Friday, December 01, 2006

Race wars!

First Michael Richards and now this? Is no black man safe?

The city's fire chief announced his retirement Friday amid a racially charged furor involving a black firefighter who was served spaghetti mixed with dog food.

You know, aside from the fact that I find that prank absolutely hilarious, I find myself asking what is racially charged about this particular prank?

The firefighter who was fed the spaghetti claimed that it was racial discrimination and that he was harassed after reporting it. But other firefighters insisted it was an ordinary firehouse prank with no racist intent. A department investigation suggested the prank was prompted by the way firefighter Tennie Pierce called himself the "Big Dog" during a volleyball game.

I'm still waiting for an instance of a racial slur, maybe a burning cross or something. So far none of this seems outside the realm of a bunch of guys bullshitting around and one guy taking things too seriously. Maybe it did go too far. After all, maybe this Pierce guy (Mr Victim) had been minding his own business and was unfairly targetted.

The council approved the settlement on advice of the city attorney before photos surfaced showing that Pierce himself engaged in crude firehouse hazing, smearing mustard and dumping water on colleagues.

Oh. So evidently Pierce is filled with blinding racial hatred that must be vindicated by the smearing of mustard and the dumping of copious amounts of water. We may have a race war brewing in our fire departments, ladies and gentlemen. I don't mean to alarm you, but it appears the racial wound created by Michael Richards is deep indeed, and is now festering even amongst our dearest institutions.

God help us all.

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