| Those who ‘got beat’ cause racial tension | ||
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| Articles regarding the New Haven Fire Department promotional exams have been throwing out accusations and pathetic excuses as to why certain groups didn’t do well enough, from the reading material was not relevant or too difficult, to the content of the test, to ridiculous statements of people having the reading list early. Now it is whites cheated. With the help of civil rights lawyer John Williams, a group of African-American firefighters is setting out to stop the promotions of the firefighters who earned them. This group likes to paint a picture of a biased and racist Fire Department and wants to blame everybody from the chief to fellow firefighters for their short comings. This group condemns Fire Chief Michael Grant for putting forth an unconventional reading list consisting of nationally recognized books. I applaud Grant. While making for a very difficult exam, these were extremely informative books. This group continues to insult our chief and department by saying a recent series of transfers were racially motivated. These positions were cut by the Board of Aldermen. The chief eliminated the positions to have the least impact on public safety and the transfers were made based on seniority. The biggest argument they can come up with is people had the books. Did these people know the chapters or even if that specific book would be on the exam? No. Certain people own a lot of fire-service related books. They take a lot of courses on their own time at their own expense to better serve this city and this is the thanks they get. I have now been called a cheater and a Klansman by an African-American lieutenant. I take great offense. The bottom line is racial tension has been brought on by this small, radical group of minorities who cannot deal with the fact that they got beat on a legitimate exam and are trying to blame everybody else but themselves. Michael R. Blatchley North Haven Editor’s note: Michael R. Blatchley is a New Haven firefighter. |
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