Awful But LawfulDisciplinary ActionDiscriminationYou Can't Make This Stuff Up
Detroit Terminates Firefighter Who Brought Watermelon to Station
At first I thought this had to be a fake story, but it appears to be true. A probationary firefighter in Detroit was let go because he brought a watermelon with a pink ribbon on it to his new firehouse as a welcome gift.
The gesture offended those at the firehouse, and Robert Pattison was fired last week. The incident involved Engine 55. According to a statement released by Fire Commissioner Eric Jones, Pattison “engaged in unsatisfactory work behavior which was deemed offensive and racially insensitive to members of the Detroit Fire Department.”
Either there is more to the story, or there is more to the story. On its face this seems unbelievable……
Would a black probationary firefighter be terminated for brining a box of crackers to a firehouse where the personnel were predominantly white?
No, but he would have been if he brought a delightful cheese fondue.
Will he sue? I hope so.
thanks for sharing
I guess my local Kroger store is really racist. They have watermelons and fried chicken, and I must be a cultural appropriator since I’m white and often enjoy both.
Given that he was probationary and probably not afforded union protection, he probably has no recourse.
On just the face of it, this appears to be PC gone awry. From my POV here’s a new guy that probably knows no one at that house. He brought in a healthy food choice that almost everyone likes (vs boxes of doughnuts) and enough for probably everyone.
Unless this guy rolled in with a confederate flag flying from his p/u truck, had a swastika tattoo, was wearing a white hood, or there was something that showed a clear intent to offend a group of people, I think this was quite a leap. I mean he would have been working with these people and placing his life in their hands. Who would do that; it just defies logic.
Questionable? Maybe. Unless there are more facts that haven’t been released this was a huge over reaction on the part of management.
WTF! STOP THIS INSANITY! PLEASE! I am so tired of all the whiners out there. Time to put on the big boy boxers and the big girl panties and stop being so frigin’ sensitive. Do you realize there are little children dying of cancer out there – and you’re being sensitive about a watermelon! I think you can handle a nice gesture – be it watermelon, fried chicken, etc. OMG – what kind of world am I leaving to my grandchildren. This shit has got to stop. If you have this kind of time on your hands put it to good use. Go volunteer your time – take an elderly neighbor to a doctor’s appt or to the grocery store – or just take them out for coffee. Volunteer at a hospital, spend a few hours visiting our veterans, spend a few hours boxing up groceries at your local food bank or go down to your local animal shelter and take a few dogs for a nice walk. We need to get back to some good old fashioned values.
I find it interesting that his academy classmates (who are black), are all standing behind him. Seems like some snowflake had a meltdown.
Please find out more about this story before everyone goes jumping off the deep end–like I’m about to do. I can’t imagine someone would be so sensitive that they’d ruin a young person career. If, and that’s iffy if, the young person brought a watermelon to the station and someone felt it was rooted in some racial stereotype, why wouldn’t they take the opportunity to educate this young person about any undertones? And (they say never start a sentence with a conjunction), if this was the probationary firefighters intent (to offend a group of people), you’ve got one hell of a brave firefighter there. But (I did it again), I can’t imagine this is the case. This young person should sue for his job and any lost wages. Seriously, does anyone in this department think to fire this person is going to improve race relations in the department?