7 Votes
Religion Precludes Aid
As I write, a fairly massive snowstorm is descending upon the East Coast and has already turned New Jersey roads into a slippery mix of ice and snow. Listening to my BCT-396 radio scanner, there has been call after call after call over the fire, police and EMS channels dispatching fire trucks and emergency vehicles for crashes, wrecks and various weather related injuries. As it is only noon now, the volume is expected to increase dramatically as the evening approaches and workers begin returning from New York City. In preparation for the forthcoming emergency demands, the local ambulance corps has been calling through its phone directory finding members available to assist tonight. A large number of orthodox Jewish members, however, are completely unavailable to assist others as candlelight time is 4:13pm. Is there a sense of irony that honoring the Sabbath precludes a Jewish EMT from coming to the aid of others in a time of need?
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Emergencies should be the exception by NomadSoul
I’m normally one to defend religion for a variety of reasons—but I think in a clear emergency situation like this, one’s duty to fellow human beings surpasses their duty to God. Any sensible supreme being would understand.
They are handicapped and should be treated as such by Occams
The way that I see this is that it is very good of anyone to volunteer to do emergency rescue work. Such people seem likely to be our best citizens. This activity should be encouraged, and everyone who wants to do it welcomed so long as there are places available and they are up for the work involved.
Some people are handicapped by physical disabilities and this will make them less useful as volunteers for many activities. Other people are handicapped by their mind set. Devout religious people are often handicapped by religious practices that limit their ability to do certain things. Orthodox Jews have a time limitation that makes them useless for anything from Friday evening until Sunday.
This handicap needs to be taken account of when their volunteering is accepted. It would be a shame if they took the place of a fully able bodied person in a critical rescue unit. Yes, this is discrimination on the basis of Religion but it is not malicious – just common sense.
Do fat people deserve handicapped stickers? by Anonymous
I know some obese people with handicapped tags have other ailments that helped make them obese. But I bet a lot of them get to park right by the store because they’re fat. Wouldn’t it be better if they parked farther out and walked it off?