It's called "outreach."
They're called "idiots."
They should be fired, because if a Gay Pride Parade frightens them, burning buildings must make them pee their pants.
Firemen Frightened by Gay Pride Parade.
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
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13 comments:
I guess these guys classify as world class stupid, but without the 'class'.
Am I right? Every comedian in America would be talking about this today if we didn't give firemen a free ride. Do they whine when they're sent out to grade schools to tell kids what firemen do? "But Sarge, what if they make fun of me? Do I have to wear the yellow rubber clothes?"
I didn't realize somebody could be sexually harassed in public, while driving down a street on a truck. Suing because somebody twenty feet away made an obscene gesture (which I don't believe in the first place, having been to ten or fifteen pride parades)? Thank God they're not women walking by construction sites: they'd collapse in a convulsing heap.
I actually think they have a case, but for religious harassment, not sexual. They were forced to march, not volunteers.
Religious harassment? Meaning people shouldn't be forced to deal with people who act contrary to their beliefs?
Jamie, it's called "employment."
If a government worker has a problem with some subset of the community, they need to either (a) hide it, or (b) quit. Unless you think it's okay for firemen to run into burning buildings and refuse to rescue, say, Quakers? Should we all keep Bibles at our bedsides just to be sure?
Gawker just picked up the story, and I doff my hat to them. They give it all the respect it requires.
Firemen Abused by Homosexuals
Roman,
My father was a firefighter for 30 years. I do know a bit about this. Most firefighters are employed under a Union Contract. Under that contract, parades are a voluntary activity, since no lives are at risk and no property at risk of being damaged. The IAFF specifically refers to parades as a "Voluntary Activity."
Now it all depends upon their individual contract, but they are not merely "government workers" in the classic sense. And as such they cannot be ordered to march in parades. If they feel it was harassment against their religious beliefs then they may actually have a claim. In order to prove a sexual harassment claim, the harassers (bystanders to the parade in this case) would have had to have been in the employ of the city in order for the city to be liable.
You and I may think it's petty and shallow, but that doesn't mean a damned thing legally, unfortunately.
Now, if "parades" are specified in their union contract, it's a different story. But that remains to be seen.
First of all, lets be honest here: regardless of what they say, these people were not *forced* to participate in anything. They were worried that they would be suspended if they didn't? Please! They were asked to volunteer because the original line-up had to cancel. Attending gay events is not part of anyone's job description. They did it, and now they're getting sue-happy. If you realistically think that the GLBT community has the kind of political and social leverage that a person would get fired for not participating in a pride parade, then I strongly suggest you get yourself a reality check.
Also, religious harassment is when you are ostracized for your beliefs , not when your bigoted ass feels awkward at an event you most likely volunteered to attend.
My favourite part of the article: "The firefighters were also targets of gross sexual gestures to include the following: [...] men hugging and kissing one another passionately, many of them wearing make-up and dressed like women. Although the firefighters were not physically assaulted, the gestures were clearly directed towards them." ...right. Actually, the whole parade was orchestrated to make them uncomfortable. It's all all the doing of the Velvet Mafia. Quick, someone arrest David Geffen before he gets away.
On another note, Roman, I hope you made it out of today's storm in one piece.
If you realistically think that the GLBT community has the kind of political and social leverage that a person would get fired for not participating in a pride parade, then I strongly suggest you get yourself a reality check.
Let me tell you, as a gay man I hate it when people blame things on the GLBT "community." No one said anything about "community." One person made this decision, not a community. Right now it appears that they were ordered to march in the parade by the Battalion Chief.
And in truth, I don't really believe a harassment claim will work, but if they were forced to participate against contract specifications then they have a legitimate claim for "unfair labor practices."
I wasn't implying that it was some collective action, and I'm certainly not "blaming" the community. What I mean is, "if you think the Battalion Chief would actually fire these people for not participating in the pride event...etc.". I think the statement "we thought we were going to get fired if we didn't do it"--which is what the firemen are using as grounds to the claim that this was forced--is naive. Frankly, the fact that they expect me to believe that, or even to buy into the fact that THEY believed it at the time, is an insult to my and any other reasonable person's intelligence. That's what I meant.
Why? Is it truly so hard for you to believe that there was a person in a position of authority who's an asshole? Because I can point you to about a thousand of them.
Of course I do. I work at a law firm, so I have enough examples to last me a lifetime. But I have a hard time believing that what happened was an abuse of authority. Why? It just makes no sense why the chief would be so hard pressed to have these four men participate. They don’t even claim to have been told that they had to participate; they only say “they feared that if they refused they would be suspended or punished”. If anything, that kind of language convinces me even more that these guys are just getting sue-happy.
Me, dodging a dispute? Sure! I'm not just the president of "World Class Stupid" -- I'm also a client.
> On another note, Roman, I hope you made it
> out of today's storm in one piece.
Thanks, anon! It was insane. I try to follow all the rules -- don't touch a computer, don't take a shower, don't stand under a tree -- but then I realize these are the highlights of my life If that's what it takes to live until tomorrow, I'd say adios right now, thanks.
Meanwhile, let's hear it for New York City: always vigiliant against terrorists, but completely disabled by damp.
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