由苏珊塔马克斯
我们从事我们在Firehouse（或任何地方）的每一个讨论或换句话中始于一句话所说的几年。我们每个人都包括过去我们目前的对话 - 塑造我们的经验，教训的生活教授我们，以及从我们独特和个人过去发展的观点。我们的谈话包括我们的具体和个人观点。
这句话包含我们的偏见。这些偏见re nothing more than those perspective beliefs that shaped our viewpoint despite further examination of the possible merits of an alternative opinion. For example, in the first firehouse to which I was assigned, I worked for an older, fire captain who was close to retirement and whose main goal was to do as little as possible. We never trained, the paperwork was nonexistent, we rarely saw him, and station life was negative. My viewpoint of fire officers near retirement was not a good one.
RELATED
Inner Dialogue and the Brotherhood
Small Group Dynamics: Building Your Fire Department from the Bottom Up
Building a Gender-Inclusive Workplace
我被分配在另一个车站，其中一个是素食主义者的消防员。他从不用船员吃饭。我们总是不得不出去给他一些特别吃的东西。他在车站中的意见是他不是团队的球员。他很虚弱，因为他没有吃肉。他很需要，不能依赖。
在与性别，饮食，种族，大小以及其他任何事情方面形成的同事的每个地区都有示例。我们的观点是创造的，然后由我们周围的人的言语和对话加强，他们来自他们的经历或偏见。
在全国范围内，每天都有很多关于性别中立的消防队的讨论，指责sexual misconduct, votes of no confidence, diversity training, a meeting for specific genders or cultures, behavioral issues, LGBT, and working only for the pension. In general, distrust begins to build in our minds based on the words we hear from fire service members.
消防站周围这些对话的真相在哪里？你有能力塑造你的观点吗？丽莎威廉姆斯，在她的研究中，作为一名心理学家说，“关于一群人的特征的信念都是我们周围的。他们允许通过提供一些“预信息”来指导我们的判断来快速决策。因为它是一个泛化，所以它在任何一个人的应用中几乎总是错误。“您是否在Firehouse厨房桌子上购买了所有讨论，或者您打开了其他解释的可能性吗？
我们在消防部门面临的挑战能够通过所有这些“前信息”和障碍，并认识到个人观点有理由。我们必须更好地了解对方，并从事我们自己信仰的自我检查。
The Fire and Emergency Services Culture: Can It Be Changed?
It can be difficult to navigate through these discussions. You may have to start by confirming a bias before you can develop a connection with somebody. We must invest time and energy in piercing through these long-standing viewpoints before we begin that constructive and understanding dialogue.
As we examine our personal position on many topics, let’s look at how our firefighting culture has been shaped by the generations of the firefighters before us by their images, words and actions. Does this culture still exist? Do we still value these images, the words, and the actions? These biases are alive and present in the fire service even though we may not consciously be aware of them, and every new firefighter brings to the organization a history of his/her peculiar prejudices.
Are we courageous enough to shape our own perception and future? Each member is different and unique, yet all members have earned the title of firefighter. In our firehouses there will be people who are more like us and those who will stand out because of they differ in ability, interests, or attainment. We all have work to do. Through courageous conversations and treasuring the qualities in every firefighter and accepting them as they are we will reshape our individual biases. Social change is hard, but those who begin changing from within will inspire others and can make a tremendous contribution toward opening the door to a better working environment and a better fire department.
参考
威廉姆斯，丽莎A.访问11-16-15http://theconversation.com/the-problem-with-merit-based-appointments-theyre-not-free-from-gender-bias-either-45364-
Susan Tamme是一个22岁的消防服务老兵和坦帕（佛罗里达州）火灾救援（TFR）的区院长。她是佛罗里达州消防教练III，佛罗里达州USAR工作组3和TFR危险材料团队，以及一支经验丰富的梯子和重型救援人员。她拥有消防科学和紧急医学的副学士学位，是组织管理学士学位，以及教育硕士学位。她是IWOMEN秘书和其执行局的成员。
