The Day Everything Changed

For most people before 9/11, the salient storyline about the FDNY was probably something along the lines of racist floats — not necessarily because people assume the worst about firefighters but rather because that was just what was in the news about firefighters. So it’s a nice reminder that even in the traumatic aftermath of 9/11 people still found ways to stay stupid, as one captain reminisced during the federal discrimination trial about recruiting practices that is happening now:

The New York Fire Department is so racism-riddled that just weeks after Sept. 11, 2001, someone defaced a flyer honoring the black Bravest who died, an FDNY captain testified Monday.