Comments on: RESPECT http://firehousezen.com/2010/04/02/respect/ Brain Food for Mongo. Change management & leadership in today's emergency services. Tue, 07 Feb 2012 18:05:30 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Ann T. Hathaway http://firehousezen.com/2010/04/02/respect/comment-page-1/#comment-1942 Ann T. Hathaway Sat, 03 Apr 2010 20:58:32 +0000 http://firehousezen.com/?p=942#comment-1942 Dear Mick, I can't answer the turf wars, as I am not in your profession. But divide and conquer is an old tactic and it works every time. Good on you for calling for unity. Nor can I knowledgeably reply to fire/ems culture. I do know that malefactors in every profession cannot really hide from those who work with them. Intervention is always a time-eater, but pays off in the long run. Bad behavior in fire professions is highlighted on the news--because--they Are still looked up to, or, people feel that they Should be able to look up to them. This has some benefits, but not w/o cost. I would think that would grow very tiring for the individuals involved. Also, there's not much movement on top of a pedestal. So, to my mind the fall from grace is a vast opportunity to do as you suggest--learn how your culture interacts with other cultures. I think it puts the 'new' back in, when everything seems like it's falling apart. Great post. I re-wrote my comment five times. Hope this gets the encouragement across. Sincerely, Ann T. Dear Mick,
I can’t answer the turf wars, as I am not in your profession. But divide and conquer is an old tactic and it works every time. Good on you for calling for unity.

Nor can I knowledgeably reply to fire/ems culture. I do know that malefactors in every profession cannot really hide from those who work with them. Intervention is always a time-eater, but pays off in the long run.

Bad behavior in fire professions is highlighted on the news–because–they Are still looked up to, or, people feel that they Should be able to look up to them. This has some benefits, but not w/o cost. I would think that would grow very tiring for the individuals involved. Also, there’s not much movement on top of a pedestal.

So, to my mind the fall from grace is a vast opportunity to do as you suggest–learn how your culture interacts with other cultures. I think it puts the ‘new’ back in, when everything seems like it’s falling apart.

Great post. I re-wrote my comment five times. Hope this gets the encouragement across.

Sincerely,
Ann T.

]]> By: Around the Fire Web | Firegeezer http://firehousezen.com/2010/04/02/respect/comment-page-1/#comment-1903 Around the Fire Web | Firegeezer Sat, 03 Apr 2010 02:06:21 +0000 http://firehousezen.com/?p=942#comment-1903 [...] *  Over at Firehouse Zen, Mick has a short essay on Respect.  Basically,  he’s saying if we want the public to respect us, then we have to respect each other first.  Makes sense.  Read it HERE. [...] [...] *  Over at Firehouse Zen, Mick has a short essay on Respect.  Basically,  he’s saying if we want the public to respect us, then we have to respect each other first.  Makes sense.  Read it HERE. [...]

]]> By: ChiefReason http://firehousezen.com/2010/04/02/respect/comment-page-1/#comment-1892 ChiefReason Fri, 02 Apr 2010 21:12:57 +0000 http://firehousezen.com/?p=942#comment-1892 Mick: Excellent points that you make. "Respect" is an issue that has been cussed and discussed for sometime; most likely dating back to Benjamin Franklin, but it is one that continues to cause us problems. Respect starts with us. If we do not show each other respect, our communities will sense it and follow suit. Some of us have worked hard during our tenure to "clean up" our image and project professionalism despite the fact that, for many of us, our involvement has been in the volunteer sector. It shouldn't matter if we get paid to be professional or not. Anyone who wants to put on the gear should do so with nothing but a professional attitude. Just when we think that we have passed the "beer drinking/bar brawling" stage, we see more arrests from our ranks for DUI or for fighting in full view of the public. Throw in the ones who steal or set fires and respect goes down quickly in flames. I have always prided myself in that, though I have spent my entire time for a small, volunteer department, I have been afforded respect from many of my peers. However and just recently, I received a reply in my most recent blog from a "pro" who said that my thinking was that of an "amateur". My 30 years plus didn't measure up to his, so apparently, in his mind, I didn't make the cut. We ARE our own worst enemies when it comes to respect. I fully believe that respect is earned. I have spent my time trying to earn it and work every day to keep it. But, there are still those who populate the fire service who don't feel the same way. In my situation with regards to the reply to my blog, I respectfully replied. But, I also felt sorry for him for the emptiness that he brings to the job. Keep putting it out there. It has an impact. Art Mick:
Excellent points that you make.
“Respect” is an issue that has been cussed and discussed for sometime; most likely dating back to Benjamin Franklin, but it is one that continues to cause us problems.
Respect starts with us. If we do not show each other respect, our communities will sense it and follow suit.
Some of us have worked hard during our tenure to “clean up” our image and project professionalism despite the fact that, for many of us, our involvement has been in the volunteer sector. It shouldn’t matter if we get paid to be professional or not. Anyone who wants to put on the gear should do so with nothing but a professional attitude.
Just when we think that we have passed the “beer drinking/bar brawling” stage, we see more arrests from our ranks for DUI or for fighting in full view of the public. Throw in the ones who steal or set fires and respect goes down quickly in flames.
I have always prided myself in that, though I have spent my entire time for a small, volunteer department, I have been afforded respect from many of my peers.
However and just recently, I received a reply in my most recent blog from a “pro” who said that my thinking was that of an “amateur”. My 30 years plus didn’t measure up to his, so apparently, in his mind, I didn’t make the cut.
We ARE our own worst enemies when it comes to respect.
I fully believe that respect is earned. I have spent my time trying to earn it and work every day to keep it.
But, there are still those who populate the fire service who don’t feel the same way. In my situation with regards to the reply to my blog, I respectfully replied. But, I also felt sorry for him for the emptiness that he brings to the job.
Keep putting it out there. It has an impact.
Art

]]> By: Joseph Schmoe http://firehousezen.com/2010/04/02/respect/comment-page-1/#comment-1873 Joseph Schmoe Fri, 02 Apr 2010 14:51:08 +0000 http://firehousezen.com/?p=942#comment-1873 Regarding the public's respect (or lack thereof) for our profession, you bring up some extremely valid points. Our cultural acceptance of poor behavior is beginning to bite us in the rear. Some within our organization have used the outpouring of public support from the Sept. 11 disasters as tacit approval for poor behavior. The "Americas Heroes" title was a pass for anything goes behavior out in public. America's tolerance with that mentality faded along with the memories of the disaster. Economic factors compounded the issue. It's hard to support poorly behaving firefighters when you are unemployed or you have had to take a huge pay cut to keep your job. The media has jumped on the "anti-public employee" bandwagon as well. Both print and electronic media run stories about high pension costs, inflated salaries and scandalous firefighter behavior. These stories appear on almost a daily basis. The economic components of the issue are cyclical. The behavioral components are more complicated. We need to do a better job of training our young in the art of public relations, continuous marketing and manners. A few lessons in discretion wouldn't hurt either. Thanks for the post. Regarding the public’s respect (or lack thereof) for our profession, you bring up some extremely valid points. Our cultural acceptance of poor behavior is beginning to bite us in the rear.

Some within our organization have used the outpouring of public support from the Sept. 11 disasters as tacit approval for poor behavior. The “Americas Heroes” title was a pass for anything goes behavior out in public.

America’s tolerance with that mentality faded along with the memories of the disaster. Economic factors compounded the issue. It’s hard to support poorly behaving firefighters when you are unemployed or you have had to take a huge pay cut to keep your job.

The media has jumped on the “anti-public employee” bandwagon as well. Both print and electronic media run stories about high pension costs, inflated salaries and scandalous firefighter behavior. These stories appear on almost a daily basis.

The economic components of the issue are cyclical. The behavioral components are more complicated. We need to do a better job of training our young in the art of public relations, continuous marketing and manners. A few lessons in discretion wouldn’t hurt either.

Thanks for the post.

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