More woke nonsense from Leftist
From the article
In the name of diversity, inclusion, and equity (or something), Connecticut Democrats are working to âlowerâ the physical fitness requirements for female firefighters. Basically pushing any benchmarks out of existence.
These lawmakers believe this will make the force âmore diverse,â even though they are totally dismissing the only thing thatâs important in this field: the ability and skill set to be successful at putting out fires and saving lives.
Much of which, obviously stems from a certain measurable level of physical fitness.
From The Washington Free Beacon:
A law introduced earlier this month in the Connecticut State Assembly would let women skip the Candidate Physical Ability Test, a timed gauntlet used by fire departments across the country. The test, which only 10 to 15 percent of women pass, requires candidates to complete intense physical tasks while wearing a 50 pound vest. Itâs designed to simulate the experience of navigating a fire in heavy gear â and to weed out those unable to do so.
The law, introduced by five Democratic lawmakers, would offer women an alternative test based on ârevised physical standards,â with the goal of ensuring that âadditional female candidatesâ qualify for firefighter positions, text from the bill states.
Think about how dangerous this proposal is. In yet another clear-as-day example, Democrats are only interested in quotas. And will achieve them by all means necessary. Regardless of field.
Americans have seen this kind of thing before, but rarely in spaces that involve life safety. As evident, Connecticut Democrats will push their woke nonsense wherever they see fit â including the realm of firefighters.
Fortunately, many Connecticut firefighters are seeing through the politically correct lingo.
âIf you canât handle a 50 pound vest, youâre not going to be able to rescue a child from a burning building,â said Leah DiNapoli, a retired firefighter in New Haven.
âA citizen in need of rescue doesnât care if a firefighter is white, black, Hispanic, male, or female,â said Frank Ricci, a retired firefighter who served as the president of the New Haven firefighters union.
âThey care that they can do the job. This attempt to socially engineer public safety positions will only serve to endanger the public,â he added.
More from the Beacon:
Unlike in the military, where uniforms and equipment vary by gender, all firefighters wear the same gear, which weighs at least 59 pounds â 9 more than the vest used for the physical assessment. Thatâs not including the weight of ladders, hoses, or other firemen, who must sometimes carry incapacitated colleagues on their shoulders. While a few pieces of protective gear now come tailored for women, most of the essential tools do not.
âThey donât make lighter saws or ladders,â DiNapoli said. âWhen I was there, they didnât even make female-sized boots.â
The law, she added, is âabsolutely insane. Either you can do the job or you canât.â
As Democrats have basically put it, hiring someone in any field based on merit and skills is outdated and ought to be thrown out along with toxic masculinity and the so-called patriarchy.
This story is out-of-touch progressive lunacy at its finest. And is about being outraged for the sake of being outraged. Even with potential real lives on the line.
It's a little late in the game for this argument to be made. This is the slippery slope we started down in the military 50 years ago and the same issues we've faced since this idiocy with diversity hit high gear. Only now these folks speak up? I watched guys get booted out of military programs because they couldn't climb over a 10' wall during the obstacle course while women got to run around them. This crap has been going on since at least the 70's when I witnessed it. Either the standards apply to everyone, and are relevant to the requirements of the job, or quit pretending that the special people are qualified.