The Social Network & Community JUST for Firefighters
Should we change the way we are to have proper social standings for the city in which we work?
I dont quite know how I want to say this. Should a person change the type of people that they hang out with just to succeed in the fire service?
Example:
When a friend of mine was hired onto a Unnamed Fire Department he moved away from everyone he had ever known just to chase his dream. He took pride in the one thing he enjoyed he rode his bike every day. He met other people that he says are really good people (honest, hard working, and very family oriented) they also rode. Well apparently these people arnt in the upper class of the society in this town.
His chief called him into his office the other day and told him that he had complaints that one of his new firemen was hanging out with a bunch of tattooed up drugie bikers. He said that they dont do any of that infact they are the kind of people that would take some one in and shelter them if they wanted off of drugs.
He is caught between chasing his dream or standing up for good people regardless of the social economic standings. We were raised that you dont look down to any one and you better have a darn good reason talk bad about anyone. We were the kinda guys that would walk up to a party in high school and that geek that was getting picked on we would stand up for him and befriend them. Life is to short to be judging people because they ride a bike or have long hair.
My question in this disscussion is mainly what do you think he should do?
Should he go against every thing he has ever known to succeed in a career or should he conform to the way the higher class wants him to be?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Aubrey Hill on
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Do what you know is right, period.
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Permalink Reply by John Crabbe on
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Change the way you are??
Hey as long as you are not breaking the law or representing the FD in bad light, like demanding a discount, flashing the badge, etc, then it doesn't matter what one does in their off time or who they spend time with.
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Permalink Reply by Fireyladd - Retired Chief Sharp on
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The fact remains that if you are proffesional in your work and your work is not effected by your private life then you should not be judged by your acquaintences. However, your Chief is the final judge there. You must satisfy his concerns or go elswhere. I ride a Harley with Wind N Fire MC that associates with other MC clubs when we go on rides and rallys. I at one time had a discussion with my Police Chief about some concerns expressed by our under cover drug cop about who I was seen around at a bike rally. I asked him "is this a problem?" an he said absolutly not. Your right, your personal life and time is your business. However, what we do and who we do it with on our personal time may influance perception of who we are good or bad. WE must determine how important it is to OUR well being as to whether what others say about us is important to us. I think not. The only people who mean anything to me as to what they may say about me are those I love and love me. The total of your life is what everyone will persieve of who you are.
Again, your Chiefs concerns must be dealt with.
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Permalink Reply by Derek R. on
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As far as I see it, as long as a person is not breaking the law, nobody has the right to say who they may befriend. If he's new to the dept., maybe they just want to see how much he wants to be there...what he would give up to be a part of that dept. I doubt that's what's going on, but it's possible isn't it?
I guess it will all come down to what HE believes and what HE thinks is necessary.
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Permalink Reply by Loyd Dittfurth on
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Oh and one more thing the chief and the city manager both ride.
and no he dosent wear ff t shirts he thinks there tacky
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Permalink Reply by Ron Ayotte on
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We can't all belong to the tony country clubs, drive around in Bentley's or send "Muffy" and "Biff" off to Buckingham, Brown and Nichols...
I have friends that work in the FD's of some very affluent communities... the only difference between the "Upper Class" and the rest of the masses is they can afford better laywers and PR firms to keep their names out of the local rag and media outlets. They are just as fracked up as the rest of the society they look down upon.
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Thanks all of you for commenting. There are some others I would like there opinion. So I am going to give this a bump.
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Permalink Reply by John Rulli Jr. on
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As long as he isnt breaking the law he isnt doing anything wrong! This is a FREE country!!!!
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Permalink Reply by lutan1 on
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There was an interesting, landmark legal case that was recently announced here in Oz a few weeks ago.
An employee of a beer manufacturing company was sacked from his job because he lost his license through a drink driving charge.
The employer said that through his misconduct OFF the job, he potentially harmed the companies reputation and their "responsible consumption of alcohol" message they were trying to portray to the public.
The courts saw in the employers favour- the employee lost his job.
the popint I'm making, is that provided it doesn't bring harm to the FD's reputation, public messages, etc, then in my eyes, it's a non issue. Only he can make an informed decision about his friends conduct, and them go from there....
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Permalink Reply by Oldman on
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Unfortunately, we live in a society which does judge people on their looks, who they associate with, skin color, religion, and on and on and on.
I too, did my share of looking down my nose, but I had a patient years ago which really changed my perception. I had transported this man 20 times or more from underneath an overpass for mainly minor problems. It was really a pain in the butt, that this derelict would abuse the system they way he did. That he was ragged and dirty, and even though he sounded fairly intelligent, wouldn't go out and get a job.
The man eventually died under that overpass, and while waiting for the ME, the LEO's were searching through his meager belongings, coming across a small box. Inside that box were commendations, and medals including 3 Purple Hearts, a Distinguished Service Cross, and a Silver and Bronze Star for actions against the enemy in Korea. This homeless scraggly nobody was in fact someone that evidentially many, many men owed their lives to. I wish I could had taken more time to look past the exterior of this man and see what was hidden beneath.
The real question should be;
Is any job worth compromising values, and beliefs just because they don't conform to someone else's opinion of what a particular social standing appears to be? One cannot judge a book by it's cover.
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Permalink Reply by Art "ChiefReason" Goodrich on
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If your friend is willing to change his friends, personality or lifestyles simply because someone else doesn't like it, then I would have to question his character as someone that you could not trust.
If you are true to yourself, then that's all that should matter.
Chief needs to GTFU.
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