From Ground Zero To Ground Hero: Status Appropriation And The FDNY
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Date
2001
Authors
Journal Title
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Volume Title
Publisher
Disaster Research Center
Abstract
Disasters and emergencies are often characterized by heightened levels of
structural ambiguity and uncertainty; conditions which may create an
opportunity for symbolic figures or groups to emerge and ascend to a
position of acclaim and high status. In the aftermath of the terrorist
attacks of September 11, 2001, one group, the Fire Department of New
York (FDNY), emerged as an idealized symbol of America at its best. In
the face of great uncertainty and unknown risks, firefighters came to be
perceived as transcending their instrumental actions and vocations to set a
standard of readiness, response, and resolve. Drawing on the microprocesses
outlined by Klapp in his work on symbolic leaders and
Gusfield's conceptionalization of status groups, a multilevel model is
created with three goals in mind (1) extend the explanatory power of
previous work by combining macro and micro levels of analysis; (2)
provide a framework for discerning why some groups emerge over others;
and (3) offer theoretically-informed empirical model that is both testable
and predictive to the extant research on this topic.
Description
Keywords
Ground Zero, FDNY