I am so naive, because it continues to shock me that:
- people use 911 as a taxi cab service (figuratively or literally)
- people don’t pull over for ambulances
- people hassle EMTs and even threaten with weapons (wtf?)
I’m sure I have more - items but that’s enough for now. I just don’t get why people would be so insulting to a service that saves lives. (And I’m not just saying that because of what you do.)
That was really interesting. I think it probably doesn’t answer completely what Public Enemy was saying about institutional racism and the idea that money makes you safer, but it does show how these people were frustrated when they heard that song.
Not much has changed since then: some places are safer than others, and a lot of it depends on the amount of taxes collected from a neighborhood.
Luckily, you don’t see too many people with puffy curly hair anymore. See, the world does get better with time.
So what was Public Enemy trying to say, anyway? That 911 wouldn’t serve poor neighborhoods or what?
What does a bureaucratic clusterfuck have to do with the wonderful job the EMT’s do everyday?
Why do people have to be so ignorant?
Our local volunteer fire dept, and the EMT’s work very hard for our community - and are awesome.
Oh, where these two last comments directed at what I wrote or at Public Enemy or at both? I mean, I can take it, no big deal.
Just to clarify my point (because online arguments are silly), Public Enemy didn’t write a song about EMTs who think treating people from poor neighborhoods is a joke, and their song doesn’t imply such a thing. They wrote a song about institutional racism and class-related allocation of resources, about the reason that poor black people see the police as an enemy of the people rather than a protector.
On the other hand, the frustration of the EMTs was understandable because for them their daily lives were no joke--but the video does not rebut the main point of the Public Enemy song.
People in the Sun - my comment was not directed at you - it was just a statement. I didn’t mean to offend you.
I’m sorry then. But it’s good, because by having to argue my point I was able to clarify it better in my head. It’s a happy ending.
I’ve never heard of the band and don’t know the song.
My personal experiences with EMS have been overwhelmingly positive, and often prompted the writing of thank you letters.
From my ex, who is?/was? an EMT, I’ve heard both inspiring things and disgusting things about EMS.
Conclusion, based on the above and the title of the song: maybe Public Enemy would like to try out the EMS system in a developing country for comparison?
Poppy- Yeah… well the world isn’t peaches and cream… because if it was then there would be no need for EMTs.
People in the Sun- The issue that the EMTs had with PE wasn’t so much in the song… but it was in its portrayal in the video. Specifically they represented a black EMT holding a backboard while eating a sandwhich at the same time. This became a problem for two reasons: 1) The EMTs who worked specifically in the South Bronx were then hassled and harrassed by the crowds in the projects and 2) Due to that harrassment, a number of buildings were added to the “sensitive” locations listing which would delay a medical response until the appropriate law enforcement rseources were onscene for the safety of both the crew and the patient… including to Flavor Flav‘s own aunt’s building. Because this all took place during the Crack War years… some patients wouldn’t see an ambulance for an hour. The rest of the group come from Queens, so they themselves were not adversely affected by it.
While it is true that the song itself is about institutional racism, the statistics regarding the use of the 9-1-1 system in NYC, which is the city portrayed in the video, showed that it was used in lower income areas over 600% more… and that those areas in fact had more resources than higher income areas due to the higher call volume. Chuck D himself admitted that he had unfairly portrayed NYC EMS in 1994 during an interview on Hot 97.1. Sadly it took him 2 years to admit this.
It is true that areas with higher tax collection will receive better public services, and this trend will continue as long as we allow the continuing cuts from Federal funding for these programs.
Annie- As PITS mentioned… it was primarily about a perceived racism from institutions towards lower income areas. The fact is that while the lower income areas invest less by way of taxes into a system, they rely on it more so. Even today, where the current EMS deployment for Hunts Point consists of 4 BLS ambulances and 1 ALS ambulances, a higher income area such as Forest Hills which is slightly larger in geographic reference, and with a higher population actually only has 1 BLS ambulance and 1 ALS ambulance. So although the lower income area provides less revenue for the system it is receiving more services because they use them more… which PE was trying to say the opposite of in that the higher income areas received more resources.
Fantastagirl- It always seems to be the ones who can’t do the job are the most critical for whatever the reason… and vollies as a whole are awesome.
Girl, Dislocated- See… thank you letters are the greatest because generally we never hear about the outcome of patients since we’re already moved on to the next one… so that’s awesome that you do that.
“In each of us two natures are at war… the good and the evil. All our lives the fight goes on between them, but one of them must conquer. In our own hands lies the power to choose. What we want most to be we are.” – Dr. Henry Jekyll
No I wasn’t directing that at PitS, I’ve heard that position before, of course and thanks for clarifying, Dawg.
I don’t live in NYC and I never heard of the song so my commenting on this might be out of place. But in the various communities that we have lived I have had to use EMS services several different times. I have the utmost respect for all of our EMS employees.
Thank you Watchdog for what you do. Stay safe.
Oh, so that’s what the song was about…
And you actually get to see thank you letters? I’ve sent them figuring they just get filed away somewhere, but feeling like I at least tried to say thank you.
I never saw the PE video, so I was talking from ignorance. I have the album, and the lyrics do make it seem like it is only about the police reaction, so that’s where I got it. My bad.
Saying that, I still think with this song and with other, often too-simplistic lyrics, and with antisemitic remarks Chuck D. had made (later making a silly repudiation in his book, saying he has nothing against Jews; He’s angry at them just as much as he is at all other white people), they had a positive effect on this country.
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