This week a man wearing a Trump mask on a Southwest flight was kicked off the plane. Several instances have taken place with conservatives and masks on aircraft; are conservative flyers being targeted or are they attention-seeking?
If you are considering booking travel or signing up for a new credit card please click here. Both support LiveAndLetsFly.com.
If you haven’t followed us on Facebook or Instagram, add us today.
Southwest Trump Mask Passenger Incident
Matthew fairly posted about a Southwest Airlines passenger that was kicked off a flight for not wearing his mask which prominently displayed “TRUMP.” The passenger stated he was in compliance as he was eating mixed nuts and drinking coffee which Southwest is clear that those eating or drinking do not have to wear their masks.
This morning Southwest Airlines ejects a passenger for lowering a Trump face mask to eat nuts.
Does this appear to be politically motivated? #Southwest pic.twitter.com/9RYpIasaNA— Grant AZ 🇺🇸 (@Grant503) October 13, 2020
The passenger may have been abusing this policy. Witness accounts diverge, some saying he wasn’t wearing his mask properly when it was on, other passengers around him stated he was, in fact, in compliance.
The woman that recorded the video of the incident is a podcaster and interviewed the passenger which Matthew shared yesterday. He noted that the passenger was honest that he was not wearing his mask properly though did not indicate whether he was otherwise wearing his mask consistently.
Others Have Occurred
This Spirit Airlines encounter involving a neck gaiter felt he was targeted for wearing an American flag gaiter. Spirit was pretty clear, as was the agent that gaiters are only approved if they are doubled or the passenger is wearing a mask underneath. It’s not my belief that the passenger was targeted for wearing a patriotic face covering, but rather that it was out of compliance.
Eating and drinking policy exceptions have been known to be abused. An Easy Jet passenger was criticized for slowly eating one can of pringles for an entire five-hour flight save a trip to the lavatory. United has cracked down on those drinking coffee for hours on end. The eating/drinking waiver clearly needs some clarification.
Setup/Attention-Seeking or Targeted
Some are certain setups, in particular, one comes to mind. When this passenger, a conservative author, was kicked off he was refusing to wear his mask and recorded the interaction. At the time he claimed a health exemption, then later recanted, ultimately finding himself banned from American the next time he tried to fly with them. He was trying to cause an issue as opposed to quietly complying with the regulations and finding himself persecuted.
It’s also hard to ignore that masks have been a lightning rod for the right and those that express conservative views have been targeted even prior to the pandemic. This is one example from an Alaska Airlines flight where it wasn’t the airline staff that targeted a conservative but rather another passenger. According to the video, it doesn’t seem like the conservative passenger was at fault.
I don’t think there is a mass conspiracy to expel open or expressive conservatives from public life. One flyer sporting a Black Lives Matter shirt was removed from a flight due to his mask using an expletive. It would seem, at least in the case of the conservative author and the Spirit passenger with an American flag neck gaiter that they were seeking controversy.
In the case of the Southwest incident, it seems to me that the passenger may have felt they were in compliance (especially based on the other passengers around him, but the podcaster recording it may have been seeking attention.
Conclusion
It doesn’t seem clear that conservatives are being unfairly targeted for their political views. Some may be grandstanding for attention or to make a political statement. However, in the case of the Southwest passenger, it doesn’t appear to me that he was intending to take a stand. Airlines have struggled with clearly stating and enforcing their position regarding COVID-19 service changes and protocol. Whether it’s trying to police very slow coffee drinkers, the variety of face coverings available, masks with obscene statements, or how to make a two-year-old keep a mask on – the carriers need to do better at making their policies clear.
What do you think? Are conservatives being targeted or rather are these incidents examples a political statement? What should the policy be for masks on planes? What are the limitations?
Most definetely attention seeking as they are causing farther troubles everywhere else
I witnessed another MAGA followers being escorted out from DENDFW as refused to put on face cover on the flight and verbally abused cabin crews
Shame on those so called conservative hypocrite
Apparently Min is from China. Americans are use to being free without restrictions especially face coverings. We have a constitution and all the scare tactics, mandates, etc doesnt change that. All he has to do is lawyer up and that crap will stop. The more people put up with the more freedoms they will lose.
Well, it really doesn’t matter what is on the mask, at the discretion of the business owner, of course. As a small business owner who is also of African descent, you will NOT enter my place of business wearing a mask that says [redacted by admin] [redacted by admin] or with a drawing of a Black man in a noose. That said, a Trump supporter wearing his or her mask is welcome. The problem is the public eating/ drinking. In my opinion. All of it needs to be disallowed. Water only and thru a straw that slips under neath the mask. Children may simply not be able to fly until this thing is under control. Diabetics of course must be allowed to eat. The rest considering the rates of obesity in this country could stand to miss a meal or two over a long flight. Yes, I said that and I mean that! What I do not understand or accept are the excuses for non compliance. People are dying; the economy is in shambles for all but the one percent or the top ten percent. Armed racists are on the march, some of them in blue! But people continue to act as tho these things aren’t happening, or do not matter . Death wish much? This is getting stupid. Biblical or prophetic, oracular or an evolutionary jump as in thinning of the herd. take your pick but a clear separation of the wheat from the chaff is underway. As wheat I hope to see the harvest and to be present for the reset.
No armed racists in blue. Otherwise like your comment.
I believe that conservatives are targeted in the media, in life and on airplanes. Having said that, I think political messages do not belong in public places where others can’t avoid you. Public buildings, airplanes, trains etc. are such places.
The first amendment gives conservatives, liberals, progressives, radicals, little purple people eater’s and everyone else the right to express their views in public. That said, an airplane is not necessarily a public space, it is a private place, owned by a private company that allows the public the opportunity to purchase a ticket to travel on their plane in exchange for following their published rules. If they choose to not allow masks or other items with political messages it’s their right. It’s also your right to fly on another airline.
If that is the case the airline needs to disclose in advance exactly what is allowed and disallowed up front so that there are no surprises. It is NOT OK for cabin crew to make up rules “on the fly”.
I don’t think the gaiter guy was targeted per se, but if you have something on that will cause attention, it can make the staff member give it a second look. The same thing probably would have happened if it was like green or a pride flag, but wouldn’t have happened if it was solid brown or grey, as those colors wouldn’t draw attention.
I’m on a AS SEA-CUN flight as we speak and have two Trumpsters (I know because they have talked nonstop about it since we were in the boarding area) that have had to be scolded twice already for not wearing a mask and giving the FA’s a hard time about it each time. We’re only 90 minutes into a six hour flight, so this could get interesting…….
Keep us updated!
I also don’t think he was targeted. I doubt many people read hat slogans anyway to know what his politics were – there are so many logos and slogans exhibited on clothing it’s a tiring exercise to read and decipher them all. It’s a simple case of mask on vs. mask off. Some passengers probably felt the mask policy wasn’t being uniformly enforced – that some could fly with their mask down while others tried to comply. It could easily have been corrected without being thrown off the flight. They created a political statement where none existed before.
no mask, no fly. Period. There is no conservative/liberal component to it.
How should one eat/drink? Shove the food/drink through the mask? Could you have imagined 8 months ago that we’d be down to this. I live in an HOA and we have the retired busy bodies who have no greater joy than to harass others because they have no friends and nobody paid any attention to them in their lives.
Lift mask slightly, insert food/beverage, lower mask, chew/swallow. It’s not difficult. Grow the f*ck up and stop acting like a petulant child and asking questions you already know the answer to. You’re not 4 years old. The fact that you need this level of detailed instructions speaks volumes about you and your ilk.
Interesting suggestion.. except that it is NOT SOUTHWEST POLICY.. The point is that Southwest needs to stay consistent with their own policy..
Persecution complex, much?
I don’t think so either. I was in DC last weekend and unbeknownst to me there was a rally in the south lawn of White House. On my flight home, I saw a good number of passengers wearing MAGA hats on my return flight and no one was targeted nor attention seeking — at least on my flight. Everyone wore masks and Delta flight flew on time.
Southwest’s policy on masks states that breaks for eating and drinking should be very brief and masks should be put back on as soon as possible. People nursing a cup or coffee or food to avoid wearing a mask are in direct conflict with the mask policy.
I think most crews could care less who you support politically, they just want to fly safe.
Targeted? No, these mental-midgets seem to be the ones drawing their own attention. They are proud to exhibit their ignorance while the rest of us are abiding by the protocols so that we can ALL move forward.
Only in America is this STILL a debate!
Put the attention whores names on the global no-fly list and be done with it!
Not to worry, their movement dies off in 15 days sharp
Just wear the darn masks so that you do not unwittingly infect other people. Its not political, but rather a public health measure. Keep your germs to yourself so that we can ALL live. We have no other place to live, but Earth. Do not care who or what you support politically, but I have a right not to be infected by you. Through this pandemic I have learned how selfish as people we really are.
At this point each political side is goading the other and add to it the BLM movement supporters and detractors and we appear to be living in a time where provocation, challenge and virulent posturing for social media likes rules over common sense, decorum and just plain courtesy. Teens are petulant and somewhat irrational – all the hormones and such – and these travelers -regardless of affiliation – are acting like testostérone-fueled teens.
Simply Don’t fly Southwestern……the airline are hurting real badly. No flight no people so good bye Southwestern. Airline trying to make herding people like animals…no distancing in the aircraft . A breeding place for Covid
Definitely, they’re attention-seekers. They’re hoping to appear on tv somewhere and get their 15 minutes of fame.
Don’t we live in America, land of the free? They can wear whatever they want. People need to stop being so sensitive.