Jesse Watters implied women are too stupid to run fire departments -- most LA fire department leaders are men

"DEI is deadly": Fox News spin on California wildfires exposes MAGA's total incoherence
Jesse Watters implied women are too stupid to run fire departments — most LA fire department leaders are men

By Amanda Marcotte
Senior Writer
Published January 10, 2025 6:00AM (EST)


(Salon) One thing no one can deny: MAGA influencers put a lot of work into pushing really stupid talking points. Most everyone with sense understands that the fires ravaging Los Angeles are, in large part, a predictable consequence of climate change. However, it is an article of faith in MAGA circles that climate change is a "hoax" invented by the "libs" to deny gender-affirming care to cis men, in the form of oversized gas-guzzling trucks. So they quickly jumped into action during a time of immense need, seeking someone or something else to blame. And because the movement takes all its cues from a right-wing influencer named Chaya Raichik — who posts under the name "Libs of Tik Tok" — they've settled on blaming women.

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It would be cool if women occupied the top three positions of the LAFD, but readers will not be surprised to find out this is not the case. The fire chief, Kristin M. Crowley (pictured left), is a woman. But a quick view of the orgaztional chart shows the chief of staff, the head of emergency operations, the head of administrative operations, the heads of the regional bureaus, the head of the prevention bureau, and the head of IT are all men. Out of the 12 leaders on the page, only 3 are women — meaning a full 75% of the leadership team is male. And that is to say nothing of the first responders from Los Angeles County.

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And what point are Raichik and her MAGA followers making? Not clear! The acronym "DEI," which stands for "diversity, equity, and inclusion," is being thrown around, but an acronym does not actually explain why women in leadership is a bad idea. Commenters responded to the photo with "Answers a lot of questions" and "And that’s all you need to know," but no one is willing to say what answers they arrived at, knowing nothing about these leaders but their gender. Jesse Watters of Fox News recycled this photo but also declined to spell out why he believed women are unable to handle the job of being upper management at a fire department.

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With the election of Trump to a second term, there's been a lot said about the "post-truth" moment that Republican voters live in. But this entire exercise shows that it's beyond that. This is the right's post-coherence era. Even within the context of this false information about the gender makeup of the LAFD, there's no attempt to explain why having women in leadership would harm the ability of the firefighters on the ground to do their jobs. It's just a vague gesture — "ew, women" — and a total unwillingness to explain why women are unfit to serve. ...................(more)

https://www.salon.com/2025/01/10/dei-is-deadly-fox-news-spin-on-california-wildfires-exposes-magas-total-incoherence/