Firefighter eats dog food, gets $2.7 million

From this:
A black firefighter who was served dog food in his spaghetti by fellow firefighters will be paid more than $2.7 million to settle a lawsuit alleging racial harassment within the Los Angeles Fire Department.

The award, approved on an 11-1 vote Wednesday by the Los Angeles City Council, is the latest in a recent string of settlements of lawsuits by firefighters claiming discrimination and harassment and retaliation against those who complain.

...Firefighter Tennie Pierce, 51, alleged in his lawsuit that Firefighter Jorge Arevalo mixed canned dog food into Pierce's dinner at their Westchester station two years ago; that Capt. John Tohill purchased the dog food; and that Capt. Chris Burton knew about the prank but didn't warn Pierce. All three men were present when Pierce ate the dog food.

Pierce "took a large bite, at which time he noticed the other firefighters were laughing and making noises," the lawsuit says. He took a second bite, then demanded to know what was in his food, "but no one would tell him." Pierce then left the kitchen "with his co-workers laughing at him."

A Fire Department investigation suggested the incident was intended to "humble" Pierce โ€” who stands 6 feet 5 โ€” after his team won a fire station volleyball game. A lawyer for one of the defendants initially called the incident "a good-natured prank ... [not] in any way motivated by race."

But a UC Santa Cruz professor who was hired by Pierce's attorney to review department records of discrimination complaints said the prank was clearly intended to "humiliate and dehumanize" Pierce.

"The association of a black man and dog food resonates with the deep historical roots of slavery and the corresponding dehumanization," said sociologist David Wellman [bio], co-author of "Whitewashing Race: Colorblind Policies in a Color Conscious America."
One would think if there were any specific association between African-Americans and dog food you'd be able to find it within the first 100 searches. The "expert witness'" stated speciality is finding "hidden" (white) racism, which is reminiscent of witch hunters using various clues to find witches.

The only Councilpersonage voting against the award was Dennis Zine. John and Ken of KFI will be leading a campaign to send cans of dog food to the other 11 Councilbeings who voted for the award.

Comments

thought you enlightened bloggers might enjoy this copy of a reply i sent to one of your pals:

Jennifer,

Just read your Tennie Pierce posting. Such insight for someone only twenty!

Now for some

Hey, for $2.7 million, I'll eat all the dog food you want.

What's ironic in this settlement is the city has been attempting to smear the Fire dept so as to justify hiring more minorities & women (especially Latinos), the LA Times has even been running stories about the fire dept portrayed as a bunch of "good ol boys" who are all racists & Sexist what's funny was the cook was a Latino and most of those complaining are taking "disability" retirement.

It seems like the only folks showing up & working are good ol boys.

What's ironic in this settlement is the city has been attempting to smear the Fire dept & hire more minorities & women (especially Latinos), the LA Times has even been running stories about the fire dept portrayed as a bunch of "good ol boys" who are all racists & Sexist what's funny was the cook was a Latino and most of those complaining are taking "disability" retirements.

It seems like the only folks showing up & working are good ol boys.

The "expert witness'" stated speciality is finding "hidden" (white) racism,...

You mean in addition to dabbling in "critical race theory" and "interrogattions (sic) of whiteness" (does he look like a guy who has a sense of humor)? Seems like the kind of academic that keeps the self-anointed watchdogs at FPM busy. Bet he pounds down a good salary for putting out all that bullshit, though.

Regarding the plaintiff, one bright spot: his lawyer will probably get a big chunk, and then the taxes...He'll still have to work for a living. Or maybe not:

In addition to the payout, the settlement provides for Pierce to remain on fully-paid administrative leave until April, when he reaches his 20-year service anniversary. Then he can retire with an annual pension amounting to half of his salary for life.

Such generosity to unskilled, mostly do-nothing workers like firefighters is necessary so the city can recruit and retain the 'best and brightest', don't you know.