Robert Hutchings, diplomat-in-residence and a former assistant dean for academic affairs at the Wilson School, was charged with DWI and careless driving following a motor vehicle accident last Saturday at 8:51 p.m.
The Montgomery police found Hutchings standing next to his ...(back to the article)
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Listen to your white privilege speaking, it's just drunk driving boohoo.
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http://www.texasdwi.org/jacqui.html
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"I extend my deepest condolences to the family of that fence." And what if it wasn't just a fence? I agree with the poster below me. The Professor is damn lucky that no one was harmed as a result of his lack of judgment. As for your claim that he was punished for merely "consuming a legal product," boo-flipping-hoo. Yes, alcohol is a perfectly legal product. That doesn't mean that, when over-consumed, it can't have severe mind-altering affects that impair one's driving ability (and in turn, put the lives of others at risk).
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@08#4: We have to draw a limit somewhere. .08 may be biologically arbitrary since different people react to alcohol differently. But given the number of car accidents in which alcohol is a factor, the state and society have a vested interest in keeping drunks out of the driver's seat. Since everyone knows that drinking and driving is illegal, it is their responsibility to follow the law. It's really quite simple. And .08 laws have saved countless lives. If you can find sympathy in your heart for the drunk driver (or the .08 driver), you should have some (if not much much more) sympathy for victims of drunk driving as well. Thank goodness it was only a fence in this case. But it could have been much worse.
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I have a lot more sympathy with the millions of people across the country who have lost their jobs because they couldn't drive to work, or even fired because they committed a "crime of moral turpitude," all for consuming a legal product, and being unlucky enough to come across an officer that needed to meet his ticket quota for the day. The average DUI/DWI wasn't going to kill anyone, because they weren't impaired; .08 isn't drunk (try it, go buy a breathalizer and find out - I did. Then you can comment) and cops don't even need to prove that to ruin your life. People that actually do kill people are multiple times over the limit; as for the Professor's "horrible crime," I extend my deepest condolences to the family of that fence.
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I really respect Ambassador Hutchings, he is a great man and has done wonderful things for this country; however, I found this incident shocking and it does make me reconsider my very high opinion of him. I agree with Jacob's comments in the article. Everyone makes mistakes, agreed, but drunk driving is a mistake that could end someone else's life.
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What's with all of this well-wishing? Have some respect for victims of drunk driving in your community! I understand it's hard to denounce the actions of a person you previously respected. But to declare in a public forum that he's a stand-up guy and automatically deserves a little slap on the wrist and a "that's ok" from the peanut gallery. I mean come on, he drove drunk and could have caused serious injury or death to himself or others. If you want to wish him well after that horrible horrible crime, do so in private.
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Important lesson learned: if you're drunk and run your car off the road (we're assuming here that a fence and mailbox were the sole victims) don't wait for the police to come around and give you a life-ruining DWI -- get the hell out of there! You can always get your car in the morning; even if you have to go down to the impound lot.
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Ambassador Hutchings is a wonderful person, a well-respected professor and colleague. I wish him well in this personal matter and I agree with the previous comment in that my high opinion of him will not change.
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What privacy? He could have killed somebody-- there's nothing private about driving a car when you are that wasted.
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I agree with the earlier comment - Ambassador Hutchings is a stand-up guy, and one of the best professors I've ever encountered. Yes, he seems to have made a stupid mistake, but it does not change what I think about him, and I hope it doesn't for others, either.
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Ambassador Hutchings is a great guy. I wish him the best and hope that people can respect his privacy through this matter.
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