I have been following the saga involving Firefighter James Krapf of the Chester, PA Fire Department in what has been alternately described as an attack on his patriotism, the symbol of our country-the American Flag and “rules are rules” that must be followed.
Here is a re-cap of how we have gotten to the top of a slippery slope:
1) An African-American firefighter had a cartoon on his locker that others felt was in poor taste. He then wrote a comment on the cartoon.
2) Fire Commissioner James Johnson issued a directive that stated that everything was to be removed from the outside of lockers.
3) 11 firefighters were warned that they were in violation of department policy.
4) Krapf removes everything from the outside of his locker, but tells his chief that he won’t remove the American Flag sticker. The chief tells him to go home.
5) Krapf is suspended until he removes the flag.
6) The “flag flap” is now all over the national TV news, printed news, websites and discussion boards.
7) Another firefighter, Robert Butler joined the protest by wearing a hat with an up-side down flag sewn on it.
8) The union has a rally of support for Krapf planned for Monday, October 19th.
So; what is really at issue?
In my opinion, it’s about poor policy, flag-waving, a lack of common sense, a lack of reasonable thinking and under-pinned to racial disharmony.
I say that because it was an African-American firefighter who displayed the “offensive” cartoon, depicting two, African-American men and a racial slur. Fire Commissioner James Johnson is African-American and Firefighter James Krapf is Caucasian. So, in my opinion, there is a racial component.
To add to an already, tense situation is the fact that Chester firefighters have been working without a contract since 2007, there are accusations of “gamesmanship by the union; a charge that the union denies.
The sticker at the center of the controversy could be a smiley face and most would agree that the directive should be followed.
However; it’s not. It is the sacred symbol of our country that evokes strong emotions in us, so we are less inclined to say to remove it.
Is Firefighter Krapf feeding on those emotions or is he that strong in his beliefs? I don’t know the man, so I can’t say.
Is refusing to follow a directive the same as refusing to follow an order on the fire ground?
Many would argue that it is, but it’s because it points towards a breakdown in the command structure; one that leads to the very heart of getting the job done.
As a former chief, I might look at this as an affront to my authority and as an act of disrespect.
However; respect in this case should have come early on when the issue should have been resolved internally with better discretion used when decorating the outside of lockers. That would include respect for each other and respect for those who makes decisions.
Regardless; now that the whole nation is watching, more decisions will have to be made that will leave all sides on the losing end.
And in the end, personal choices and personal liberties will shrink even further; all because common sense was missing from the equation.
Here are links to related reading:
http://www.firefighternation.com/forum/topics/pennsylvania-firefighter
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/20091016_Chester_City_firefighter_suspended_over_decal.html
http://www.foxnews.com/printer_friendly_story/0,3566,568221,00.html
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/pa/20091018_Unrest_over_flag_decal_deepens_in_Chester.html
TCSS.
Art
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