Guest MINDSETTER™ Kenney: It’s Who We Are
Thursday, October 05, 2017
The horrendous recent mass shooting in Las Vegas brings to light a number of questions regarding US citizens’ fascination with guns, loopholes in federal gun control laws and the media coverage that some think glamorize mentally unstable individuals - and therefore encourage them to choose to go out in a blaze of glory(?)! To be sure, these issues will be debated on a partisan basis in the weeks to come…until the next big news event pushes it to the background. I’m not hopeful that anything will change. We’ll simply wait for the next one and hope the casualty numbers don’t rise to the same level.
I’m a retired firefighter so as you might expect I have a number of firefighters related Facebook and Tweeter feeds. Not surprisingly (to me) I received a Facebook post from an IAFF (International Association of Fire Fighters) officer stating that 12 firefighters were among those that were shot at the Mandalay Bay massacre. Most were providing medical assistance to victims, including one member who was shot in the arm while performing CPR on a stranger who had been fatally shot.
This is not to say that many civilian individuals didn’t step up in the face of imminent danger to assist others who had been wounded, they most certainly did. It seems that in the face of the most evil acts perpetrated on innocent people by others we, thankfully, see the best of the human spirit rise to the top also. All the evil displayed in Las Vegas the other night was spawned by one disturbed individual while there was love, concern, and bravery shown by so many more on that terrible night.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTMy point in sharing this is that when the country, the state or a municipality hires military, law enforcement officers, firefighters and EMS personnel and swear them to serve and protect these members live that oath. If you talk to anyone in these fields they’re likely to tell you that being a firefighter (etc) is not what we do, it’s who we are! None of us are heroes who would run headlong into death to perform our duties, but we all have reconciled early in our careers that our jobs often require us to do them in situations which are extremely hazardous and possibly fatal.
Hence, I’d like to remind the general public that military personnel, law enforcement officers, firefighters and members of EMS have proven that they work well in stressful and dangerous situations. Thus, these members are valuable citizens in their every day lives. They will often be the one who steps forward in a medical emergency, in a life-threatening situation or in a case of public bullying. I know that there are countless members of the general public who understand this and give us the respect we’ve earned. We’re expected to carry ourselves to a higher standard of conduct, rightfully so, and we’re disciplined if we breach that trust.
My message is more to the haters out there. The police haters, firefighter haters and union haters. These people have absolutely no use for us – until they, or their families, are in danger and in need of help. People like Gary Arnold of North Providence who has personally attacked me on GoLocalProv numerous times over the past couple of years without knowing a single thing about me other than I’m a retired Providence Fire Captain. On different occasions, he’s posted that I collect a $100K plus tax-free disability pension at the taxpayers' expense. Just to show how little he really knows, the real facts are that I receive a fully taxed (not disability) pension of $43K after 36 years of service where I paid over 9% of my salary toward it every week of my career. I’ve tried, on many occasions, to send him the proof of my earnings in an attempt to have him post a retraction but he simply threatens and insults me.
Anyway, I’d like to send my prayers to the victims and their families and my appreciation to my brother and sister first responders, both on and off duty, who stepped up in an unbelievable way in Las Vegas. I also would ask you to remember the first responders in your prayers when you offer them for the victims and their families!
Tom Kenney is a retired captain of the Providence Fire Department.
Related Slideshow: The Power List - Health and Education, 2016
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