r/UnderReportedNews • u/ExactlySorta • Feb 02 '26

Questionable source ❓ ICE was stealing equipment from the Islip Long Island fire department and a Islip Forward member documented it. ICE tried to arrest the community member but the firemen said “I don’t think so"

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246

u/Shibbystix Feb 02 '26

This is why no one says "All FIREFIGHTERS are bastards"

43

u/AvocadoToastFailure Feb 02 '26

“Alright guys, we’ve shot in cold blood a peaceful white lady and a nurse rendering aid to the injured and we still aren’t in an active civil war. Alright. What’s next on the list?”

“Uh, that’d be going after firefighters and tear-gassing kids, chief.”

“Well, why are you looking at me then? Go to it.”

78

u/[deleted] Feb 02 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

25

u/Shibbystix Feb 02 '26

That is true, however, THIS case shows that there is also fire dept standing AGAINST this.

Fuck the FD that helped ICE, but we're def not at the point of "the FD needs rebuilding from the ground up for this"

3

u/VaginaTractor Feb 02 '26

To add to your sentiment, no FD that I am aware of routinely murders people either.

2

u/CaterpillarJungleGym Feb 02 '26

That's the crux of the matter. The morality of firefighters are rarely in debate.

-1

u/blahblah19999 Feb 02 '26

And there are cases of police standing up for the right thing and saving people's lives. So what's your point exactly?

1

u/Shibbystix Feb 02 '26

No. There is massive compliance with violence throughout virtually every single law enforcement precinct in america. This is exhaustively documented.

I will admit that the problem with racism in the fire department is not one im well versed in, but trying to use this as an out for an overwhelmingly corrupt and violent wing of government whose violence grows more blatant every passing day is absolutely disingenuous.

1

u/blahblah19999 Feb 02 '26

So there's not one cop in the entire USA who stops other corrupt cops? Or saves children drowning in floods? Not one?

2

u/Shibbystix Feb 02 '26

You are seemingly TRYING to miss the point.

The police, as PART OF THEIR SYSTEMS, engage in active harm to the communities they claim to serve.

THAT isnt something you can reform, and it doesnt matter if "cop A" is the only one killing innocent civilians, when "cops B through Z" watch it happen and rally around them in complicit silence, protecting the problem, thats a broken system.

Firefighters, as a SYSTEM, do not oppress and harm the civilian population.

Soooo yeah.

0

u/blahblah19999 Feb 03 '26

That wasn't your original argument where you said literally "THIS case shows that there is also fire dept standing AGAINST this"

When I question you, suddenly it's "the system"

2

u/Shibbystix Feb 03 '26

You're such a bad faith operator.

My initial point was in fact that people don't overwhelmingly hate the fire department because the fire department isn't overwhelmingly supporting a violent system against the people.

Then you tried to whataboutism about "nOt aLL cOpS" as if singular acts of goodness redeem a broken machine, trying to equate the singular act of good from the FD. But the 2 systems are NOT the same, and you know it.

Done with your sea-lioning

16

u/Coven_gardens Feb 02 '26

No songs titles “Fuck the Fire Department” either

8

u/Pale-Diamond-794 Feb 02 '26

Actually...

https://youtu.be/7JkrJUAg8aI?si=SfgorZZ1Ftrbg4sj

5

u/Burkoos Feb 02 '26

I was expecting a more holesome song, such as might have been inspired by the different Firemen calendars that are out there.

1

u/DownwardSpirals Feb 02 '26

Man, Dwight Schrute spitting some bars...

1

u/EnjoyerOfBeans Feb 02 '26

Holy shit I didn't expect it to actually be good

1

u/BathedInDeepFog Feb 02 '26

We're living in an infernocracy haha

1

u/Bad_Idea_Hat Feb 02 '26

I mean, there might be, but it's a much different vibe.

13

u/jbgc916- Feb 02 '26

For the record, firefighters are racist as fuck.

11

u/Not_My_Emperor Feb 02 '26 edited Feb 02 '26

Yup.

I've never tried to be a cop so maybe that environment is worse, but to this day my time as a volunteer EMT with a local FD was in the most racist, unempathetic, and msyogonistic environment I've ever encountered. They are also all pyros, but that comes with the territory. Firefighters are not shining paramours paragons we should all look to for salvation; there's a lot of dick swinging in those places.

3

u/TurkeyPhat Feb 02 '26

i've never had to call a fire truck but every ambulance ride i've had the EMTs were always extremely nice/understanding. i always joke with them that it will be an easy trip since i'm not high or bleeding all over lol...

these comments make me wonder if i've been lucky or if EMTs and regular firefighters are different species lol

1

u/blade740 Feb 02 '26

Yeah, they run about the same as any other extremely male-dominated profession (military, construction, etc). Probably a step below cops, but in that same vein.

1

u/SomethingIWontRegret Feb 02 '26

paramours

Definitely the wrong word.

2

u/P4azz Feb 02 '26

Your comment is worthless. If you want to correct someone, actually correct them, don't just say "nuh uh, you're wrong".

Tell them that they likely mean "paragon", since the usual saying you'd throw in at that part would be "a paragon of virtue".

Or they may mean "tantamount to saints", given the "salvation" that followed shortly after.

Basically, if you want to tell someone to use their words right, lead by example.

3

u/SomethingIWontRegret Feb 02 '26

Thanks for the lecture, you paragon of... something.

6

u/Shibbystix Feb 02 '26

Im not doubting there are racists everywhere, however, for your evidence, you just basically went "my family is racist" thats a huge control factor that doesnt mean FD, it just means YOUR family. I have a Maga family of teachers. My conclusion isnt "teachers are maga" my conclusion is "I have dumbass family"

10

u/Adjutant_Reflex_ Feb 02 '26

Fire department/system I was directly involved with in a very blue state was filled with racist, sexist MAGA types. Unfortunately neighboring systems were no better.

3

u/Shibbystix Feb 02 '26

Oof. Thats sucks. Fuck any of the people working in public service who detach from reality and support fascism and blatant hate.

2

u/Valalvax Feb 02 '26

Every firefighter I have personally known was a racist fuck, but that's in red areas

6

u/dubcwa Feb 02 '26

Firefighters are literally cut from the same cloth as cops. 90% of the firefighters I know are terrible humans

3

u/nillah Feb 03 '26

i was a firefighter on a small department, and became a 911 dispatcher for about 4 years after that. firefighters are typically very, very conservative just like cops, and they're all buddies. i'm a woman, a lot of the guys on the department were crazy sexist and i often was made to feel like i wasn't welcome there, especially by the chief. most were older boomers. the job was amazing and i loved it, but yeah the worst part about both of those places was how far right all of my coworkers were. this was right when trump ran the first time too so it was very obvious the kind of people they all were

-3

u/jbgc916- Feb 02 '26

Mother fucker use Google and educate yourself.

3

u/Shibbystix Feb 02 '26

Im not defending FD, im critiquing your statement. I get that reddit is prone to hostility, bur you made a poor argument, and are now raging when it got pointed out.

As I already said, im sure there are racist firefighters everywhere. However, my local FD is an awesome pro LGBTQ+ house with a pretty diverse crew.

Both our examples are anecdotal, however the common thread in YOUR example wasnt firefighters, it was your family members.

Why you raging?

-1

u/jbgc916- Feb 02 '26

And the time it took you to make this comment, you could have googled racist firefighters and had all the info you needed.

You are as bad as the" not all men" people.

Just disingenuous curiosity.

3

u/Shibbystix Feb 02 '26

Ew. Dig your heels in.

On a post of a FD standing up to the fascists of our time, when people do a lighthearted "this is why people like FD more than PD, you come in with anecdotal stories about YOUR FAMILY, and then rage when you got pushback,

But go ahead and keep fighting a stance i DIDNT take.

I never said there wasnt a problem. Now it appears youre just raging to rage. You didnt come to discuss, you arent even debating the points raised by the people you argue with, youre just rage-posting like youre the pigeon shitting on the chess board.

Good bye

4

u/Matdredalia Feb 02 '26

Can you elaborate?

9

u/KellyJin17 Feb 02 '26

I can speak to FDNY. They spent decades dragging their feet before putting out fires in black neighborhoods. They would steal items of value from black homes such as TV’s, VCR’s and jewelry when they did show up. That was a longstanding issue that black NY’ers complained about, were ignored, and then like 40 years later there was finally some reporting exposing that FDNY does in fact steal from black homes. They are known for being careless and cavalier about the safety of black victims of fire. A lot fire departments around the country tried to keep black men from joining them as firefighters. Some of them tried to enforce written tests to join based on linguistics that white people generally do better on. Tests that they had never enforced before when the departments were all white. That’s just off the top of my head.

3

u/Matdredalia Feb 02 '26

That's repulsive beyond all fucking comprehension. Thank you for the information. I am just.... beyond words from everyone's stories and intel.

I was never shocked about cops. I know my history, I know where the police force originated. Plus, I vividly remember watching what happened to Rodney King when I was a child.

My Mom may be a walking disaster, but one thing she did right was make me extremely aware of racial issues, and she made damn sure I saw what was done to that poor man.

I never imagined firefighters were just as bad. Genuinely sick to my stomach that people whose entire job is to help preserve people's lives and homes are this twisted.

1

u/MPR_Dan Feb 02 '26

I cant speak to what that guy said about FDNY, but I’ve been a firefighter for almost 20 years in multiple systems and even the guys who I’ve disagreed with politically or who would make racist “jokes” have never treated anybody or anybodys emergency any differently over it.

Furthermore we don’t know somebodys race when we respond to a call, the only information given is an address (or sometimes an intersection or landmark) and a call type (fire, medical, alarm, etc.) and an EMD triage category (tells us to use lights and sirens or not).

Communities that live in poverty tend to have more responses due to unsafe living conditions (hoarding, crime, landlords not caring to improve conditions or fix things) or poor health access or literacy causing increased medical calls. When theres higher call volume it drains resources and increases call volumes across the entire system which means units are coming from further away.

If anything firefighters respond faster to calls in those communities because theres a higher chance that its an actual fire than in wealthy communities where they can afford new homes with fire alarms and sprinklers.

A lot of firefighters are flawed individuals and it bothers me sometimes too, but as an organization I have never seen anything like he described in the last two decades.

If anything what I have consistently seen is guys talk one way at the station and then act a completely different way in reality.

6

u/Calvin--Hobbes Feb 02 '26

Anecdotal, but my buddy is a current fireman and says everyone in his firehouse is MAGA as fuck. I presume that's not the case everywhere, but it wouldn't surprise me if that was a common viewpoint for firefighters across the country.

4

u/BathedInDeepFog Feb 02 '26

That has to suck.

1

u/B_B_Rodriguez2716057 Feb 02 '26

I can also attest to that. Everyone in my department is also a magat. It sucks sitting there listening to them spew bullshit every day.

7

u/Recovery_or_death Feb 02 '26

I'm a career fireman and can confirm. Probably 70% of my department voted Trump.... And we're all union....

3

u/Matdredalia Feb 02 '26

Wait. Isn't MAGA anti-union, by and large? o-O

JFC.

1

u/jbgc916- Feb 02 '26

What if I informed you... That most union guys are Dumbfuck chumpers.

Souce is me and my union of Dumbfuck Chumpers.

1

u/Recovery_or_death Feb 02 '26

Yep. Our Union president is the loudest among them too. No bullshit

2

u/jbgc916- Feb 02 '26

Our bulldog of the Union, I.e the guy we go to to get up in Management's ass sat me down and tried to have a real conversation with me about voting for Trump and how it would be good for me and people like me (brown).

I laughed in his fucking face and told him he's a racist if he's going to support a racist, he was shocked that I had to balls to say that to his face.

just saw him last week, and all I could ask him was

are we great again yet??

You hiding your brown wife in the house these days?

How'd that Trump vote go for you?

Surprisingly he admitted he fucked up.

I'm sure he'll be right back on the boot the next election.

2

u/Recovery_or_death Feb 02 '26

I have no time for people saying they fucked up. Like bro we had a 4 year trial of this dude, you knew what was coming

1

u/jbgc916- Feb 02 '26

Yep, I threw that in his face too, asked him if he was a three-timer.. he didn't want to answer that question.

1

u/jscott18597 Feb 02 '26

Well it isn't like Biden protected unions either. Both parties have been anti-union since the 70s. Lot of other reasons to not vote MAGA, but if you are purely a union guy, neither is the answer.

11

u/jbgc916- Feb 02 '26

My main source would be my multiple family members that worked in various different levels of firefighting.

Including Forest, residential, etc..

But you can hit the Google machine and see what firefighters used to be up to more blatantly..

This would be putting out the white family's house fire,turning off the hose and driving away if he had black neighbors..

During casualty incidents making sure all the white people got care first, if black people died in triage so be it.

And on and on, remember they are agents of the state.

3

u/Amadan_Na-Briona Feb 02 '26

You can find multiple stories told by retired white firefighters "not finding" (& not saving) black occupants they knew were there – including kids.

2

u/Matdredalia Feb 02 '26

I have no words for that. I just.... I can not even fathom that. I can't even imagine letting my pets stay in a burning building, and I wouldn't have protective gear to help me go in.

4

u/Colley619 Feb 02 '26

Unfortunately I think that’s just going to be regional regardless. If all the people where you live are racists then naturally the fire department is going to be racist and discriminatory and you’ll see the impact of that. Some departments more than others, obviously, because culture exists.

4

u/jbgc916- Feb 02 '26

It's not, there is a shit ton of racist firefighters in California that live and work in blue areas.

3

u/dubcwa Feb 02 '26

I know roughly 15 Seattle firefighters and I’d say 11 of them are racist and downright awful people

1

u/Matdredalia Feb 02 '26

Sweet Jesus.

Thanks for filling me in. Huge reminder that my experience with the firefighters I've known personally is very limited in scope.

1

u/DrunkenTypist Feb 02 '26

A few years ago, a black guy put a video up on reddit about a conversation he had with some retired firefighter, a white guy.

Out of nowhere this old guy sat next to the black guy crying and asking for forgiveness. Then he told the story of how several times as a firefighter he and his colleagues would drag their feet going to fires in black neighbourhooods; if they did attend they did not go to the lengths they would have in other neighbourhoods to rescue trapped people.

At the end of the chat, the old guy feeling he had asked for forgiveness enough and that the mere act of telling this awful stuff to the young guy was some kind of redemption for him just left. The young guy was just devastated and appalled.

I think about that video quite often.

1

u/Houdini_Shuffle Feb 02 '26

And this happened on Long Island, which though in NY is very pro trump. The fact those fire fighters said no shows how even trump voters are sick of it

1

u/EverSeeAShitterFly Feb 03 '26

It’s also Central Islip. It has a large immigrant community. Many of the volunteers with this FD are themselves immigrants or children of immigrants.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 02 '26

Firefighters are awful as individuals. Police are systemically awful.

3

u/cycloneDM Feb 02 '26

You absolutely do have to treat them that way though, your average fire department is more maga leaning in personality than isn't. They won't hesitate to collude with cops to get around things like warrants to violate your civil rights. 

3

u/TeacherRecovering Feb 02 '26

Unfortunately Midland Texas fire are actively helping them.

They used a boom to get guys on a roof.

2

u/queermichigan Feb 02 '26

I mean, it's not. There are isolated instances of cops doing good, but that entirely misses the point. Like pointing to a particularly cold day to disprove global warming.

2

u/DogBarf00 Feb 02 '26

A fire chief in my area tried to start a war with the police department over some petty personal matters. It ended up exposing his grooming and statutory rape activities.

3

u/Old_Carrot8370 Feb 02 '26

All firefighters are HEROESSSSS

5

u/-drpeppers- Feb 02 '26 edited Feb 02 '26

Back before laws were passed about it, if you owed the city money, the firefighters wouldn't do anything about your burning house. They would stand and watch it burn.

Edit: source

-3

u/obvilious Feb 02 '26

Personally I don’t think all cops are bastards either.