Uh-Oh...How Do I Explain This One Away...

This one is a little more difficult to explain...slashing tires, bodily fluids in the food, promotions for sex, messing with somebody's SCBA? By the way, how does Jolanda Jones ("Jo-Jo") always find a way to 'Sheila-Jackson-Lee' her way into every camera shot pertaining to black or female issues? Is anyone else getting tired of this racist political opportunist?



It may be difficult to explain, but here it goes...
I don't condone people physically harming someone else or their property against their will, in fact, I'm vehemently opposed to it, and I believe in criminally prosecuting offenders to the fullest extent. However, first you have to prove it happened, and you have to prove a fireman did it. So, if you find yourself wondering if a fireman put urine (or other bodily fluids) in your food, or they slashed your tires, then you call the police for vandalism or assault, and you let the police investigate the complaint and prosecute any offenders.

This is also true for graffiti on personal belongings or graffiti on FD property. Graffiti on someone else's property is wrong, no matter what the reason is, and the perpetrator should be criminally prosecuted.

What's a Captain going to do when a female firefighter comes and complains that somebody at the station vandalized her car or put bodily fluids in her food? If I were a Captain, I would tell her that I would make a note of it, and now let's call the police to have them investigate. If it turns out that the police find out a fireman did those things, then that fireman should be criminally prosecuted and fired. To me, it isn't an issue of whether or not the crime was sexist or racist; it's an issue of whether or not it can be proven that some other fireman did it, for whatever reason. Who cares WHY someone committed a criminal act? The issue is whether or not the act WAS committed and WHO committed the act; and the way to find out is through a police investigation, not through a complaint with a station captain.

Good Ol' Boy Network
Rose Arenas claims they didn't help her because the FD is a "good ol' boy network." The FD officers didn't refuse to help her because it's "a good ol' boy network;" they didn't help her because, until she proves that someone actually did what she's saying they did, through a criminal investigation, then what the hell is a fire station captain supposed to do? There is nothing a station captain can do to help you, without indisputable evidence that your allegations are true.

Now, several years after the fact, how is anyone going to prove that these offenses actually occurred, and how is anyone going to prove that a fireman committed these offenses? Then, as if it matters, how is anyone going to prove that the motivation behind these offenses was sexist or racist?

Mentioning these offenses now, several years after the fact, only does exactly what you intended it do...it makes the general public believe there's a rampant problem with sexism in the FD, even though there's no way to prove these things actually occurred or that a fireman committed these acts.

I recently heard (from a primary source) that Rose Arenas keyed a fireman's red jeep, because she was mad that he pushed her into a burning warehouse, when she didn't want to go in with her crew. Again, this may or may not be true, but if it is true, it makes her quite the hypocrite, and it explains why some firemen may not have liked her, which had nothing to do with her gender. It had to do with her being a lazy piece of crap and being a bad firefighter.

Why Do Firemen Harass Eachother?
I don't believe anyone is harassed in the fire department, just because they are a female, or just because they are black. I believe EVERYONE is harassed in the FD for whatever reason a fireman can come up with, because firemen love to harass eachother. It's just that when you're black, or you're a woman, you can cry "racism" or "sexism," and you're protected from being harassed. People harass me because I look like a clown, but looking like a clown is not a legally protected physical characteristic, so I can't just cry "clownism" and make everyone stop (I wish I could use the clownism card).

Firemen harass other firemen because it's fun, it's a tool to establish social hierarchy, and it's a way for people to figure out if they can trust eachother. When firemen prove that they're committed to doing their job & pulling their own weight, in spite of any harassment; they prove that they can take a joke & and they prove they can associate with other firemen without being personally offended all the time; then other firemen are more than willing to accept them into their gaggle with trust and respect, regardless of their race or gender. Nobody cares what race or gender you are, just as long as you do your job, pull your weight, and get along with other people.

What I'm saying is, assuming firemen did put bodily fluids in her food, they slashed her tires, or they tampered with her SCBA; they didn't do it because she was a female. They did it for any one of a number of other reasons. Maybe she was a bitch, maybe she didn't pull her weight, maybe she didn't know how to do her job, or maybe she went around threatening to file sexism lawsuits on everyone for common, everyday teasing incidents. Whatever the reason was, I can almost guarantee the reason was not because she is a woman. I'm not saying I condone firemen's criminal acts; I'm just saying the reason they did it was not because of her sex.

Sex For Promotions
Most importantly, in one news report, Rose Arenas claims that someone offered her a promotion in exchange for sex. Most promotions in the FD are based on your score on a test, and there's no way someone can promote you if you perform sexual favors for them. However, there are some logistical/administrative positions, within the FD, where someone could be promoted for whatever reason the supervisor has to promote that person (sex?). But, who would want to have sex with that chick anyway?

Assuming someone in the FD DID offer her a promotion in exchange for sex, WHAT'S THE PROBLEM!? I'm getting really tired of hearing this complaint. If you're offered a promotion in exchange for sex, and you don't like the terms of the offer, then say "NO." If you say "no," then you're in the exact same position I'm in as a male; you have to work for the promotion and prove you deserve it because of your job performance.

I wish someone would offer ME a promotion in exchange for sex. I'm going to file a sexual discrimination lawsuit because someone HAS NOT offered me a promotion in exchange for sex, while someone else WAS offered that shortcut.

A supervisor may have a lot of different reasons for promoting someone. For example, a supervisor may be impressed with somebody's work performance, her attitude, her ability to get along with people; or a supervisor may just enjoy being around one person more than he enjoys being around someone else (maybe he prefers the way one person looks or acts). Whatever the reason may be, a supervisor is going to promote a person who best serves his needs. If you want to be promoted, then find out what the supervisor needs, and fulfill those needs.

It's in a supervisor's best interest to promote the best person for the job. If you want the promotion, then be the best person, and you'll be more likely to get the promotion. If you don't want to take a job, in exchange for sex, then say "no," and then become the best person for the job. Regardless of whether or not you'll have sex with your supervisor, you'll be more likely to get the job if you're the best person for the job.

More often than not, in today's world, women are actually more likely to use their sex appeal as an asset to climb the corporate ladder, rather than complain that men perceive them as sex objects. So, stop complaining about sexist treatment, and join the women who have learned how to use men's sexual weakness to their professional advantage. If you don't want to use your sex appeal as an asset, then be the best person for the job. I wish I could 'short-skirt' my way to the top of an organization.

Now What Am I to Believe?...Some Women in HFD Actually Think the FD Treats Women Equally Imagine that, women who do their jobs and get along with other people somehow don't feel like the FD is sexist.