I’ve seen alot of American based sitcoms. There are some premises which come up quite alot. Are these some sterotype or is it real?
1. Hate between Fire and Police department
2. Firemen are sexy and ladies go GaGa for them
3. Hate between city cops and county sheriff when they cross towns
4. The millennials standing on a crazy line for Starbucks or some other big opening of a shop.
I’ve had a lot of these questions. Can’t think of any more right now. I’ll keep updating them.
27 comments
Not sure about 1 and 3, but for 2 and 4, yes. Firemen are sexy, almost universally. They save lives, work out a lot, and work with their hands (and can carry you).
As for millennials standing in line for the opening of a shop, it’s not only millennials, but yes. I remember some Gen X folk standing in a huge line for Krispy Kreme, and I’m sure boomers did it for something too. I’m surprised that’s not a thing wherever you are.
1. No
2. Yes but only on calendars, respectful in person
3. No (I’m sure there could be exceptions)
4. Depends. Not only one age group or type of retail shop though.
1. It’s more of friendly ribbing, as they Police and Fire Departments work together more than you might think
2. I’m not sure about this one, as most of the firefighters I know don’t really like like they belong on a calendar if you know what I mean.
3. Similar to point one. They have to coordinate a lot of the time so they will give each other shit every now and then. The only real arguments that come up are jurisdiction issues, but those are solved pretty quickly in most cases.
4. Not really. The only time I see lines for store openings is if they offer some kind of free deal.
When a Krispy Kreme (donut shop) opened for the first time (in a city I know of), there was such a buzz. If people were having a fancy party, the top get was to offer guests a bunch of Krispy Kreme donuts.
There were cars not only circling its parking lot but circling about a 3 or 4 block radius, waiting to get up to the drive thru window.
Whatever seems like a novelty, even in a big city, can cause this type of thing. And it might depend how bored people feel at the time.
All age groups stand in line for the newest thing if it’s very popular. I am a GenX and stood in line for the last two Harry Potter books with my daughter. I also stood in line when we got a new PharMor (defunct pharmacy superstore). Lots of new store openings offer free promotional items to their first customers. PharMor gave out a bunch of free item coupons.
1-3 makes firemen and police more important than they are to our daily lives. I think it’s because TV presents them as far bigger in our lives than they are. Most people have no idea what city cops and county sheriffs feel when they cross towns, and don’t think about it, nor hate between fire and police. The only time I heard that one was for 9/11.
There’s a meme of calendars with Firefighters, so I guess there’s a teeny bit of a subtext about women going gaga for them? But no one really thinks about this.
4. Any big opening of a major store usually has lines, nothing to do with millenials. This is because a big opening will have specials, like free coffee or whatever. Or else because the chain of the store has never been in the region and this is the first time there, eg Krispy Kreme coming to an Idaho town.
All of them are based in truth, but not totally accurate.
Sheriffs in New Jersey really only handle civil enforcement and court related issues (security, transport, fugitives)
Local law enforcement couldn’t care less about them.
There are some real-life examples of all of these, but I wouldn’t say any of them are especially common. Sitcoms play them up for entertainment.
Please don’t base your judgments about the US on American television series!
1. I doubt this but have no insight into how cops and firefighters interact.
2. Firemen are required to constantly workout and are physically fit because they’re required to carry 100+ pound equipment and sending someone into a burning building who cannot do that is dangerous to everyone. Do all of them look like Ben Affleck? No, but their physical fitness makes them attractive. There’s people with a firefighter fetish, but that’s not much different than other fetishes.
3. I doubt this but have no insight into it.
4. There are lines for new things that sometimes wrap around a building, but it’s not an everyday occurrence. Sitcoms do this because it makes for a fairly easy visual joke and can stand as a proxy for online buzz for the most recent trend.
3. In reality most arguments about jurisdiction occur at the border of city limits. And it’s usually the city cops saying it’s outside city limits and the sheriff’s responsibility and the sheriff saying no it’s within city limits. But even then arguments are rare and they’re just trying to decide who is supposed to handle it.
1. I think there is more of a good-natured rivalry between fire and police departments. I don’t think there is hate.
2. Everyone loves firemen. Most are in good shape. There is some truth to this one.
3. This is probably just for Hollywood. My guess is that these different jurisdictions get along just fine.
4. I can think of crazy lines for movie openings, concert tickets, and sporting events long before millennials were born, so this isn’t something new.
My take is that 1 is definitely not real – there’s probably more camaraderie between fire and police departments. As far as 2 goes, fireman are supposed to be physically fit and the fire stations usually have gyms, so it’s not surprising that there’s a stereotype of them being sexy. Most of the ones I know are older and married though. I don’t know much about 3 but I don’t think it’s that simple. There might be some tension between departments but for the most part there’s protocol on who has jurisdiction where and how that power transfers.
Number 4 is not so simple – some starbucks just have really long lines. That’s not the same thing as waiting in line for 2 days in front of an apple store to get the new iPhone on release day. Not sure which you’re referring to here. And if you think the line at starbucks is long, you should see Chik-Fil-A…
Also for 4 I’m not sure if these are older shows you’re watching, because millenials are in their 30’s and 40’s. The generation in their prime right now would be Gen Z.
1. I’m not sure I’ve never encountered that.
2. yes, firefighting is very prestigious, you get all the heroics without the unpleasantness of police work. Everyone loves firefighters, they are young fit and in theory they save people and fight fires.
3. I had an uber driver who was about to be the police, and he fucking HATED the local police, I thought his passion was funny and random. Often police jurisdiction is unclear so they get fucking angry at each other, because they both try to dominate the situation, and they can’t arrest each other. N=1 but I think this happens a lot.
Also the professionalism of our police forces varies drastically. Sometimes in poor areas the police seem like overweight LARPers until you realize they have the power to legally fuck u up, and their guns work.
4. yes! Less true now!
I’ve worked in EMS and as a 911 dispatcher.
There’s something to number 1. Police, fire, and EMS all have different goals on scene.
Let’s say I get drunk off my ass and crash my car. (I wouldn’t, but this is hypothetical) I’m trapped inside and injured.
Police want to arrest me for DUI and put me away as *quickly* and with *as little paperwork as possible.*
Fire wants to rescue me *safely,* no matter how long that takes. They also like playing with the jaws of life. Wouldn’t you?
EMS wants to transport me to the hospital and *advocate for me* as their patient.
So Fire wants me out of the car, and they tell PD to control traffic while they make that happen. Fire, seeing an injured patient, turns me over to EMS.
EMS wants me in the hospital because I’m injured. Police want me in jail because I was driving drunk. I’m injured, so obviously I’m going to the hospital.
Now police have to follow EMS to the hospital, arrest me there, keep an officer in my room so I’m constantly under surveillance, and only take me to jail after I’m discharged.
They’re mad at EMS for transporting and they’re mad at fire for taking so long on scene. In turn, fire and EMS are mad at police for adding a bunch of stress to their scene. They want police to go away so they can get honest answers out of me, like how much I really had to drink and how fast I was going. (I’m not telling the cops that!)
So yeah, it happens, because everyone has different goals on scene.
1. Not so much hate as just friendly rivalry
2. They can be. There was a trend a while back where firefighters would raise money by selling a calendar with pictures of their firefighters shirtless or just looking sexy and handsome. So there is a stereotype there but it is more of a trope than a real “all ladies think firefighters are sexy” truism.
3. generally not in my experience. Various police forces have friendly smack talk between them. City police love to call state troopers traffic cones with a hat. There’s a lot of inter service rivalry but in the end law enforcement does believe they are all on the same team (at least in my experience).
4. uhhh not really? A new Starbucks isn’t exactly exciting. Maybe a new local restaurant will have a line on opening day.
I work/have worked closely with a lot of police, fire, and EMS.
Some fire and police departments have more tension between them than others, but when crap hits the fan that all gets tossed. There are a lot of attractive firemen but one county in particular where I’m at has *the most attractive crew* I’ve ever seen and every time they show up we all swoon. I’ve never noticed any real drama between county and city but I’m not in a particularly rural area.
For 1, there was a small town near where I grew up where every year the fireman’s picnic got out of control late at night and was broken up by the police. It was basically a big brawl between the police and fire departments that somehow happened year.
1) Depends on the agencies and people… their is a lot of “friendly” competition between the two… and there is a lot of situations with total disdain between the two.. Example: Call the FD for a washdown at an accident… That doesn’t happen now days.. You can’t just take the 1.25″ pre -connect off the engine and wash the gasoline and oil off the road..no it turns into a full blown HAZMAT call.. and well that means I got a sit around as you call out some other 3rd party company to clean this up… so instant blown fuse… Theres lots of these situations which lead to bad blood/ill will against agencies.. It works the same way.. when LE takes forever to show up on a call..
2) Well this happens in both agencies… uniform chasers, badge bunnies etc.. Depends on the FD and LE… A lot of this owes to the use of calendars for FD’s as fund raisers.. It goes both ways… its actually kind of comical to sit and watch from the bleachers as it were… All the grief the ones who are being chased get… Ugly for the win here!
3) depends on the agencies… First, note: NOT ALL SHERIFFS in the US are LE, as in actual cops doing patrol etc.. example: PA Sheriffs != LE! They are court officers mostly who do subpoena summons, etc.. jail transport etc… As most of them in PA do not have Act 120 cert… some do… most do not.. its a political swamp for most… In the area I live we most DEFINITELY have a very strong hate relationship with the major city agency…. They think they are better than saints! Yeah, and who has had 3 Chiefs in 5 years, with sex scandals, political scandals etc.??? HMMM???? And who has to hide behind encrypted radios because they don’t want any one to know what they do??? And because of that who can NOT GET MUTUAL AID and back up when they get shot at???? I could go on and on on this… And its even better because.. the PD ONLY has jurisdiction in the city limits, the SHERIFF HAS JURISDICTION IN THE ENTIRE COUNTY INCLUDING THE CITY ! BAWAHWAHAHA!
4) Don’t know. avoid those places at all cost.. and don’t drink coffee either.. blech.
>Hate between Fire and Police department
I’ve never heard of this.
>Firemen are sexy and ladies go GaGa for them
Yes, in fact, you can buy calendars of sexy shirtless firemen.
>Hate between city cops and county sheriff when they cross towns
I don’t know about this.
>The millennials standing on a crazy line for Starbucks or some other big opening of a shop.
I’ve never heard of this for a new Starbucks opening, but I have heard of this for a new Apple product release.
People literally stand in line for days or sometimes weeks for new products or for movie premiers or overnight for free food when a restaurant opens. When the PlayStation 3 came out there were guys that camped out at Target for almost a week.
1. No, atleast not seriously. Usually it’s just a friendly rivalry
2. Yes generally. Firefighters have very active jobs so they’re generally more fit.
3. Depends on the city. Where I live they get along, but in my dads county there’s some tension between them.
4. Yes but that’s a stereotype for all generations.
1. Never heard of this.
2. People In Uniform Are Attractive isn’t some outrageously out there type. Some people are attracted to those in an official uniform
3. [The Wire](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0fXEBH4lcg) has a [few scenes](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aftHQdRKvts) about [this stuff](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gt-iNDZziW8).
4. Millenials at this point are mostly in 30s and 40s and Starbucks being some hyped up opening hasn’t been a thing in 20 years. Starbucks opening up a shop is like McDonalds opening up.
>Hate between Fire and Police department
I dont know why, but the line from the movie “The Departed” just came to my mind: [Fuck you, fuckin’ queers. Firemen gettin’ pussy for the first time in the history of fire or pussy. Hey go save a kitten in a tree, you fucking homos!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gAne-kuxwE)
> Hate between city cops and county sheriff when they cross towns
I lived in a small rural county for five years and was a part time county sheriff and I found this to be false. Coordination between county and municipal law enforcement was pretty good which it had to be as there were only about 60,000 people in this county and not many police in total.
For two:
https://www.australianfirefighterscalendar.com/_c/firefighter/
I mean come on.
>Hate between Fire and Police department
my uncle is retired FDNY, my cousin is a cop, my uncle did not disown his son when he went to the police academy.
there is no real hate, it is mostly friendly banter between first responders.
HOWEVER the Hockey Heroes FDNY vs NYPD charity hockey game can get really intense and there is a long standing rivalry between NYPD and FDNY for the past 48 years. FDNY is ahead in the series with 26 wins -18 loses – 3 ties.