File under "R" for "rage"

[coyotegoth]

A veteran firefighter refused to respond to last month's deadly shooting spree that left Rep. Gabrielle Giffords wounded because he had different political views than his colleagues and "did not want to be part of it," according to internal city memos.

Comments

[melebeth]

I am speechless with R

[fauxfire76.livejournal.com]

Non-issue. They were apparently called in well after the shooting occurred and were only being called out to assist and bring supplies. The guy knew that going in and so knew it wasn't a life or death situation. Yeah it's a messed up situation but not one to get so upset over. At least in my opinion.

[coyotegoth.livejournal.com]

Personally, I don't believe that civil servants- particularly ones whose jobs are driven by concern for public welfare- should have the opportunity of deciding on the spot whether or not they should allow politics to determine whether or not they respond to a call for help. If I were, say, a fireman in Texas, and George W. Bush's house were on fire, even if I knew that no one's life was immediately at risk, it would goddamn well be my sworn duty, in that instance, to put out that fire- not to sit on my ass and decide whether or not I would do so. (If I chose to resign so as not to face that dilemma in future, that's another matter.)

[fauxfire76.livejournal.com]

I agree, my point was just that since the situation at the point they were called was not as dire as when it first happened, people should not be getting so irate over this. The guy should be disciplined and even possibly have his pension either reduced or revoked entirely but it doesn't warrant such an uproar.

[mjlayman.livejournal.com]

Sure, but what if it had been dire? Would he still have dropped from the truck?

[feyandstrange.livejournal.com]

I was never healthy enough to pass the physical, or I'd be *fourth* generation fire department. The idea of an FD member refusing ANY call for political reasons - well, my less politically correct ancestors would probably have hazed and bullied this guy until he was forced to quit, assuming a superior officer didn't fire him outright. And I suspect at least one of my ancestors would've come back after that call and punched that guy.

I don't care if it's a goddamn milk run or a child molester having a coronary, you take the call. And any *veteran* fireman knows that.

[digitalsidhe.livejournal.com]

I think there's more here than first meets the eye. The last line of the story says Ekstrum voted for Giffords...

[tla]

Yeah I'd be inclined to agree - the end of the story is rather discordant with the beginning, which makes me wonder what else was going on and how brazenly the story itself was spun.

[mjlayman.livejournal.com]

The beginning says he disagreed with the politics of the other guys on the truck. Didn't mention Giffords.

[digitalsidhe.livejournal.com]

Like I said before, "The last line of the story says Ekstrum voted for Giffords."

[mjlayman.livejournal.com]

Urm, yes. He left the truck because he disageed with the other firefighters, not Giffords.

[feyandstrange.livejournal.com]

Firefighters are, by and large, a conservative lot. It's possible that this poor bastard was the only Democrat on a truck full of white racist hard-right Tea Party assholes who fuckin' cheered when they heard Giffords had been shot. And if that's the case, my heart goes out to the guy.

But you don't refuse a call.

It's possible that this vet wasn't trying to refuse the call so much as say "I can't work with those assholes any more, boss - fix this or I sick out."

And if that was the case, his captain should be (in my happy world at least, where people in the FD do their damn jobs right) coming down on the rest of the crew for conduct unbecoming, and getting that poor bastard a transfer if it's possible.

[digitalsidhe.livejournal.com]

It's possible that this poor bastard was the only Democrat on a truck full of white racist hard-right Tea Party assholes who fuckin' cheered when they heard Giffords had been shot.

That thought has crossed my mind, too. That's why I don't want to see people just going ahead and assuming that he must have been a right-winger who didn't want to help Giffords.

But you don't refuse a call.

That's what I was thinking before I read the story... back when I was assuming he was a right-winger who didn't want to help Giffords. I'll stand by it, even now that I'm suspecting that he may have been a left-winger or moderate who didn't want to deal with co-workers being assholes.

Becoming a first responder means getting on the front line. It means that when the call comes, you answer it. "Gondor calls for aid" needs to be met with "...And Rohan will answer!", not "Well, Rohan doesn't feel like it today." Regardless of the reason.

But if he was the lone moderate or lefty in a team full of people who were already yukking it up over a Democratic congresswoman getting shot... my heart goes out to him, too. And, while he should have taken the call, what should he have done afterward?

[mjlayman.livejournal.com]

There must be some way they can't let him resign, so they can fire him.

[sparkindarkness.livejournal.com]

Yeah first responders picking and choosing what they respond to? No.no no no

[silmaril.livejournal.com]

You could also file that under "Y" for "Yearrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh." Even though the "r"s still have the majority.