Nov. 30, 2006, 3:21PM Battle rages on over fireman who ate dog food Reuters News Service
LOS ANGELES - A black firefighter who stood to collect nearly $3 million over a prank involving dog food in his spaghetti is at the center of a political and racial furor in Los Angeles, where city leaders failed on Wednesday to put the case to rest.
After two days of grappling with Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's veto of a $2.7 million settlement in a racial discrimination lawsuit filed by 19-year fire department veteran Tennie Pierce, the City Council voted to send the case back to the drawing board.
"Before we render a decision to settle in the amount of $2.7 million, let's look at all the evidence," Villaraigosa said at a news conference. "Let's ensure that all the facts are on the table."
At issue is whether Pierce was the victim of a harmless firehouse joke or vicious racism when his comrades slipped dog food into his spaghetti two years ago.
The 2005 lawsuit attracted little notice in Los Angeles until this month, when the council took the advice of City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo and voted to pay Pierce the $2.7 million without going to trial.
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I've read about this story before. I'm still trying to understand how it's race related.
A fire department investigation suggested the October 2004 incident was intended to be a prank to "humble" Pierce after a station volleyball game where he had said, "You guys keep feeding the Big Dog."
David Wellman, a professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz hired by Pierce’s attorney, said the association of a black man and dog food “resonates with the deep historical roots of slavery and the corresponding dehumanization.”
What's sad is that it's BS like this that taints everyone's opinion of racial discrimination so that when true racial injustices ARE performed against people of color, they are ignored or trivialized.
josebach wrote:What's sad is that it's BS like this that taints everyone's opinion of racial discrimination so that when true racial injustices ARE performed against people of color, they are ignored or trivialized.
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josebach wrote:I've read about this story before. I'm still trying to understand how it's race related.
A fire department investigation suggested the October 2004 incident was intended to be a prank to "humble" Pierce after a station volleyball game where he had said, "You guys keep feeding the Big Dog."
David Wellman, a professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz hired by Pierce’s attorney, said the association of a black man and dog food “resonates with the deep historical roots of slavery and the corresponding dehumanization.”
What's sad is that it's BS like this that taints everyone's opinion of racial discrimination so that when true racial injustices ARE performed against people of color, they are ignored or trivialized.
Yes, this is exactly true. I deal with this BS every single day. It's a giant pain in my... backside the way people pervert the intention of good laws. And because there are so many people looking to make a million dollars on this stuff, nowadays many "good" people out there who are legitimately victims of discrimination refuse to file charges because of the stigma of "they're only out for the money" that's attached to it.
steelerfan513 wrote:geez, it isnt like dog food will kill you
Very true. Some of them gourmet dogfood is made of better quality ingredients than some of the processed crap that we eat. And then there's always Taco Bell. Dog food we happily pay for and shovel down our throats, one tortilla at a time.
Anyways, I didn't read any of the links about this story ( ) but who broke the story and pressed charges? Because if this was just a normal prank, I don't see why any city officials, lawyers, etc would have been involved...
Redskins Win wrote:prank not racisit, racisit for throwing the race card to get paid.
That's the point I would have made had RW not made it. These stories just make it that much more difficult for those who really are victims of discrimination.
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) but who broke the story and pressed charges? Because if this was just a normal prank, I don't see why any city officials, lawyers, etc would have been involved...
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