"You can put out my fire...Let me hold your hose...Pull out your hose..." -Firefighter testimony in sexual harassment lawsuit against the City of San Diego
Outrage! What is going on in the San Diego gay community lately? Is it the eight years of the George Bush administration? Are the gains toward social legitimacy and legal marriage responsible? Where is the pride? The aforementioned taunts lobbed at four San Diego Firefighters during the Gay and Lesbian Pride are despicable. An utter embarrassment to the generations of brilliant gay comedians who came before these hecklers who dare not speak their name. The flurry of green carnation petals you see flying these days are a direct result of Oscar Wilde spinning madly in his grave.
These lame "hose" jokes were pulled from the bottom of the cliché bin; the sort of fireman jokes you might expect from rural Pennsylvanians taking a time out from guns and bitter religion. If we can no longer count on members of the gay community to come up with side-splitting, society skewering, keen edged barbs at just the right moment... then the world is truly becoming unrecognizable. Next, I suppose there will be a black President.
Firemen who wilt, wince and blubber at Will and Grace or Three's Company caliber gay jokes are one thing - but I for one refuse to stand for a city which cannot properly heckle its beefcakey civil servants. The recent mistrial verdict should not be read as a victory for San Diego's gay community. You know you have problems when Mike Aguirre rushes to your defense. Never mind those Playboys the fellas back at Firehouse No. 5 had sitting around. Never mind the long standing tradition of firemen posing in hunky calendars for charity ( the Carlsbad crew ).
I suspect the tears these firemen purportedly shed after the parade were less of shame than they were of sorrow. Is gay comedy dead? Have firemen become super sensitive? Has this equality thing gone so far that now straight and gay people are equally funny? Or maybe it's time for me to confront a longstanding prejudice.
Randy
from Escondido
October 11, 2008 at 03:01 PM
Hehehehehehehe.... Mr. Mc'C ...don't even get me started! Having married the man doesn't automatically have the witty reparte filter zoom down. I can pull some zingers out of the hat if you'd like. And btw...thanks to all the CV's gang for making our day great. :-)
Matthew C. Scallon
October 14, 2008 at 05:27 PM
Again, Chris and the court, unfortunately, misses the point to the problem. These fireman were ordered to participate in the Gay Pride Parade as part of their professional duties. In caring out those orders, they were subjected to sexual taunts. In law, that constitutes a hostile work environment.
The problem isn't the quality of the jokes; it's that they were subjected to these jokes as part of their duties. By not taking these firemen's complaints seriously, the fire chiefs have shown an disregard for a professional work environment.
