--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Dave, the first person I met in…" description: "\"“Dave, the first person I met in Poughkeepsie, was a felon because he was black, scared, desperate, and guilty. My student Cole, a heroin user and deal..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/099/kiese-laymon-23232_college-student_dave-the-first-person-i-met-in-poughkeep_1922799.jpg" --- # Dave, the first person I met in Poughkeepsie, was a felon… ![“Dave, the first person I met in Poughkeepsie, was a felon because he was black, scared, desperate, and guilty. My student Cole, a heroin user and dealer of everything from weed to cocaine, is a college student because he's white, wealthy, scared, desperate, and guilty.” quote by Kiese Laymon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/099/kiese-laymon-23232_college-student_dave-the-first-person-i-met-in-poughkeep_1922799.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/099/kiese-laymon-23232_college-student_dave-the-first-person-i-met-in-poughkeep_1922799.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/099/kiese-laymon-23232_college-student_dave-the-first-person-i-met-in-poughkeep_1922799.jpg) > ““Dave, the first person I met in Poughkeepsie, was a felon because he was black, scared, desperate, and guilty. My student Cole, a heroin user and dealer of everything from weed to cocaine, is a college student because he's white, wealthy, scared, desperate, and guilty.”” [Kiese Laymon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiese-laymon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Racial bias skews perceptions of guilt and innocence, revealing systemic inequality. **In simple terms:** Race influences how we judge people’s actions. Key Takeaway Challenge assumptions about race and crime. Themes racism justice stereotypes inequality Mood reflective provocative Type essay social commentary When to use this quote - law enforcement - education - media representation - personal relationships Key Concepts critical race theory social critique Questions to Reflect On - What biases affect your judgments? - How can we address systemic racism? A Different Perspective Oversimplifies complex socioeconomic factors. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [College student](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/college-student/) [Felon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/felon/) [Felon Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/felon-black-2962833/) [First person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-person/) [Guilty Student](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guilty-student-2962834/) [Poughkeepsie Felon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poughkeepsie-felon-2962832/) [Student Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/student-cole-2962835/) ## Related quotes > [If violent crime is to be curbed, it is only the intended victim who can do it. The felon does not fear the police,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-cooper/if-violent-crime-is-to-be-curbed-it-is-only-the-intended-victim-who/) [Jeff Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-cooper/) > [All the old forms of discrimination, the forms of discrimination we supposedly left behind, are now perfectly legal once you've been labeled a felon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/all-the-old-forms-of-discrimination-the-forms-of-discrimination-we/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [ Gator \[ McKlusky from White Lightning\] was a criminal and a felon, but he had a good heart - he's probably a cousin to… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/burt-reynolds/gator-mcklusky-from-white-lightning-was-a-criminal-and-a-felon-but-he/) [Burt Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/burt-reynolds/) > [If a person who indulges in gluttony is a glutton, and a person who commits a felony is a felon, then God is an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spider-robinson/if-a-person-who-indulges-in-gluttony-is-a-glutton-and-a-person-who/) [Spider Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spider-robinson/) > [In the USA, it's harder for a black man with no criminal record to find a job than a white man with a criminal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-jealous/in-the-usa-it-s-harder-for-a-black-man-with-no-criminal-record-to/) [Benjamin Jealous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-jealous/) > [“Wait. Are you saying what I think you're saying?' 'Ye-es.' Now that I had spilled the beans I could take on the laid-back, mildly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/wait-are-you-saying-what-i-think-you-re-saying-ye-es-now-that-i-had/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [I was a convicted felon. No one wanted to give me a job, I couldn't get any government assistance, and I couldn't get any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-stanton-king/i-was-a-convicted-felon-no-one-wanted-to-give-me-a-job-i-couldn-t-get/) [Angela Stanton-King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-stanton-king/) > [“Language, when it finally comes, has the vigor of a felon pardoned after twenty-one years on hold. Sudden, raw, stripped to its underwear.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/language-when-it-finally-comes-has-the-vigor-of-a-felon-pardoned/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [“Imagine being the 'party of law and order' and having a convicted felon at the top of your ticket.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-wallace/imagine-being-the-party-of-law-and-order-and-having-a-convicted-felon/) [Carlos Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-wallace/) > [Once labeled a felon, you are ushered into a parallel social universe. You can be denied the right to vote, automatically excluded from juries,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/once-labeled-a-felon-you-are-ushered-into-a-parallel-social-universe/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [“I hated to admit it, but he was all sorts of sexy felon. God, what was wrong with me? That kiss had made me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-crownover/i-hated-to-admit-it-but-he-was-all-sorts-of-sexy-felon-god-what-was/) [Jay Crownover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-crownover/) > [If a felon attacks you and lives, he will reasonably conclude that he can do it again. By submitting to him, you not only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-cooper/if-a-felon-attacks-you-and-lives-he-will-reasonably-conclude-that-he/) [Jeff Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-cooper/) > [“When the impossible and the unlikely are all discarded, the felon will appear.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-starr/when-the-impossible-and-the-unlikely-are-all-discarded-the-felon-will/) [Mel Starr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-starr/) > [ A felon could plead "benefit of clergy" and be saved by \[reading aloud\] what was aptly enough termed the "neck verse", which was very… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/a-felon-could-plead-benefit-of-clergy-and-be-saved-by-reading-aloud/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [“Such a shame that I didn’t get to say good-bye to my fellow inmates,” he said sarcastically. “Actually, Puchalski was the only guy I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-james/such-a-shame-that-i-didn-t-get-to-say-good-bye-to-my-fellow-inmates/) [Julie James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-james/) ## More by Kiese Laymon > [I allude to Back to the Future in the 1985 story to let folks know it was an inspiration and because it literally was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiese-laymon/i-allude-to-back-to-the-future-in-the-1985-story-to-let-folks-know-it/) [Kiese Laymon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiese-laymon/) > [“I lie in a bathtub of cold water, still sweating and singing love songs to myself. I put the gun to my head and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiese-laymon/i-lie-in-a-bathtub-of-cold-water-still-sweating-and-singing-love/) [Kiese Laymon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiese-laymon/) > [I'm a black writer from Mississippi. That's what I most consider myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiese-laymon/i-m-a-black-writer-from-mississippi-that-s-what-i-most-consider-myself/) [Kiese Laymon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiese-laymon/) > [In essay writing, I'm trying to push the form of expository writing. I'm trying to remember, trying to reckon, trying to find connections with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiese-laymon/in-essay-writing-i-m-trying-to-push-the-form-of-expository-writing-i/) [Kiese Laymon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiese-laymon/) > [I wish every American explored the importance of novel writing, identity, honesty, character and place in fresh-ass ways.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiese-laymon/i-wish-every-american-explored-the-importance-of-novel-writing/) [Kiese Laymon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiese-laymon/) > [“I swear that white folks need to just shut the hell up sometimes. Y'all make it hard for everybody.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiese-laymon/i-swear-that-white-folks-need-to-just-shut-the-hell-up-sometimes-y/) [Kiese Laymon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiese-laymon/) > [Long Division has a lot of Afrosurrealist impulses. I think the book was more Afrofuturist when it was like 700 pages.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiese-laymon/long-division-has-a-lot-of-afrosurrealist-impulses-i-think-the-book/) [Kiese Laymon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiese-laymon/) > [“Y'all taught me that unacknowledged scars accumulated in battles won often hurt more than battles lost.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiese-laymon/y-all-taught-me-that-unacknowledged-scars-accumulated-in-battles-won/) [Kiese Laymon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiese-laymon/) > [First of all, the novel should be a critique of the novels that have come before it in a language that broadens the audience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiese-laymon/first-of-all-the-novel-should-be-a-critique-of-the-novels-that-have/) [Kiese Laymon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiese-laymon/) > [I'm also, than anything else, a teacher and a student. And without the four hours, I'm pretty monsterish. For real.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiese-laymon/i-m-also-than-anything-else-a-teacher-and-a-student-and-without-the/) [Kiese Laymon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiese-laymon/) > [I'm an obsessive writer who needs and loves revision. Writing helps me learn and helps me teach.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiese-laymon/i-m-an-obsessive-writer-who-needs-and-loves-revision-writing-helps-me/) [Kiese Laymon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiese-laymon/) > [I'm accountable - this sounds emo - to black American writing, Southern writing, Southern black American writing, American writing and my people. That's kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiese-laymon/i-m-accountable-this-sounds-emo-to-black-american-writing-southern/) [Kiese Laymon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiese-laymon/) > [I'm not good enough as a person and definitely not good enough as a writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiese-laymon/i-m-not-good-enough-as-a-person-and-definitely-not-good-enough-as-a/) [Kiese Laymon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiese-laymon/) > [“I think of my grandma and remember that old feeling of being so in love that nothing matters except seeing and being seen by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiese-laymon/i-think-of-my-grandma-and-remember-that-old-feeling-of-being-so-in/) [Kiese Laymon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiese-laymon/) > [I'm interested in how the confessional is so abrasively critiqued today. I'm not really comfortable with simply confessing but I do think "confessing" is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiese-laymon/i-m-interested-in-how-the-confessional-is-so-abrasively-critiqued/) [Kiese Laymon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiese-laymon/) [Explore all 26 Kiese Laymon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiese-laymon/) ## More College student quotes > [I've always been a late bloomer in some ways, and extremely precocious in other ways. When I was twenty I was living in New…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meghan-daum/i-ve-always-been-a-late-bloomer-in-some-ways-and-extremely-precocious/) [Meghan Daum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meghan-daum/) > [I been partyn alot.. Oh freakin well! Im single and a college student so Im living my life!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-been-partyn-alot-oh-freakin-well-im-single-and-a-college-student-so/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Only one-third of college students from the bottom quarter of households graduate, while two-thirds of students from the top quarter do. Both ability and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-temin/only-one-third-of-college-students-from-the-bottom-quarter-of/) [Peter Temin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-temin/) > [“In a laboratory study, a researcher from Virginia Commonwealth University observed college students during a three-hour study session using video cameras and eye trackers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-gazzaley/in-a-laboratory-study-a-researcher-from-virginia-commonwealth/) [Adam Gazzaley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-gazzaley/) > [“What advice would you give to a smart, driven college student about to enter the “real world”? What advice should they ignore? Nobody really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-ferriss/what-advice-would-you-give-to-a-smart-driven-college-student-about-to/) [Timothy Ferriss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-ferriss/) > [I was pretty poor for a long time. Not \*poor\* poor. But college student poor. I lived for most of my adult life living…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/i-was-pretty-poor-for-a-long-time-not-poor-poor-but-college-student/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [There's definitely a world view among college students that appreciates the need to act in the international community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanne-shaheen/there-s-definitely-a-world-view-among-college-students-that/) [Jeanne Shaheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanne-shaheen/) > [“Novelist Sinclair Lewis was supposed to deliver an hour-long lecture to a group of college students who planned to be writers. Lewis opened his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-prichard/novelist-sinclair-lewis-was-supposed-to-deliver-an-hour-long-lecture/) [Peter Prichard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-prichard/) > [Usually I avoided college students, whom I considered brutal, wrapped up in themselves, particularly in their youth, in which they found material for drama…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/usually-i-avoided-college-students-whom-i-considered-brutal-wrapped/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The other component was to build cadres through political education. Republicans sought out wealthy donors to set up foundations and think tanks as safe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-lilla/the-other-component-was-to-build-cadres-through-political-education/) [Mark Lilla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-lilla/) > [Americans in particular are myopic. They're not traveling as much. When you were a college student, the next thing you would do on graduation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-taymor/americans-in-particular-are-myopic-they-re-not-traveling-as-much-when/) [Julie Taymor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-taymor/) > [“What advice would you give to a smart, driven college student about to enter the “real world”? Most of the game is about persistence.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-ferriss/what-advice-would-you-give-to-a-smart-driven-college-student-about-to-2/) [Timothy Ferriss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-ferriss/) > [“average college student has the same standard of living as he does. Same food. No important difference in clothes, cars, TVs.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-pecaut/average-college-student-has-the-same-standard-of-living-as-he-does/) [Daniel Pecaut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-pecaut/) > [“Walking to class, Cath couldn't shake the feeling that she was pretending to be a college student in a coming-of-age movie. The setting was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainbow-rowell/walking-to-class-cath-couldn-t-shake-the-feeling-that-she-was/) [Rainbow Rowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainbow-rowell/) > [“Lots of people wrote to the magazine to say that Marilyn vos Savant was wrong, even when she explained very carefully why she was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/lots-of-people-wrote-to-the-magazine-to-say-that-marilyn-vos-savant/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) [Browse all 289 College student quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/college-student/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Dave, the first person I met in Poughkeepsie, was a felon because he was black, scared, desperate, and guilty. 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