Intolerable abuse: Harassment of women firefighters a warning siren for Houston officials

[sabra]

Source: Houston Chron

The shocking harassment of two Houston women firefighters, the only female members of Fire Station 54 at Bush Intercontinental Airport, has rightly outraged city officials and the general public.

Someone scrawled sexual and racial slurs in the secure area of the station directed at Paula Keyes on Tuesday. Fellow firefighter Jane Draycott’s photo of herself and her late daughter on her locker was mutilated, and the word “die” scrawled on her face and “dead” over that of her daughter, who was killed in an auto accident. As Draycott put it, “It’s demented. Someone is absolutely sick to do this. It’s got to stop.”

A day later, hackers invaded the Fire Department radio system and broadcast a brief string of racial epithets. The developments led HFD Chief Phil Boriskie to declare, “I’m having difficulty today because I’m mad, mad as hell.”

Mayor Bill White, with the HFD command staff gathered behind him at City Hall, told reporters yesterday that an investigation is under way to identify and punish the perpetrators of what is apparently a gender-based hate crime.

The mayor cautioned the public not to blame an entire department for the actions of a few, and pledged a thorough probe. “Obviously, whoever the perpetrator is has a real serious problem and it’s going to be more than a psychological problem,” said White. “Its going to be a legal problem and an employment problem for that person if they work for the Fire Department.”



Read more: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/6522319.html

[SpiralHawk]

1. Republicon-inspired Family Values

Ptooey on their Family Value piggishness.

No honor among Republicon-minded entities, as these oinkers prove yet again.

[get the red out]

2. Yea, the "values" of white, male, christian only

:mad:

[bertman]

3. I'm giving the Chief credit for his response to this abomination. It'll be interesting to

see how this works out.