fireflymedic Posted January 28, 2010 Posted January 28, 2010 Hey there, Being a female, my opinion doesn't count as much as I'm not a guy and weirded out by that however, in the female population you have the issue with working with lesbians. I am not homophobe by any means, but I did make it clear that was not my interest, nor was it going to be my interest and I've had a great time working with some of them, a few I even consider to be close friends. Some I didn't but it was because of skill or personality issues, not because they were lesbians. All that being said, the discussion was made once at work when we had two lesbians, two gay guys, and the rest of us heterosexual that it was either everyone could discuss their partnerships in a tactful manner (no discussion of sexual exploits but that they were going out that night, whatever) or no one could. I think this was a fair and reasonable compromise towards tolerance in the workplace. Ironically the two lesbians were partners for a bit (professionally) and couldn't stand to be around each other working, just like if I had a male partner I didn't care for. One of the guys was fired eventually after being talked to repeatedly about sexual harrassment issues and inappropriate discussions as stated above at work (note two other guys were fired for the same for equal reasons against females). While with patients he was completely professional, but when alone with his partner, or if at the hospital he was known for repeatedly hitting on other guys which was unacceptable. Eventually they just had enough. He and the other two guys mentioned were fired. At last check, the other gay guy was still happily employed there and doing outstanding work - they were quite pleased with him. One of the females is still employed, and the other has gone on to work at a private service with excellent references. As long as it is understood between me and them (or even a male partner for that matter) that I'm not interested, I have yet to have a problem with the orientation of my partner. What they do on their time is their business so long as it doesn't affect me or bring detriment to the service. People are just going to have to understand that EMS workers come from all walks of life and so long as they treat patients and their coworkers with utmost respect I could care less.
daedalus Posted February 1, 2010 Posted February 1, 2010 Actually, the federal government extends no protection for equal opportunity for employment to LGBT people. However, most corporations are socially far ahead of the government on this one and you will find that most employers have a policy forbidding discriminative hiring practices based on a potential employee's sexual orientation. It is a matter of opinion on weather these polices are followed or not by EMS and Fire hiring managers and it is very difficult to prove that you were a victim of discrimination in a hiring process. As for dealing with partners that are of the LGBT crowd, you are still entitled to your rights to a comfortable workplace. If your partner is having phone sex while you are in the rig trying to sleep on a night shift, you have every right to be angry regardless if your partner is gay or straight. That being said, you should give all your partners the respect they deserve and if you are uncomfortable around gay people, perhaps the medical profession is not for you.
Just Plain Ruff Posted February 1, 2010 Posted February 1, 2010 Actually, the federal government extends no protection for equal opportunity for employment to LGBT people. However, most corporations are socially far ahead of the government on this one and you will find that most employers have a policy forbidding discriminative hiring practices based on a potential employee's sexual orientation. It is a matter of opinion on weather these polices are followed or not by EMS and Fire hiring managers and it is very difficult to prove that you were a victim of discrimination in a hiring process. As for dealing with partners that are of the LGBT crowd, you are still entitled to your rights to a comfortable workplace. If your partner is having phone sex while you are in the rig trying to sleep on a night shift, you have every right to be angry regardless if your partner is gay or straight. That being said, you should give all your partners the respect they deserve and if you are uncomfortable around gay people, perhaps the medical profession is not for you. But let me ask you this. If I am totally offended by anyone who practices that lifestyle. If it goes against my religious beliefs that marriage or a relationship is between a man and a woman and not a man/man or woman/woman then why should I not have the right not to hire someone of that lifestyle. Why don't I have the right to hire or not hire a gay or lesbian or a transvestite or transgendered person? I mean it's still my company right? I should have the right to choose shouldn't I? I'm not taking government money or state money so I should not have to abide by their requirements right? IT's my company right? If their lifestyle completely goes against my belief structure then I should not have to hire them even if they are more qualified than the next guy right?
treaux Posted February 1, 2010 Posted February 1, 2010 Looks like this thread got resurrected after a year of inactivity. Can we just let it die? Ruffems, I'm surprised that you condemn this thread, yet post on it and initiate more discussion on such an inane topic. The simple fact is sexual harassment on any level at work is inappropriate as is discriminating against anyone for their sexual orientation. Leave it be.
Just Plain Ruff Posted February 2, 2010 Posted February 2, 2010 (edited) Where did I condemn it? I just read through all my posts and I don't think I ever condemned this topic. I pointed out the absurdity of posting something like this but I did not condemn the topic. I don't do that. You need to show me where You think I condemned this topic. Do I disagree with Crotch on this one? Yes and no. Do I tell him not to post and condemn his post nope not at all. You sure you read my posts right? IF you are saying that with my last response about being a business owner and not wanting to hire someone of gay or lesbian lifestyle, then I guess you could say I condemned the topic but you missed the point of my post. I as a business owner, which I am and I have two employees, my wife and myself, if I don't want to hire a gay or lesbian person then shouldn't I have that right? Should I be forced to hire someone who I do not agree with and whose lifestyle I don't agree with? Nor should any other company in America be forced to hire anyone. I am finding out there right now in my line of work that past mistakes or past performance on a job has relegated me to being passed over for contract work simply because I left ONE project early to get away from a toxic work relationship but that freakin doesn't matter to anyone. I left a project early so I'm not hirable(Not sure if thats a word). It's the same for lifestyle choices, if the company you apply to doesn't like your lifestyle then hey, they shouldn't have to hire you. People here have long said, what you post on Facebook or Myspace will come back to haunt you. If you are gay and people know it then it will come back to haunt you. In my eyes there is no difference, you put out there on myspace those indecent photos or those inappropriate views and comments on myspace and it will come back to haunt you, if you put out that you are gay or a lesbian then it's bound to come back to hurt you at one time or another. I'm rambling but I did not condemn the thread. Edited February 2, 2010 by Ruffems
armymedic571 Posted February 2, 2010 Posted February 2, 2010 Actually, the federal government extends no protection for equal opportunity for employment to LGBT people. However, most corporations are socially far ahead of the government on this one and you will find that most employers have a policy forbidding discriminative hiring practices based on a potential employee's sexual orientation. It is a matter of opinion on weather these polices are followed or not by EMS and Fire hiring managers and it is very difficult to prove that you were a victim of discrimination in a hiring process. As for dealing with partners that are of the LGBT crowd, you are still entitled to your rights to a comfortable workplace. If your partner is having phone sex while you are in the rig trying to sleep on a night shift, you have every right to be angry regardless if your partner is gay or straight. That being said, you should give all your partners the respect they deserve and if you are uncomfortable around gay people, perhaps the medical profession is not for you. I had to go to the department of labor web-stie and see for myself.. Wow, you are correct. But let me ask you this. If I am totally offended by anyone who practices that lifestyle. If it goes against my religious beliefs that marriage or a relationship is between a man and a woman and not a man/man or woman/woman then why should I not have the right not to hire someone of that lifestyle. Why don't I have the right to hire or not hire a gay or lesbian or a transvestite or transgendered person? I mean it's still my company right? I should have the right to choose shouldn't I? I'm not taking government money or state money so I should not have to abide by their requirements right? IT's my company right? If their lifestyle completely goes against my belief structure then I should not have to hire them even if they are more qualified than the next guy right? You are entitled to your opinions. But remember, they are just opinions and not facts. If I was a business owner. I would want the most qualified person, period. I am smirking while I type, this thread has made me happy. Being in the military and working in the civilain EMS field, I have two completely opposite points of view on this topic. It is interesting to say the least. I have thought long and hard on this, because as a leader on both sides, I am sure that one day this question will be posed to me in an official capacity in some way. The fact is that I work with gays and lesbians on both sides of my life (military and civilian). When you strip away their layers like any one else to the core, what you have is a person. Just an everyday person, with hopes and dreams and ambitions. I started to dwell on this last year while I was in Iraq, knowing full well that one of our intel guys was gay. I started to think....Do I trust this person. My life is in his hands. Does he trust me? These are questions that cannot be answered in a thread of a forum, but between each other. The bottom line and my point here is this: What two people do in the privacy of their own home is their business and no one elses. If this is not true, as an American Soldier, a free person. What the hell have I been fighting for the last 13 years? I certianly wasn't fight for a politician............. 1
treaux Posted February 2, 2010 Posted February 2, 2010 Where did I condemn it? I just read through all my posts and I don't think I ever condemned this topic. I pointed out the absurdity of posting something like this but I did not condemn the topic. I don't do that. You need to show me where You think I condemned this topic. Do I disagree with Crotch on this one? Yes and no. Do I tell him not to post and condemn his post nope not at all. You sure you read my posts right? Sorry if you disagree with my choice of words. "Pointing out the absurdity" of a topic is pretty similar to condemning it in my book. I was merely pointing out the absurdity of your reply to the topic that re-ignited it: Holy crap this is still going on? You were replying to a thread that had not been posted on in over a year, so the comment of "This is still going on" seemed quite absurd. Then you go on to create a parody thread of this thread which really seemed like a waste. I got the impression you were trolling and therefore I replied. If that wasn't your intent, then I'm sorry. I'm not trying to berate you. This topic has been pretty hammered into the ground already and it's just asking to become a flame war. Also, while the EEOC doesn't enforce prohibitions for discriminating based on sexual orientation, there is a universal federal policy that prohibits it for any federal job and many states have similarly enforced policies. For example, in California we have the Fair Employment and Housing Act which prohibits any discrimination (even for private employers) based on sexual orientation. And while you are right in that if someone is purposely trying to make someone uncomfortable because of or with their sexual orientation that it can be defined as sexual harassment and be grounds to terminate an employee. In most places you are not allowed to discriminate beforehand. Crazy liberals with their human rights!
Mateo_1387 Posted February 2, 2010 Posted February 2, 2010 But let me ask you this. If I am totally offended by anyone who practices that lifestyle. If it goes against my religious beliefs that marriage or a relationship is between a man and a woman and not a man/man or woman/woman then why should I not have the right not to hire someone of that lifestyle. Why don't I have the right to hire or not hire a gay or lesbian or a transvestite or transgendered person? I mean it's still my company right? I should have the right to choose shouldn't I? I'm not taking government money or state money so I should not have to abide by their requirements right? IT's my company right? If their lifestyle completely goes against my belief structure then I should not have to hire them even if they are more qualified than the next guy right? What does it matter? When someone is applying for a job, is their sexual orientation a necessary question to determine if they are eligible for the job? What about their religious views? Does it really make a difference? (the only one I could think of in the circumstance is someone hired for a specific religious job). It comes down to being a human being and being qualified for the job, not the color of your skin, who you sleep with, or where you are from, or who you do/do not worship.
TEAK Posted February 19, 2010 Posted February 19, 2010 When I first got out of school I was assigned to work with a gay partner and I am going to be honest, I didn't like it. I didn't like him and he really didn't like me. I did everything I could to get out of working with him and when i did work with him we talked very little unless it was job related and it was not the best working environment. After realizing that we were stuck with each other we decided to at least try and get to know each other. I quickly realized one very important thing, he is the best partner I have ever worked with and is by far the best basic with our service. He knows his job, he knows a lot of my job and when it comes time to get to work I wouldn't trade him for anybody or anything. When I agreed to take a supervisor slot my only condition was that I got to keep my partner if that tells you how far we have come. He is in medic school now and I am very proud of him and the progress he is making but I hate the fact that in just a few short months I will have to have a new partner. I never would have imagined that I would actually be upset about losing him as a partner. Remember a hot blonde partner that doesn't know her ass from an IV pump isn't much help with things go south and to me that's what matters most. I do this to help people in a time of need and I will take every advantage I can get to accomplish that goal, having a jam up partner is a huge advantage no matter what their sexual orientation.
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