Bill Maher slams LA Fire Department’s diversity obsession
Democrat talk show host Bill Maher on Saturday slammed the Los Angeles Fire Department’s obsession with diversity as he suggested the deadly wildfires are the result of incompetent government officials.
At least 27 have been reported dead from the infernos that decimated large swaths of the LA area. Thousands of firefighters are struggling to fully contain the blazes, which have burned over 40,000 acres and destroyed more than 10,000 structures and homes. At least 82,000 residents have reportedly been served evacuation orders.
The disaster has sparked heavy criticism towards state and local officials, who are being blamed for empty fire hydrants and water reservoirs. Critics are pointing to California Governor Gavin Newsom’s dismissal of President Donald Trump’s warnings in 2019 that the state’s poor fire management would lead to out-of-control wildfires, and observers are pinning the poor response to the wildfires on liberal policies. It was climate orthodoxy, for example, that led Newsom to dump millions of gallons of water in the Pacific Ocean in an attempt to save an endangered fish called the smelt.
‘It matters where your head is’
On this weekend’s episode of Real Talk With Bill Maher, the Los Angeleno talk show host criticized the Los Angeles Fire Department’s extreme emphasis on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), which often sacrifices competence.
LAFD Chief Kristin M. Crowley, who is hailed as the first female and lesbian to hold the post, has made DEI a top priority and even established a DEI department in January 2023. She appointed Kristine Larson, a black lesbian who reportedly earns nearly $400,000 a year, to head the department. The LAFD also boasts its first lesbian assistant chief, Kristina Kepner, who studied diversity at Harvard. Jamie Brown, another lesbian, is celebrated as the LAFD’s first LGBTQ+ Training and Support Bureau commander.
“The good news is our fire chief is a lesbian,” Maher sarcastically told his audience. “Am I against a lesbian being chief? Of course not. Do I think a lesbian can do the job? Of course I do. And maybe she’s the best person for the job. Or maybe they really wanted a lesbian in that job and she’s just the best lesbian for that job, and with essential services, that’s not good enough.”
He noted that Crowley’s bio on the LAFD website — which immediately notes she is “the first female and LGBTQ Fire Chief in the LAFD” — twice mentions “diversity” before saying that Crowley strives to perform her duties.
“Creating, supporting, and promoting a culture that values diversity, inclusion, and equity while striving to meet and exceed the expectations of the communities are Chief Crowley’s priorities, and she is grateful for the opportunity to serve the City of Los Angeles,” the website states.
“Well you didn’t exceed my expectations, which was that the whole city wouldn’t burn down,” commented Maher. “But it’s telling that diversity is mentioned twice before we get to ‘while.’ ‘While striving to meet expectations.’ Now, can you do two things at once? Yes, but it matters where your head is.”
Maher then played a clip of Deputy Chief Kristine Larson, who claimed that people in a fire emergency want to be helped by responders “that look like you.”
“Which would sound kind of racist if a Southern sheriff said it,” Maher said to audience laughter and applause. “So we should be sending White firefighters to White houses and Black ones to — who teaches people this bullsh*t? No one cares what someone looks like when they’re pulling you out of a burning house.”
In 2021, the LAFD adopted a racial equity plan that said the department would focus on hiring based on race and similar non-meritorious factors.
