NYFD, Radical Feminism & The Left's War On Standards

Some jobs have a physical component that requires certain standards of strength, stamina and resilience, period. Combat arms jobs are one, policing/security is another, and a third is firefighting. Yet the left, in a bow to radical feminists, wants to lower standards - or completely ignore them in some cases - to allow women into the same jobs. It is social engineering, applied radical feminism, a triumph of fantasy over reality, all in the name of toxic political correctness. It has gotten people killed in the past, and it will continue to get people killed in the future.

The latest example of this leftist insanity comes from New York, where, in an effort to allow more women into the fire department, New York's far left Mayor de Blasio has gutted the physical standards that are, in fact, directly related to the tasks firefighters are expected to perform on the job. This from Hot Air:

This promises to turn into a sticky wicket for the New York City Fire Department. One of their upcoming graduates is going to be accepted into the ranks and go to work as a firefighter despite having failed a grueling physical test multiple times. This comes as a result of recent changes to the city’s criteria for how graduates are scored. . . .

Under the new and improved criteria, a recruit can be considered to have passed if they do exceptionally good on the academic testing. The fact that firefighting is penultimately a physical activity and that this woman, Rebecca Wax, hasn't come close to meeting the minimum physical performance standards required of all firefighters is simply ignored in the push for hiring more women. It will of course matter tremendously when a fire starts and the firefighters need to act in concert to save lives and put out fires without getting themselves injured.

Let's be absolutely clear. This lowering of standards is not in service of the public or society; they / we are endangered by it. Moreover, it does a disservice to the women involved who will be expected to perform beyond their capabilities in an emergency situation. Likewise it does a disservice to the co-workers of such women who will be put in danger as they have to try and pick up her slack even as they perform their own duties. The only people who this benefits are those on the left who will now feel morally superior for advancing diversity and, equally, politicians like de Blasio who will be able to make a campaign ad out of this. I'm sure the ad won't mention the names of people who are injured or die because of this enlightened policy, but that is just my own prognostication.

Tweet