We support our Publishers and Content Creators. You can view this story on their website by CLICKING HERE.

There is no particular reason to think that a gay, lesbian, black, brown, or any other “diverse” person (I hate that “diverse” can describe a person rather than a group!) couldn’t make an excellent fire chief. 

Advertisement

But you can be 100% certain that if “diversity” is a major or the primary reason for hiring somebody, the person hired will be unlikely to be the best choice. It’s simple: you restrict the applicant pool, and your choices diminish, and with a diminished pool the likelihood you will find excellence diminishes. 

Not to mention that it is both immoral and illegal to prioritize such things. 

It’s obvious that Fire Chief Kristen Crowley, who is leading the effort to extinguish the L.A. fires, is not exactly killing it, but that isn’t how Pride magazine sees it. Kristen is a lesbian, and that is all that matters. 

I read the article that accompanies the headline and was struck by something that was totally missing: any mention of her efforts to get the fires under control and no mention of how disastrous the situation is. It’s all about how great it is that she is a lesbian and how awful it is that people are pointing out that she is a DEI hire who prioritizes DEI in hiring, as she proudly notes in her biography. 

Advertisement

Pride, though, thinks Crowley is “getting it done.” The “it,” it turns out, has little to do with fighting fires though. 

The stereotype of lesbians always being prepared for an emergency — everyone knows a queer woman who doesn’t leave the house without a Leatherman multitool and carabiners — holds true for Los Angeles’ first openly LGBTQ+ Fire Chief Kristin Crowley who is overseeing the firefighters trying to stop the Palisades fire.

As of Wednesday morning, more than 5,000 acres in the affluent celebrity-inhabited neighborhood of Pacific Palisades in southern California has been consumed by fire, with approximately 1,000 structures and coastal homes reduced to rubble.

The fire is being called “one of the most destructive firestorms to hit the region in memory” by the LA Times and has already carved a path of destruction along the Pacific Coast Highway.

I had no idea of the stereotype that lesbians are always prepared for an emergency. Who knew? 

As you can see, Pride acknowledges that there is indeed a massive fire in L.A.–one of the most destructive in memory. So at least there is that. Unfortunately, they can’t specify how Crowley is “getting it done” because, in fact, “it” is NOT getting done. Firefighters don’t even have consistent access to water, and the fires are killing people, destroying some of the most exclusive real estate in the world, and totally out of control. 

Advertisement

But Kristin Crowley has a Leatherman multitool, apparently, so there is that. And if you actually need help, that is your problem. DEI über alles. 

Crowley has made history, Pride argues, so she deserves a break from the people upset that she has prioritized diversity over firefighting. Those people are just mean. Did you know she is an “always prepared” lesbian? She IS!

Becoming the first LGBTQ+ fire chief wasn’t even the first time Crowley made history; back in 2016, she also became Los Angeles’ first female fire marshal.

Conservative actor James Woods has also expressed his frustration with Crowley, taking a jab at her LAFD bio, which lists her priorities as “creating, supporting, and promoting a culture that values diversity, inclusion, and equity while striving to meet and exceed the expectations of the communities.”

How unfair of Woods. Crowley has made HISTORY, although we really should call it HERstory, you know. 

Advertisement

In the profile, there is not one word about how the fires are being brought under control because, as of now, they are not. Even Crowley herself doesn’t make any claims about getting the job done yet. 

“We are absolutely not out of danger yet,” Crowley said, adding that “these fires are stretching the capacity of emergency services to the maximum limits.”

Pride, though, suggests that this is hardly the point. Did you know that Crowley is a lesbian and made history?