Racists, Sexists, and Fire Fighters

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed a number of lawsuits against local police and fire departments. Believe it or not, they are claiming that it is racist to require these public servants to know basic math. Just when most people thought the Department of Justice could not get politicized to any worse degree, they have found yet another way to prove how "woke" they are. They have acted shamefully in a number of ways; this is just the latest in a spate of irrational acts. According to the Internet:

On Friday [October 11, 2024, GWS], the DOJ's civil rights unit filed a lawsuit against South Bend, Indiana, saying, "South Bend uses a written examination that discriminates against Black applicants and a physical fitness test that discriminates against female applicants," The Daily Wire previously reported.

Does the obvious need to be stated? Not everyone can qualify for any job. How many men who are 6' 5" and weigh 275 get to ride a horse in the Kentucky Derby? Zero? Why is that? The horse will not be able to run as fast if some big galoot is clinging to his back. One so-called unfair math question on the text asked: "If a building is 350 feet away, how many 60-foot hoses would be needed." Honestly, is this too tough?

This is not calculus. It does not involve the quadratic formula, π, a slide rule, or logarithms. Nothing more complicated is required than addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division—not even square roots. In other words, no math is needed other than what probably was taught in 5th grade.

If some apply to work in fire or police departments cannot measure up to such standards, then two options are available: look for different work, or get some tutoring in order to pass the math questions. Oh, yes. A third option is to get the Department of "Justice" (which is now a misnomer, as well as a laughing stock) to sue prospective employers who demand such "high tech" knowledge.

Has anyone ever noticed that most basketball players are tall? Once in a while a guy like Spud Webb comes along and plays in the NBA at 5' 6" inches in height. Currently, the shortest player is Yuki Kawamuri at 5' 8". By contrast Keith Asmussen is, far and away, the tallest jockey to ride in the Kentucky Derby at 5'10". Does the NBA discriminate against short players? Obviously not, since some of those men are able to compete. But taller players have a better chance of making it. Should the shorter men sue the NBA? At least one taller jockey rides the horses; should those over six feet tall sue someone since they are passed over for the job? No, some areas of work have certain qualifications that are needed. It is not discrimination for them not to be considered if they do not qualify.

The South Bend case is not an isolated incident. The DOJ has been filing other lawsuits and bullying others to conform to "woke" thinking. Below are a few samples.

Last week, Durham, North Carolina settled with the DOJ, saying blacks failed the tests required to become a firefighter more often and, "Employers should identify and eliminate practices that have a disparate impact based on race." It said the Durham Fire Department must pay nearly a million dollars to people who failed the test, and hire up to 16 of them.

In May, the DOJ entered into a similar settlement with Cobb County, Georgia. "The County's use of these employment practices disproportionately removed qualified African Americans from consideration for a firefighter position.

Also this month, the DOJ forced Maryland State Police to pay $2.75 million to women who were barred from being officers because they couldn't pass physical fitness exams testing (for example, the ability to run quickly) and blacks who couldn't pass a written test.

Is the testing actually racist? How do Hispanics fare on these tests? How about Orientals? Do all races need to have identical percentages? If not, why is it assumed that the test is biased? Plenty of occupations require considerably more math than is on these tests, and Blacks fare as well as any other race. Has anyone ever thought that their education was deficient in the government schools they attended and that they could be brought up to speed in a few weeks in areas of deficiency? These lawsuits are frivolous and unnecessary. Furthermore, they don't solve the problem of lacking necessary education. The lawsuits almost set forth the idea that those who fail the test don't have the ability to learn, which is preposterous.

Most employers do not want to discriminate against women, but if they do not have the physique to do what it takes to save people's lives, then they should realize there are plenty of other areas in which they can work. Is the satisfaction to a person's ego worth the risk of costing someone his life?

Simon the Sorcerer admired the apostles—especially the ability they had to lay their hands on Christians and impart to them spiritual gifts. He offered a sum of money to be able to do what they did. Peter told him he had neither part nor portion in such a work. Obviously, he had not been selected by Jesus for that job. But also his heart was not right (Acts 8:21). One wonders if the DOJ in Samaria would have filed a lawsuit on his behalf since he was judged unqualified for the work. Imagine the headline: "The Apostles of Jesus are Required to Pay Retired Magician 15,000 Shekels."

True Racism

Of course, racism and sexism (bias against women) exist. One would need to be naïve to think otherwise. Thankfully, it is not as prevalent as it once was—say, 60-70 years ago. Probably, it will never be eradicated, either. But having requirements for certain jobs is not necessarily the problem. Branding certain things in society as racist does not help; in fact, many may respond to an actual case of racism by saying, "Here we go again." Leveling this charge is way overdone.

What causes racism? It is something that is taught. Little children will play with children of other races and not think a thing about it. It is only if they are taught, "You don't want to associate with them," that such inappropriate thinking begins and attitudes develop. This observation was set forth as plainly as it can be stated in the movie South Pacific, based on the novel by James A. Michener.

In this musical, nurse Nellie Forbush falls in love with a Frenchman (Emile de Becque) during World War II. Their romance progresses until she finds out that he was married to a Polynesian woman, who died young, after having brought two "adorable" (as she acknowledged) children into the world. She could not accept the fact that he loved someone of a different race. Just before she runs away from him, she says it's something that she couldn't help. "It's just something we're born with."

After she hastily exits, de Becque asks Lieutenant Cable (an American, like Nellie) to explain why Americans cannot accept an interracial marriage. Lt. Cable himself has fallen in love with a Polynesian woman, and he has had thoughts about what his family back home would think. He told her he could never marry her. Now he is conflicted and responds, "I don't believe it's something you're born with." He then sings a brief song:

You've got to be taught to hate and fear.
You've got to be taught from year to year.
It's got to be drummed in your dear little ear.
You've got to be carefully taught.

You've got to be taught to be afraid
Of people whose eyes are oddly made
And people whose skin is a different shade.

You've got to be taught before it's too late—
Before you are six or seven or eight—
To hate all the people your relatives hate.

Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein wrote these lyrics for South Pacific, which premiered as a play in 1949 and was made into a movie in 1958. (They also did together Oklahoma, The King and I, and The Sound of Music). The play was performed six years before Rosa Parks refused to sit in the back of the bus. What the song states concerning prejudice is right on target.

The movie, West Side Story, took a shot at racism, also. It originally was going to deal with prejudice against the Jews and be called East Side Story, but over time those elements were updated to deal with gangs (Americans versus Puerto Ricans). It ran as a play on Broadway in 1957 and was made into a movie in 1961, winning ten Academy Awards—and deservedly so. The movie depicted how irrational prejudice is, as well as the tragedy of racism.

This movie was released two years before Martin Luther King's famous "I Have a Dream" speech which he made at the Lincoln Memorial in 1963. He spoke an important truth when he said, "I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal." Truly, God "has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth…" (Acts 17:26).

Perhaps these movies had an impact on society by changing some attitudes, but much more effort was needed over the next decade before real change occurred. But now that society is not generally racist, why are some so quick to level that charge? If a Black policeman shoots a white criminal, nobody screams, "Racism!" But if the situation is reversed, protestors show up immediately—even before the facts are known. Of course, either scenario could have occurred because of prejudice, but it should not be automatically assumed. Some people may not yet be aware that, "Hands up, don't shoot" did not happen, as widely reported. If it had, everyone of every race should be outraged. But if it didn't, why do some desire to exploit what is fictional?

Could a test given to prospective police officers and firefighters be prejudiced against a race or a gender? Possibly. But it cannot be called racist because it asks math questions. Is asking math questions bad for women, also? Remember the uproar in 1992 when a Barbie doll said, "Math class is tough." Whoa! Many female students protested that one. Anyone who looks at the controversy on line will find criticisms of that product—including one by a Black female teen. Chances are she would pass the written test for a firefighter.

Society needs to continue to protest actual racism. However, not everything that is called racism is. The DOJ seems to think that Blacks did not get the math gene, but such is ludicrous; there are too many examples to the contrary. What some did not get was, in all likelihood, a good education.

There was racism in the first century, also. The Jews despised Samaritans. Yet Jesus made one of them the hero of a parable (Luke 10:30-37). Philip went to Samaria to preach and had great success (Acts 8:5-25). Paul was not a racist or a sexist; he wrote: "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (Gal. 3:28). In general, society has rejected racism; the Lord's church should excel in setting the proper example.