Black Firemen Support White Colleague Who Was FIRED For Bringing ‘Racially Insensitive’ Watermelon To Work

Wow… this is wonderful to see. A group of black firefighters in Detroit are coming to the defense of a white firefighter who brought a gift of a watermelon to his fellow firefighters his first day of work and was fired for it. They called it “racially insensitive.” I fail to see how a yummy watermelon is racially insensitive. They usually get donuts, but this guy put a pink bow on it and brought it in to work. It ended badly for him and now a bunch of black firefighters are speaking up over it. In this racially heated culture, I’m surprised… pleasantly so.

Robert Pattison, 41, was unceremoniously fired as a probationary fireman after introducing himself to the rest of his crew with said watermelon. It’s part of a tradition to bring edible gifts in on your first day. However, Second Battalion Chief Shawn McCarty noted that some staff had no taste buds and no sense of ironic humor over the whole affair (my words, not his). They considered the watermelon to be a slap at African Americans. It isn’t. You don’t get to hijack a food and label it racist. That’s moronic. “It’s not mandatory, it’s voluntary,” Second Battalion Chief Shawn McCarty told Fox2. “You come in bearing gifts. The usual gift is doughnuts, but you are allowed to bring whatever you want to bring in.”

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