I visited ‘Dave’s Killer Bread’ bakery a couple of days
back, and it appeared that it was business as usual. I, too, bought some bread.
Later, I talked to a few people about how they felt about
Dave’s scrap with the Washington County Sheriff’s deputies and most seemed
rather blasé about the subject. Oh, they
considered it kind of serious, but no reason to stop buying his bread. Most appeared to want to give Dave the
benefit of the doubt. One person said, ‘Well,
if the CEO of Safeway had done the same thing, would you stop going to Safeway?’ My answer was, ‘No, I guess that wouldn’t
stop me from going to Safeway – although, I don’t really go to Safeway that
often; but that I get the point.’
But, the more I thought about it, the more I felt that the
comparison of Safeway to Dave’s Killer Bread was something of a stretch. Dave Dahl is an iconic figure with a
compelling story who is tied closely to his product. The CEO of Safeway, whoever that might be, is
not.
Then my thought process was, if the public was not
adequately concerned enough about Dave’s conduct to boycott or stop buying his
product, what would it take?
What we
know about Dave’s manic, out-of-control behavior is minimal – as far as his
mental state or the causative factors are concerned. We do know that, in the process, he wrecked
two Sheriff’s patrol vehicles and injured three deputies. Furthermore, he led them on a helter-skelter
chase that theoretically endangered others in the public.
So, my question is what would it take? Most would offer that there is no good
answer. It depends. Yes, I know; but what is the proper answer
for the typical, honest, hard-working Joe.
When would he or she say Dave’s conduct is bad enough that I will no
longer buy a product with which he is so closely identified?
What if, instead of the above scenario, there
was some other scenario? He ran down and
injured a young boy riding his bike. He
wrecked the car of a wounded veteran? He
publicly burned the American Flag? He
used words that were abusive towards minorities or gays? He spit on one of his employees? He beat-up his wife (actually I don’t know if
he has a wife)?
I guess everyone has their priorities, their hot-button. I am of the opinion that cops and deputies
have a pretty rough job; a job that most in the public would not care to do,
even be afraid to do. I am of the
opinion that when you harm someone in law enforcement it is very serious; and
the consequences should also be serious.
Will the ‘system’ treat it seriously? I don’t think so. Will we ever know what precipitated Dave ‘wild
ride’? No, I don’t think we’ll get the
whole story? Will this all blow over and
will it be business as usual at Dave’s Bakery?
Yes, I think that may very well be the case. Will Dave be involved in something similar
down the road, reminiscent of his current brush with the law? I hope not, but I am doubtful.
True Nelson
5 comments:
Hi True,
It's been a long time since I've commented on your site- it's nothing personal- life has just been hectic. It's me, LM, who used to post about Kyron. You and I have had some interesting debates. First, a quick aside: we made the move to OR. We sold our house in one day and had 30 days to pack our entire household and move! It's been completely crazy. We are living in LO and LOVE it!!! It's amazing here and the people couldn't be friendlier.
That being said, I do see a lot of parents turning a blind eye to their kids' pot use and I don't like that at all. But that's another topic for another day. You wrote about Dave...
Dave's Killer Bread was the very first local food product we discovered when we moved here. It's great. I liked it so much I went on the website and read his entire story. I've worked on and off in the drug and alcohol field for a lot of years, including almost a decade of teaching in a Drug and Alcohol Studies Program at a major university ( I will tell you which one in private if you're remotely curious).
Regarding Dave and his "episode" ...
To me it was very sad. He has come so far and had such an epic struggle from which he seemed to have triumphed. Addiction is a chronic disease. Like Diabetes or RA. Relapses are pretty much a given. They are part of the process. I can never judge an addict for a relapse, or what we call a "prelapse", which is relapse type behavior that hasn't devolved into full blown relapse yet. That is why addicts have to stay in a program (AA, NA, etc) for the rest of their lives. The condition can be managed with abstinence and program, but cannot be cured if one is a true alcoholic/addict.
In Dave's case, we don't really know for certain, but I'm making a professional guess and saying that he has a duel diagnosis, which means he has a mental diagnosis as well as a substance abuse one. I believe he was acting out of mania (Bipolar Disorder) or some kind of Brief Reactive Psychosis, perhaps with Paranoia. My heart goes out to him because he is fodder for the public to pronounce judgement on.
I think LE understands his predicament and is displaying a remarkable empathy. They're doing it right with this case and they deserve kudos for their understanding and lack of vitriol. I hope you find your kind and loving place within and give him well wishes.
I hope I run into you sometime.
Best to you and a most happy Thanksgiving, True.
LM
True, you bring up alot of good points, but maybe Dave's crazy irrational behavior wasn' t national news enough? Or maybe his "killer bread" is just so good, that his crimes will have to be a bit more severe before the public stops buying. People don't have as much sympathy when it is the sheriff chasing down poor Dave for some minor infraction, made him go "bonkers." Looks like bread sales will continue, and the public will look at
Dave as just having a bad day! Wrecking a few cop cars and causing minor injuries to law enforcement just doesn't seem to be high on folks agenda these days, or maybe because Dave has " been there, done that" before, no one is that shocked! Hope Dave is on the road to good mental and maybe physical recovery.
Welcome to Oregon and I hope you don't mind occasional rain. I always appreciate your comments and hope they will continue. If you should have a more lengthy comment, based on your background, which, incidentally, I would like to know more about, I could feature it on my blog. Your expertise is welcomed.
Regarding Dave, I actually do hope he gets his life together, and takes advantage of all the opportunities now available to him. Some may feel my life's experiences have made my outlook on life a bit jaded; perhaps overly critical. I feel that I'm a realist. And, regarding Dave's treatment by the law enforcement community was that based on their compassionate understanding of his mental condition or was it Dave's wealth and influence? I don't think some minority individual from North Portland would have been treated the same; and, in fact, might be now 'pushing up daisies.'
Best wishes and hope to hear from you.
True
And, also, we should include our best wishes to the deputies injured in the incident.
True
I think you are so right about how LE would/could possibly have treated a person of color in N Portland. There is a clear divide both racially and socio-economically in our country. I just finished listening to the current This American Life episode, which I download every week. I would love for you to listen and respond. It's about how government supported and enforced racial divide by denying home loans to African Americans so they couldn't buy in "White" neighborhoods. Even after HUD (I think it was HUD - I was listening during the night when I couldn't sleep)was formed in order to ensure fairness in housing, then president Nixon, was angry and tried to prevent it. There was also a current story about an organization that sends fake prospective rentors to buildings in NYC. It was shocking how many people of color were told there was nothing available, followed immediately by a Caucasian who would be told there was indeed a vacancy. Racism is alive and well. And more subtle.
A guy like Dave...
I think we love a story of redemption and, as long as the acting out doesn't cause loss of life or permanent damage or death, or occur too often, I believe we want to cheer for him and want him to maintain his status as our underdog/hero. We need Rocky Balboa types of heroes. Common folk who, through some chemistry of charisma, luck and resiliance, manage to find success appeals to our sense of divine justice. As my late Dad used to say: "He can fall in the gutter and come up smelling like Chanel #5". It's a gift. LM
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