BAN HBO and other PORN from EMS/Fire Stations

[reaper]

As stated, there is nothing wrong with ADULTS watching an R rated movie.

If you don't like it personally, then leave. No one is forcing it on you. You don't watch it at home, because you change the channel. Then leave the room if it is on!

If the dept allows those channels, then they allow them to watch them. If you don't like it, then push to have the channels removed. Just don't expect to be greeted back in the stations. All your posts here have been bitching about others, why not try and improve the situation, without forcing your morals on others?

[Eydawn]

Where exactly do you draw the line on "workplace appropriate" vs "keep it at home"? Is a historical movie containing violence, like American History X, inappropriate? Is it inappropriate if it has the potential to offend anyone who may wander in? I am offended by spongebob.... so does that make spongebob workplace inappropriate?

Just curious.

Wendy

CO EMT-B

[JPINFV]

Realistically, unless some sort of public relation (open house, station tours, etc) or public education activity has been planned, I don't see any reason for friends, family, or the public to be hanging around the station anyways. Pop in for 5 minutes to say "Hi" is fine, but they shouldn't be there for long anyways. If you are watching something "unprofessional" then it should easily be paused or stopped until the guests are gone. As such, I don't buy the "It's after an arbitrary time, we can do essentially what ever we want."

Now, yes, I agree that pornography has no place at the workplace. I disagree that there should be a formal rating guideline that bans, say, all R rated movies. No one should be forced to watch a movie that they dislike, but the onus is on both parties to work out a compromise, even if that means that one person leaves the room.

[p3medic]

I don't need the PC police to dictate what I may or may not watch at my station with my partner. If someone wants to visit, I'll turn it off untill they leave, otherwise I fail to see a problem. Comparing IBM or another business workplace to an EMS or Fire station is silly. One is a business were you are actively working except for scheduled breaks, the other is on break until called upon, assuming the station duties are completed.

[iamyourgod]

Ok so lets take the discussion to the next logical level. Religous male employee or a female employee complains about the show you are watching. You respond, there is a tv in the bedroom or you can leave the room if you dont like what is on. How do you think that will play in front of your HR person or commissioners when you have to go to the EEOC hearing, because this person has filed a complaint. And going back to my original statement, if a commissioner or your department's chaplain walked in, would you continue to watch the r-rated movie or would you turn it off ? If there is nothing wrong with it, then you would have to answer, we would leave it running.

[iamyourgod]

still waiting on proper justification for this practice ---- to make it simple, you are in court defending your right to watch r-rated movies at work, please explain to the judge how this is "professional" and belongs in the workplace ?

[reaper]

I would leave it running! If I am watching it with others, then I would not be ashamed of it. (those movies, I watch alone)

Then I would tell HR that the person chose to stay and watch something that they supposedly thought was offensive. If they thought it was offensive, they would have walked out of the room right away. Then there would be no problems. The rights of one, does not negate the rights of many.

If I was watching it alone and someone came in and asked nicely to change it, as they did not like that kind of movie. Then I would have no problem changing it. But, when their are multiple people watching a movie, I will not turn it off because one does not like it.

[reaper]

still waiting on proper justification for this practice ---- to make it simple, you are in court defending your right to watch r-rated movies at work, please explain to the judge how this is "professional" and belongs in the workplace ?

Easy, ask how it is unprofessional?

[DwayneEMTP]

Actually i am atheist. I am sorry, but right or wrong doesnt go by a clock. If something is not professional at 3pm when the school kids are touring the station, then it is not appropriate at 3am when no school kids are around. That is like saying it is ok to use the N word as long as no african-americans are around.

I guess if you equate the watching of adult dramas to openly expressing attitudes and language that relates to racial fear and hatred you might have a point. But I don’t think you do.

At what time of day is it professional, or even slightly sensible, to allow a teenage girl to sit on the sofa with a bunch of pumped up hosemonkey late at night?

And this argument isn't new. And nearly everyone that brings it states they were, "With my rookie 18y/o female partner when, without warning we walked in on porn! Of course I took her back to the truck, but it was too late."

Need a new story...And yeah. If you've been in EMS for 24 years you know very well that sometimes appropriateness goes by a clock. The language many use in the parking lot at 0300 is not the same that they use in the church rectory at noon on Sunday.

You seem to have a self righteous agenda that is clouding these issues. And how do you remain in EMS for 24 years without learning how to have an intelligent discussion? I asked for your background, yet before giving it you declare that it's irrelevant. I disagree. From the 'vibe' I'm getting from your posts I'm guessing female. If so, there is a not uncommon bias to porn with many women. I'm a 45y/o white male, you'd probably benefit from that knowledge if we're discussing feminism issues when trying to understand my perspective. And it truly makes debate and discussion much easier and more productive if you don't decide for the both of us which information is useful and which is not.

Besides…I’m ringing the troll bell on you babe. As Atheists go, there is only one on here that I’m aware of that would be so ignorant as to choose such a screen name unless you are simply trying to stir up shit. Gonna have to do better…sorry.

Dwayne

[JPINFV]

Ok so lets take the discussion to the next logical level. Religous male employee or a female employee complains about the show you are watching. You respond, there is a tv in the bedroom or you can leave the room if you dont like what is on. How do you think that will play in front of your HR person or commissioners when you have to go to the EEOC hearing, because this person has filed a complaint. And going back to my original statement, if a commissioner or your department's chaplain walked in, would you continue to watch the r-rated movie or would you turn it off ? If there is nothing wrong with it, then you would have to answer, we would leave it running.

1. Just because someone is religious doesn't give them veto power over the activities that takes place. After all, what if the person who is watching the program is religious?

2. I wouldn't care if the department chaplain walked in on anything I was watching.