Bashing the Brotherhood - Must Read!!!!!

[JBrooks]

Attention all hands. Came across this moron on MSN.com who wrote this article. Claims to be an author. Recommend boycotting his book, hammering him in chat rooms. Widest dissemination possible.

http://slate.msn.com/id/2090573/

[sconfire]

wow... this "strangely" looks like the post that is right "near" this one... :rolleyes:

[July36]

I just read that article....and i also posted a reply on it there on MSN....heres my reply:



Subject: "Smoke and Mirrors"
From: femalechief44
Date: Nov 1 2003 9:48PM

"Apparently this guy hasnt been around the Fire Service that long,otherwise he would not have made some of the statements he made in his article and his 4 months or 4 years(whatever it was) is only a very small stint compared to those of us thats been in the services for many years.I think he had better do a bit more research on the fire services,visit more fire stations and interview more fire service personnell before he makes many more statements like the ones he has made in his article.
Furthermore,if he DID more research,he would see that we indeed are ALOT more busier than he realizes and that many of us do not have the time for the "extra" stuff that he mentions.We do this job simply becuase many of us WANT to...or that we feel it is our duty to do so.Ill bet once he really happened to NEED us for some kind of an incident,ill bet hed change his attitude towards whether we are "heroes" or not.We do not actually see ourselves as "heroes"...but we see ourselves doing a job,a duty and a service...to the public...to see to the welfare of our "fellow citizens".Once he realizes this,maybe he will forget the "stereotyping"."

Donna C
Fire Chief
Bridge Canyon VFD
http://cms.firehouse.com/dept/SeligmanAZ

[mcaldwell]

You know, I could shrug off most of the article as simply uninformed, but the fact that he would even write this paragraph is just plain sickening:


Firefighters have excellent propaganda skills. Firefighters play the hero card to its limit. Any time a big-city firefighter is killed on duty, that city will all but shut down a few days later while thousands of firefighters line the streets for a procession. In July 2001, I witnessed the tasteless spectacle of Washington state firefighters staging a massive public display to "honor" four young people killed in a forest fire (one absurd touch: hook-and-ladder rigs extended to form a huge arch over the entrance to the funeral hall). For the families of the four dead firefighters—three of whom were teens trying to make a few bucks for college—the parade, the solemn speeches, and the quasi-military trappings all were agony. "It's just the firefighters doing their thing," one bystander said to me later with a shrug.



That is just plain insulting and idiotic to suggest that we are not sincere in our grief when a FF dies.

I saw we hang him high from an FDNY ladder.

[JBrooks]

Okay, Sconfire posted his subject first. I didn't look around before jumping into the fray.

[July36]

Im right with ya on that one McCaldwell....but instead of the harness around his waist...it would be better suited around his neck. :)

Donna C
Fire Chief
Bridge Canyon VFD
http://cms.firehouse.com/dept/SeligmanAZ

[Bugle3]

Well, I can't say anything better than the rest of you did. This guy seems very full of himself. I would seriously doubt the "fact" that most of the brothers (and sisters) in a city of any size do 5 or 6 runs per day or less. I know for a fact that there are volunteer departments that do that and more so to say that ALL firefighters do 6 or less per day is just plain ignorant on his part.
I don't want to hang this guy from a ladder but I would love to drag (which I probably would have to) him down a very long, smoke filled and HOT hallway doing a search!
Let's keep the pressure on this _ _ shole!

[LRFireE135]

This ****ing prick really needs to be put in his place with the most rude of awakenings!!!

HOW DARE HE EVEN HINT AT HALF OF THE THINGS HE DID!

Firefighting is a cushy job. Firefighters may have the best work schedule in the United States—24 hours on, 48 hours off. And those 24 hours are usually not terribly onerous. While a few big-city fire stations may have four, five, six calls, or more during a shift, most aren't nearly that busy, giving firefighters time to give tours to school kids, barbecue hamburgers, wash fire engines, sleep, and pose for "The Firefighters of [Your City Here], 2004" calendars.

Yeah *******! That's why St. Louis Pumper 28's motto is "Sleep When You're Dead!" because thats about the ONLY time they would get to do ANYTHING!!! They average two calls an hour, EVERY DAY!!!

the long days off give many firefighters a chance to start second careers.

Those long days off are regulated by OSHA...ever heard of them? Not to mention the fact that we have one of the most stressful jobs in America and we usually have to take that second job in order to support our FAMILIES!!! This because people like YOU aren't willing to support the small tax increase to give us a decent wage!!!

In those cases where firefighters die in a blaze, it's almost always because of some unbelievable screw-up in the command chain.

NO! USUALLY ITS BECAUSE WE ARE IN THERE SEARCHING FOR MORONS LIKE YOURSELF, AND WE GET DISORIENTED AND RUN OUT OF AIR, ONLY FOR OUR FAMILIES TO LATER FIND OUT THAT YOU WERE ALREADY OUT OF THE HOUSE AND WE DIED SENSELESSLY....LEAVING BEHIND A WIFE AND THREE YOUNG CHILDREN!!! NOT TO MENTION THE FACT THAT YOU ARE PROBABLY WHY THE FIRE STARTED IN THE FIRST PLACE!!!

Firefighters have excellent propaganda skills. Firefighters play the hero card to its limit. Any time a big-city firefighter is killed on duty, that city will all but shut down a few days later while thousands of firefighters line the streets for a procession.

ITS CALLED HONORING YOUR DEAD YOU SCUMBAG!!! EVER HEARD OF IT??? THESE ARE THE MEN & WOMEN THAT BECOME OUR SECOND FAMILY...THESE ARE THE PEOPLE WE LIVE WITH DAY IN AND DAY OUT; WHO WE EAT, WORK, AND YES...WHEN WE GET A CHANCE TO DO SO...SLEEP WITH! YOU FORM TRUE BONDS WITH ONE ANOTHER, AND WHEN ONE OF US DIES...YOU BETTER BELIEVE IT AFFECTS ALL OF US!!!

Firefighters are just another interest group. Firefighters use their heroic trappings to play special interest politics brilliantly. It is a heavily unionized occupation.

WHERE DID YOU DO YOUR RESEARCH?!?! IF YOU HAD STUDIED UP AND DONE YOUR HOMEWORK YOU WOULD LEARN THAT ABOUT 90% OF ALL U. S. FIREFIGHTERS ARE VOLUNTEERS!!! THATS RIGHT *******...WE DON'T GET PAID FOR THE TIME WE ARE AWAY FROM OUR FAMILIES AND COMING TO THE RESCUE OF UNGREATFUL PEOPLE LIKE YOURSELF IN 18 INCHES OF SNOW, ON BAD ROADS, DURING TORNADOES, IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT, ON CHRISTMAS EVE AND AGAIN ON CHRISTMAS DAY!!! BE GLAD WE ARE AROUND PUNK...YOU MAY HAVE NOT NEEDED US IN THE PAST...YOU MAY NOT NEED US NOW...BUT TRUST ME...SOONER OR LATER...YOU WILL NEED US!!! THEN WHAT??? OH THATS RIGHT...WE'RE HEROES AGAIN!!!

In Seattle not long ago a squabble broke out between police and firefighters when both were called to the scene of a capsized dinghy in a lake. The firefighters put a diver in the water, a police officer on the scene ordered him out to make way for a police team, and all hell broke loose (yes, the cops were at fault, too). The dispute wasn't over public safety, it was over who got the glory. New York firefighters, admittedly deep in grief over lost co-workers, exacerbated the challenge of body recovery operations after 9/11 by insisting on elaborate removal procedures for each firefighter uncovered, an insult to others who died there. Not long before that, in Boston, a special commission released a scathing report that detailed a 1,600-member fire department up to its bunker gear in racism, sexism, and homophobia. Since then the department has bitterly resisted reform efforts.

WHERE DO YOU GET OFF AIRING SOMEONE ELSE'S DIRTY LAUNDRY??? YES, BAD THINGS HAPPEN IN THE FIRE SERVICE...BUT ITS NOT THE ONLY PLACE STUFF LIKE THIS HAPPENS!!! THATS RIGHT JUNIOR...ITS EVERYWHERE!!! EVEN IN YOUR SCUMBAG INFESTED LINE OF WORK!!! (OR DID YOU NOT GET THAT MEMO ABOUT NEWS PAPERS AND MAGAZINES EXAGGERATING STORIES TO MAKE THEM SELL???)

A firefighter plunging into a burning house to retrieve a frightened, smoke-blinded child is a hero. But let's save the encomiums for when they are truly deserved, not when they just show up to do their job.

HEY PAL! I'LL HAVE YOU KNOW THAT THIS ISN'T MY JOB...I HAPPEN TO BE A VOLUNTEER!!! THATS RIGHT!!! WHEN YOU CALL 911... IF I AM AT WORK I HAVE TO CLOCK OUT, SO IM NOT GETTING PAID THE MONEY I NEED TO SUPPORT MY FAMILY!!! IF ITS DURING DINNER WITH MY FAMILY...I HAVE TO PUT MY FORK DOWN WALK OUT THE DOOR...MY FAMILY NOT KNOWING WHETHER OR NOT I WILL RETURN SAFELY!!! I DON'T GET A THING FOR SHOWING UP!!! I DO IT BECAUSE SOMEONE CALLS AND NEEDS HELP!!! IF I DIDN'T SHOW UP....WHO WOULD??? CERTAINLY NOT YOU THE WAY YOU SPEAK OF US!!!

The next time you wanna go out and bash us or any other public service organization... DO YOUR HOMEWORK!!! Personally I am appauled at what you wrote! I have absolutely no respect for any one like you! I believe you owe the firefighters of America...MYSELF included....one extremely long apology!!!

I call for a boycott of MSN for even PUBLISHING THIS CRAP!!! Hell hath no fury like a brotherhood scorned!

As for this MUTT *******!!! I think a couple quarter sticks in the rectum would suffice quite well!!! :mad: :mad: :mad:

[AFD368]

Nowhere in this "fools" article did I see anything about the Volunteer Firefighters, who MUST have a second career (which is their first priority after family), who respond to almost anything they are called for, taking time FROM their family and friends, taking hours upon hours of training, helping educate everyone's children on fire safety, risking their lives, even responding to incidents, saving property (or cats, or dogs), not bitching that its too hot or too cold outside, be away from home for hours at a time, grieve for fallen Brothers or Sisters, help keep insurance rates down, AND DO IT FOR NOTHING !

If that's the rush he's describing, then.........Yea, I'm having a rush.

If its that cushy of a job, then why hasn't he signed on ?

[lrrlti]

I have one question. What are we going to do about this little {Prick}!! I ask because HE!!, just slammed evry Fire Fighter in the world, All because he doesn't know what the F*** He is talking about.

[July36]

Guess what my fellow peeps....the author of that Article is NOW a member on firehouse.com...LMAOOOOO...I just got done reading one of his posts(the ONLY one)over on the other thread similiar to this one.I figure its either HIM ...or a poser but his title is "Douggant".He said in his post that he had nothing to do with Sports Illustrated or any of its parent companies and that he is an independent journalist.His post can be found on the third page in the other thread like this thread...("Smoke and Mirrors")


Donna C
Fire Chief
Bridge Canyon VFD
http://cms.firehouse.com/dept/SeligmanAZ

[firefiftyfive]

That article just makes me want to puke........BOYCOTT!!!!!

[FlyingKiwi]

Coutesy of Penguin Books (http://www.penguin.ca/Author/AuthorFrame/0,1020,,00.html?id=1000058182)
"QUOTE"
Douglas Gantenbein


Douglas Gantenbein has written for The Atlantic Monthly, The New York Times Magazine, Sports Illustrated, Popular Science, and Backpacker. Author of the Outside magazine column "The Gear Guy," he teaches at the University of Washington and is a member of Seattle Mountain Rescue, the oldest and largest volunteer wilderness rescue organization in the United States.
"END QUOTE"

The Arthur, um Athor, um Writer (Scuse me, I yam a thik FF) of four books, three about business stuff, and one about wild fire, taken from talks with FF's and research.

his bio is at
Bio (http://outside.away.com/gear/gearguy/doug_bio.html)

Take one in the morning with a healthy grain of salt. Caution side effects include diahorea.

[elswappo]

I completly agree with what LRFire said, however I also see one point the author made I like: Just because you put on a badge and do your job dosen't mean you're a hero. A hero is someone who goes above and beyond. The Men and Women that do that are heroes, you're not "an america's hero" for being average. Lets not forget that.

My two cents

[ffspo0k]

Apparently the average of 15-20 runs a day our station takes, upwards of 35-40 on a busy day makes my day "cushy"

Apparently the lack of sleep I get on station, combined with the fact that when I'm at home, I can't sleep well anymore due to being used to having to get up and go 110% on a moments notice isn't something I can forget makes my job easy.

Apparently seeing Joe F***hole blow his brains out in his ex-wifes house doesn't affect me, and it certainly doesn't affect my relationship with my family.

I disagree with the putting the badge on doesn't make you a hero. You made a decision when you started this job to see people at their worse, and even when you can't make things right or even better, you still have to keep your f***ing game face on and reassure the mother who's infant was just shot by a scumbag who decided that a drive-by would be a fun ending to a good evening at the bar. Does that mean we are entitled to anything, no not necessarily, but it does make us heroes in my mind.

General public doesn't seem to understand that while we may have some enjoyment in doing what we are trained for, the emotional and physical toll on us and our families is greater than anyone can know. All of us at one time or another has had to go home just to hug our kids and tuck them into bed, because of the horrors we have seen, we know that every second is precious.

whew.. thanks for that..

[Darcyf5g]

When I read this article I found myself too angry for words. I have been wanting to rant about this all day. I'm glad to see everyone is doing a good job of doing just that on this thread and the other one. The whole article made me mad but what really got me going were his comments regarding the funeral ceremonies, calling them "tastless spectacles" and bashing the way the New York FF's treated their own with honors. I was seeing red last night! I am new to MSN and not familiar enough with it to get in there and respond to this article, but I can see it is being taken care of handily. By people who are more in the know than I. That makes me feel better. This guy needs to get a bashing himself.

Darcy

[E40FDNYL35]

:(