A parade with gravitas
There's a parade in my small town on the last day of the county fair. It used to be called the fireman's parade but nowadays I think it's been renamed to the First Responder's Parade. All the surrounding towns send their fire trucks and ambulances to the county seat and they parade down Main Street and up the hill to the County Fairgrounds, where they commence to do feats of daring-do and strength. I call them "fireman's games": a timed climb up a ladder hauling a hose, run races in turnout gear, haul body-sized loads down ladders. It's all good fun.
Except today is 9/11 and the truth behind these contests is all-too-close to the surface today.
On top of that, we had our own tragedy last March when two little girls were trapped in a burning building and ...
... the firefighters did NOT run into the burning building to save them.
The little girls, aged 6 and 8, died. The father, who did try running up the stairs, was hospitalized for months with smoke inhalation injuries and non-life-threatening burns (he didn't have turnout gear on.)
Word is that the Orange firefighters are very traumatized by the death of the children. I think they're traumatized by their regret about not going up that flight of stairs to get the children. It was dangerous, and they could have been hurt and no one thinks they are REQUIRED to do this. That's not how OSHA workplace safety rules work, and this is just their job. But they thought of themselves as heroes before this - as did everyone lauding the NYC FD today - and they turned out to be just normal people.
Are you heroes just for wearing the hat, knowing that you could maybe find yourself in an unexpectedly more dangerous situation than usual? Or are you only doing a job like any other job and occasionally one of you will be called upon to run into a burning building to save some kids and you'll do it - not because it's your job, but because you're willing to sacrifice your own safety to save others - and THOSE people are the heroes?
I think most people aren't heroes. I think doing a job that might turn dangerous doesn't make you a hero - how many farmers are called heroes? How many oil-rig workers are called heroes? I think what makes you a hero is when you disobey OSHA laws and run up a flight of stairs to try to get two kids out of a room whose curtains have caught fire.
I didn't go to the fireman's parade today, I'm on the island. I am still bitter about the girls dying in Orange - the injured father is a long-time client of mine. I don't want to rain on their parade, when everyone is lauding them for being heroes on 9/11. We need to believe in heroes, I think. I am okay with people *NOT* being heroes when called upon - I don't have any urge to run into a burning building myself - but at the same time I'd like to encourage people who wish to believe themselves up for the job.
Except today is 9/11 and the truth behind these contests is all-too-close to the surface today.
On top of that, we had our own tragedy last March when two little girls were trapped in a burning building and ...
... the firefighters did NOT run into the burning building to save them.
The little girls, aged 6 and 8, died. The father, who did try running up the stairs, was hospitalized for months with smoke inhalation injuries and non-life-threatening burns (he didn't have turnout gear on.)
Word is that the Orange firefighters are very traumatized by the death of the children. I think they're traumatized by their regret about not going up that flight of stairs to get the children. It was dangerous, and they could have been hurt and no one thinks they are REQUIRED to do this. That's not how OSHA workplace safety rules work, and this is just their job. But they thought of themselves as heroes before this - as did everyone lauding the NYC FD today - and they turned out to be just normal people.
Are you heroes just for wearing the hat, knowing that you could maybe find yourself in an unexpectedly more dangerous situation than usual? Or are you only doing a job like any other job and occasionally one of you will be called upon to run into a burning building to save some kids and you'll do it - not because it's your job, but because you're willing to sacrifice your own safety to save others - and THOSE people are the heroes?
I think most people aren't heroes. I think doing a job that might turn dangerous doesn't make you a hero - how many farmers are called heroes? How many oil-rig workers are called heroes? I think what makes you a hero is when you disobey OSHA laws and run up a flight of stairs to try to get two kids out of a room whose curtains have caught fire.
I didn't go to the fireman's parade today, I'm on the island. I am still bitter about the girls dying in Orange - the injured father is a long-time client of mine. I don't want to rain on their parade, when everyone is lauding them for being heroes on 9/11. We need to believe in heroes, I think. I am okay with people *NOT* being heroes when called upon - I don't have any urge to run into a burning building myself - but at the same time I'd like to encourage people who wish to believe themselves up for the job.