Proud to Be Firefighter

It seems easy for the comic artist DeCinzo to poke fun at the Firefighters of the City of San Jose by hiding behind a cartoon. It is clear that he does not understand both sides of the issue. San Jose Firefighters contribute a significant amount of each paycheck to support their pension. These contributions are mandatory.

We put our lives and our families' future on the line every day. We take these risks every time someone calls 911, without a second thought. These dedicated professionals are one of the many reasons why the City of San Jose is one of the safest in the nation.

Someone who has the ability to reach and influence a large number of people living in the Silicon Valley should be held to a standard of honesty. This cartoon does not depict the mandatory contributions and the challenges it poses to the each Firefighter and their family.

I would hope the editors of Metro and especially those who live in San Jose would appreciate the San Jose Fire Department and stop printing slanderous articles and cartoons. The dedication of these firefighters allows them to sleep at night knowing if they are in need, we will help them, despite attempts to destroy our reputation.

I have been a Firefighter for the last 12 years and a Paramedic for the last 16 years. I am proud of my chosen profession and have dedicated my life to it. I come from a long line of public service, and that is just what it is, public service.

There are people in this world that believe what they are spoon-fed in these biased cartoons and take it for gospel. They take these cartoons as the total and correct truth while it is far from the truth.

While the cartoon depicts firefighters riding a wagon drawn by a dead or dying horse, it does not depict the mandatory contributions made by every Firefighter with every paycheck into that pension fund. It is true we do have a pension fund, but so does everyone that works for the City. This is the only part of the cartoon that is true.

There was also a cartoon in your Metro that depicted Firefighters as children and being lazy, with a horrible reference to the 343 firefighters that were lost on 9/11. Again that is the furthest thing from the truth. We as a whole are professional, courteous, understanding, honest and dedicated. I am proud to serve with each and every one of the Firefighters in our City.

While it is easy for your Metro to run a cartoon depicting the partial truth, put some more time in learning the truth. Not just taking some artist's rendition of it. Although I know it makes for better headlines for a struggling newspaper.

I am sure it is easy for DeCinzo to sleep well at night while we are out there taking care of the City.

Name Withheld by Request San Jose

Down for The Count

Re "Vietnam All Over" (MetroMenu, Aug 15). Orange County, Calif.'s Vietnamese population, primarily in Westminster and Garden Grove, is over 135,000, making it far bigger than the Vietnamese population of San Jose. Please check your facts!

Bert S. San Ramon

We did, and they're correct. As stated in the article, San Jose has more Vietnamese-Americans than any other city in the country—almost 85,000 as of 2005. Garden Grove has just over half that number, and Westminster well under half. It's true that Orange County has the most Vietnamese American residents of any county in the country, an entirely different category. In other news, Vietnam still claims the largest percentage of Vietnamese citizens in the world.—Editor

Where's Your 'Daddy'?

I am trying to find a story that was on the front cover, but I'm making myself dizzy going through each week to find it. Maybe you can help.

The front cover read, "Who's Your Daddy. The Social Services Child Support Dept Screwing Fathers w/ Child Support."

I just want to say thank you for letting people know about the Child Support system. I think they need to look over something with a fine tooth comb.

Sarah Valentine San Jose

Uh, that wasn't exactly the headline, Sarah. But we get the point. The "Who's Your Daddy?" story ran on July 19, 2006, and can be found archived along with all of our other stories of the last 10 years at metroactive.com. —Editor

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