and I can confirm that what the book is teaching is accurate, THEN I can believe that I have 9 seconds to say a prayer before I won't be able to remember my name.

(that MAY be a bit of a dramatized statement) 

I'd need a lot of money to create this simulator though...anyone want to donate???



Guided Flight Discovery: Instrument/Commercial. (2006). Englewood, CO: Jeppesen Sanderson, Inc.