MrsSpringsteen
Blue Crack Addict
I don't know why they have to demean each other like that at all, certainly they could find other ways in which to cope with the pressures of that job. What do they do to the female firefighters? I have to wonder. Doing things like putting a noose on top of gear, you would have to realize the racist implications of that and realize how overtly racist that is. In other jobs in which there isn't hazing, one could possibly be fired for that. But you can say it's merely some sort of hazing and get away with it?
http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/11/30/firefighter.hazing.ap/index.html
LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- The debate over whether Los Angeles should pay nearly $3 million to a black firefighter puts the spotlight on hazing rituals that are part of a macho firehouse culture.
Tennie Pierce, 51, sued the Fire Department in 2005 after white colleagues mixed dog food into his spaghetti dinner. Pierce said he suffered retaliation for reporting the incident, verbal slurs and insults by firefighters "barking like dogs."
The case grew more complicated when photos emerged of Pierce engaging in his own pranks -- smearing mustard and dumping water on restrained colleagues. He said those activities were consensual, a firehouse tradition to celebrate a promotion or retirement.
The City Council voted 11-1 earlier this month to award Pierce $2.7 million to settle his racial discrimination lawsuit. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa vetoed the award. The council on Wednesday left intact the mayor's veto and a trial is set to begin in March....
Pierce's supporters say that's what happened to him: The joke played on him crossed the line because of the clearly racial connotations they read into it.
"The stereotype of the African-American has often been one of monkey, dog, animal," said civil rights activist Earl Ofari Hutchinson of the Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable.
"Dog food fits in with that racist stereotype of African-Americans that far too many people have," said Hutchinson, adding that Pierce was the only target and only white firefighters took part in the prank.
http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/11/30/firefighter.hazing.ap/index.html
LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- The debate over whether Los Angeles should pay nearly $3 million to a black firefighter puts the spotlight on hazing rituals that are part of a macho firehouse culture.
Tennie Pierce, 51, sued the Fire Department in 2005 after white colleagues mixed dog food into his spaghetti dinner. Pierce said he suffered retaliation for reporting the incident, verbal slurs and insults by firefighters "barking like dogs."
The case grew more complicated when photos emerged of Pierce engaging in his own pranks -- smearing mustard and dumping water on restrained colleagues. He said those activities were consensual, a firehouse tradition to celebrate a promotion or retirement.
The City Council voted 11-1 earlier this month to award Pierce $2.7 million to settle his racial discrimination lawsuit. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa vetoed the award. The council on Wednesday left intact the mayor's veto and a trial is set to begin in March....
Pierce's supporters say that's what happened to him: The joke played on him crossed the line because of the clearly racial connotations they read into it.
"The stereotype of the African-American has often been one of monkey, dog, animal," said civil rights activist Earl Ofari Hutchinson of the Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable.
"Dog food fits in with that racist stereotype of African-Americans that far too many people have," said Hutchinson, adding that Pierce was the only target and only white firefighters took part in the prank.