National Park ranger fired from "dream job" on Valentine's Day pens emotional viral letter: "Things are not ok"

[Brenda]

I'm not sure which phase of grief I'm in. Maybe all of them at once.

This story makes me very sad. All of these hard-working, dedicated government employees like Ranger Gibbs getting fired by the hundreds of thousands across America.

How can this be happening? I just saw a story that said that Musk was not in charge of DOGE. So who the fuck is firing all of these people?

"Access to my government email was denied mid-afternoon and my position was ripped out from out under my feet after my shift was over at 3:45pm on a cold snowy Friday," Gibbs wrote in a viral Facebook post. "Additionally, before I could fully print off my government records, I was also locked out of my electronic personal file that contained my secure professional records."

About 3,400 recently hired employees with the U.S. Forest Service and 1,000 employees with the National Park Service were fired from their jobs over the weekend under the Trump administration, accounting for 10% and 5% of those workforces, respectively. Seasonal employees will be exempt from a hiring freeze for the National Park Service.

"I am the highlight of your child's school day. I am the band aid for a skinned knee. I am the lesson that showed your children that we live in a world of gifts- not commodities, that gratitude and reciprocity are the doorway to true abundance, not power, money, or fear," Gibbs wrote. "I am the one who taught your kid the thrush's song and the hawk's cry. I am the wildflower that brought your student joy. I am the one who told your child that they belong on this planet. That their unique gifts and existence matters."

But then, Gibbs' words became those of exasperation. He spoke of being "the resistance," but also of experiencing loss and fatigue.

"I am tired of waking up every morning at 2am wondering how I am going to provide for my family if I lose my job. I am tired of wiping away my wife's tears and reassuring her that things will be ok for us and our growing little family that she's carrying," he said. "Things are not ok. I am not ok. (This is the second time in under five years a dream job I worked has been eliminated. Now I may need to uproot my FAMILY again.)"

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/national-park-ranger-fired-dream-job-emotional-viral-letter/?ftag=CNM-00-10aab7e&linkId=750924606