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As the wildfires continue to do so much tragic damage in California, much finger pointing has occurred.
Budget cuts by Los Angeles officials have been questioned.
But also, the Los Angeles Fire Department's "racial equity policy."
Under Chief Kristin Crowley, touted as “the first female and LGBTQ Fire Chief,” her fire department followed Diversity Equity Inclusion (DEI) policies.
Crowley had told a local news station that there was “never enough” diversity in her fire department, and in an October 2024 video, touted the supposed importance and benefits of DEI.
So as California continues to burn, CNN's Scott Jennings had a question about this.
“In California, you might recall a news story from last year. There was some interest in the fire departments and the firefighters in California, and the interest was that there were too many white men who were firefighters and we need to have a program in California to make sure we don’t have enough white men as firefighters,” Jennings said.
He added, “We have DEI, we have budget cuts, and yet I‘m wondering now, if your house is burning down, how much do you care what color the firefighters are?”
Good question.
Democratic Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett was on the panel and replied to Jennings.
“Listen, I am so tired — you know what? There was an article that just came out that said that actually the most educated demographic in this country right now is black women,” Crockett said.
That statement doesn't have much to do with what Jennings said, but Crockett still continued.
“So let me be clear, because you are a woman or because I know that some of the right has been sharing these photos of the fact that I believe that the fire chief may be a woman or something, that has nothing to do with it," she said. "We are looking at qualifications. What diversity, equity and inclusion has always been about is saying, you know what, open this up, don’t just look at the white men, open it up and recognize that other people can be qualified.”
Okay...
Crockett continued, “And the fact that we want to, at a time when people are dying, decide that a country of immigrants is failing or people are dying because the same very people that built this country, because the last time I checked, y’all didn‘t say that anything was wrong with the White House, and I can promise you, it was my ancestors that built the White House."
Um... sure.
Crockett then insinuated that Jennings was saying that only white men were good at firefighting and in general.
Which he clearly didn't.
“So, listen, if we have been good enough to build this country, we are good enough to serve and die overseas, we are good enough to serve in other ways,” Crockett said. “And the fact that people actually decide that they want to engage in public service, whether it’s sitting in Congress or whether it‘s serving on the fire department or the police department, should not be an issue. The fact is, stop trying to act as if only white men are the ones that are capable, because right now you’re sitting at a table with three very capable black women.”
Jennings corrected her.
.
“I’m not,” Jennings responded. “I’m just simply saying that as a matter of public policy in California, the main interest in the fire department lately has been DEI programing and budget cuts.”
And he has a point.
So many Californians are suffering right now, literally watching their homes burn to the ground.
They need help.
Does anyone in that situation care what color or gender the firefighters are?
This is the kind of question that needs to be asked before horrible events like this happen.
Because the simple and honest answer would put DEI to bed, immediately.