Where is that fresh spring breeze coming from?(This morning President Obama nominated Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court. She lived in a Bronx housing project with her mother and brother.)
Tom Paine
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Si, se puede!
Where is that fresh spring breeze coming from?(This morning President Obama nominated Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court. She lived in a Bronx housing project with her mother and brother.)
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3 comments:
I smell a stench and its not comming from Spanish harlem.Its not a good situation if your a fireman,study hard,and pass a test for promotion only to be told to step back.Reminds me of the 60s when blacks felt the rath.Its hard to believe this boob knows costitutional law.Remember the great Martin Luther King."Judge not by the skin color......"
It was in the late 60's. We were about four blocks away from an alarm of fire and we got there fast. A smoking television had been dragged down to the foot of the stairs and an old black man lie near it. I don't remember the other family members but I remember him. Firemen all, we stood there and did nothing to help him. He appeared unconscious but we really didn't know if he was dead or alive. New on the job I wondered why no one was giving him CPR. Someone said the Battalion car would arrive soon and it had the 'football' -placed over the face a manual squeeze of the football would force air into the victim's lungs. (You didn't need to to mouth to mouth.)So we stood there and waited for the football. What did I do? I was a new guy and I waited too. I looked at him and did not feel right. His black face was turning blue. I did not feel good about this.
If that old black man were white, those firefighters would have been all over him pronto giving him CPR. I'll never forget it. I should have jumped in and given him CPR. I didn't.I went along.
I saw plenty of racism on the job. Heard a lot of racial cracks too. I studied hard for a promotional. Constant study. By the pool on vacation, At the beach. Before going to sleep. Came out pretty good. Would I have been pissed if I were passed over or not promoted because of affirmative action? Yes!
The city (and others)wound up under a Federal Court's jurisdiction with a mandate to hire and promote more minorities. I had gotten my promotion before this but nonetheless I wound up changing my party affiliation from Democrat to Republican.
Oh, I've been back for quite a while now. I'm no longer on the job. I recognize the need to help minorities. I know it can very unfair.
I do believe that some who might have been promoted but were not because of affirmative action should be compensated in some way for that.
Sound a bit hypocritical? Sure does. A hypocrite with a long memory of that old black man.
But I do understand.
On 6/6/09,Jersey City fire captain,John O'keith(white)carried a disabled man,John Petiford(black),on his back two flights down in a raging 2 alarmer.Race was not an issue.During the late 60s and early 70s,i witnessed heroic actions by fireman saving and attempting to save black children not thinking of color or ethnic background.many times they were pelted by onlookers with stones.It should also be noted many heros over the decades are black.We civil rights activests fought for equal rights and justice in the spirt of the great Martin luther King.The New Haven 15 did not get equal justice and MLK,if alive would strongly oppose Sotomayor's decision.affirmative action has nothing to do with her decision.In conclusion,Sotomayor will be confirmed and like you I hope she reconsiders her racist decision.
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