"I volunteer to fight what you fear"

[soda]

I saw this sticker on the back of a truck today and it kinda ticked me off. I am thankful for all the work that our police, fire fighters, EMS etc... do for us but is it really necessary for them to think they're better than us? Am I not seeing this the right way? What is this guy's thought process that makes him think that this sticker is accurate? Just because I'm not volunteering to fight fires doesn't mean I'm a coward.

Thoughts?

[Cloud]

I think you've improved a great deal.

[ZombieBunny]

I agree.

There are many other ways someone can volunteer and help out than just fire fighting and such. Believe me, I am thankful too but it is kinda mean to be pointing out that "we are cowards" because we dont do the same.

I dont think I am a coward for that.

[wELCOME cONSUMER]

Was it supposed to be a sticker about fire fighting or police work? Police men, EMS workers, etc are not typically volunteers tho. Frankenstein's monster was afraid of fire but I wouldn't consider him a coward.

If I saw that sticker, I'd think Ghostbuster.

[Cloud]

Try it.

[wELCOME cONSUMER]

Try it.

I might, but I'm afraid of ghosts. Hence the desperate need for some volunteer 'busters.

[transmet]

Just in case you wanted to get one soda, so you can subtly jack with the wording before sticking it over someone else's.

Also, apparently others feel the same way (read about half way down).

[Baakay]

Um... wow.

Yep, volunteer firefighters are deserving of a lot of praise and credit. Maybe it would be a little more *appropriate* to say "proud to be a volunteer firefighter" or even better, just "volunteer firefighter."

Sorry, bud, but you don't fight what *I* fear.

[soda]

I was leaving the house today on my bike and the guy up the street that works for the fire department was ahead of me. I know he works for the FD because he was driving the white car with 'Fire Department' on the side. (I amaze myself with my powers of observation sometimes) I mentioned that I was on the bike only because it allowed me to pull up next to the guy at the stoplight and have a short discussion. I told him about the sticker and his first reaction was 'that's cool' then I said 'I think it's stupid. I'm not a coward. Do you guys fight spiders?'* He had a confused look on his face. Then I said 'next time you guys are asking me for money, I'm not giving you any.' He said he understood and then the light turned green and he drove away. As he was driving away, I yelled at him 'go fight those spiders for me!'.

I'm expecting a very slow response time if my house is ever on fire.


*idea from Transmet's link---loved it thanks!

[wELCOME cONSUMER]

Ah, so the sticker makes it apparent that it's about fire fighters. Having never see the sticker before, I wasn't sure.

While I agree there's no reason to be uppity about your profession, certainly they shouldn't do it for the glory or praise, was there really a need to take issue with someone who didn't have the sticker? What was the point of your conversation with the fire fighter who did not display such a sticker? I don't really get that.

Even after 911, locally, counties voted down additional funding for fire fighters. I think there's a lot of superficial appreciation for their profession but we often don't bother following through with concrete support. I can honestly understand having some pride in your occupation, especially when people still don't bother to say "thanks" for the service you provide. However, I think the sticker was a poorly executed attempt at self-congratulations or even catchy social satire. I'm also unsure who actually created the sticker in the first place, it may not have been a fire fighter. I can only speculate on its origin but it seems to only succeed in elevating the tension between civilians and fire fighters.

With stories about fire fighters being sex offenders, predators, and pedophiles, they're people too, capable of committing crimes and unspeakable acts. They're not gods and that sticker sounds like the result of a god complex. By no means am I grouping fire fighters together or attempting to slander (libel) them, but like any group of humans, there's some good ones and some bad ones. It's better to judge someone's character with their consistent actions. I'm sure plenty of fire fighters would disagree with the implication of that sticker's message and refuse to display it.

[soda]

Good discussion. I talked to the fire fighter this morning for four reasons:

--I wanted to see if this was a pervasive attitude amongst fire fighters. I realize that 2 isn't even close to a representative sample but it's better than 1.

--His car indicated to me that he is in a position of some importance. I wanted to express my opinions to a person of some authority.

--Even if he didn't have the sticker, I'm sure when he got to the FD, my conversation was discussed with other fire fighters who may or may not have that attitude. It was a way of starting a discussion between the fire fighters themselves and perhaps my attitude towards the sticker was an eye opener for some that might not have seen it's unintended negative effect.

--I like causing a ruckuss.

[Not Sir Phobos]

--I like causing a ruckuss.

Quoted for truth

[blueheaven]

Personally, I am not afriad to put out a fire. But due to my limited resources, I don't have a giant water truck and hose at my disposal 24 hours a day. It's the job you chose, deal with it. Just because he doesn't stand up in front of 160 kids a day, you don't see me with a sticker that says "You are afraid to teach my kids."

[cutiebunny]

Honestly, I'm not surprised by the sticker. We have cars with many offensive stickers in California. Believe me, I'd like nothing better to drive up to any car that has Calvin(from Calvin and Hobbes) peeing on "La Migra"(Immigration), flash them my badge and ask them to show me their green card.

Perhaps I should have Calvin peeing on "Ilegales" on my car.

But, yes, you would be correct in your assumption that law enforcement officers have an attitude. We do and it's difficult to find someone who doesn't have this attitude, however, I disagree that it's done with the view that a law enforcement officer is superior to everyone else. Most law enforcement officers view it as their duty to enforce the laws even off the job, which explains why, in the news, you generally hear about an off-duty officer intervening to save someone. And with most law enforcement institutions drumming it into the minds of recruits that they must be an officer 24/7, even off work, this attitude is likely to be around for quite a while.

I don't think that the blame should be shouldered onto that of the firefighters so easily. We should blame society first for creating and allowing people to display very offending stickers. There's no reason I should be bombarded with stickers showing Calvin peeing on Immigration when I help to safeguard this country against terrorism and illegal aliens. However, as long as we live in a country not only with the freedom of speech but in a society that praises people for insulting others, the demand for these stickers is only going to grow.

[RoboFlonne]

New bumper sticker for teachers!


"I fight kids with Video recording devices in my classroom"



And I love my new bumper sticker!

"We love to protect the ones we love!"