“Ridicule is man’s most potent weapon. There is no defense. It is almost impossible to counterattack ridicule. Also it infuriates the opposition, who then react to your advantage.”
-Saul D. Alinksy, Rules for Radicals
A Delta passenger was thrown off a flight for her ridicule of the captain’s authority. Rightfully so. But her actions betray a much deeper problem for airlines and society in general.
Delta Passenger With Vulgar Hat Ejected After Disrespecting Captain
First, some background. The passenger was wearing a baseball hat with the f-word on it. Delta’s code of conduct prohibits attire which “creates an unreasonable risk of offense or annoyance to other passengers”. Flight attendants told her to take it off and she refused. The captain approached her. He told her she could take the hat off or be removed form the aircraft.
“The threat is usually more terrifying than the thing itself.”
-Saul D. Alinksy, Rules for Radicals
She demanded to know where the rule was “posted” and the captain responded:
“I’m the captain of the airplane, that’s where it’s posted, and Delta has guidelines, and I don’t have to explain it to you You can take it off or you can leave the airplane. It is inappropriate and I’m not going to take vulgar language on the flight, verbal or written.”
Bravo, captain…though at this point he probably should have just left the problematic passenger to a customer service agent. Nevertheless, I respect him for trying to solve the situation himself (instead of being a coward, like the captain who threw me off a flight).
He then asked if she understood her options.
“Keep the pressure on.”
-Saul D. Alinksy, Rules for Radicals
The passenger decided to play games.
Passenger: Yeah I heard you what you said.
Captain: No, no, do you understand it?
Passenger: I said I heard you.
Captain: Do you understand it?
Passenger: Y’all hear this?
Captain: Do you understand what the two options are?
“Power is not only what you have but what the enemy thinks you have.”
-Saul D. Alinksy, Rules for Radicals
Like a petulant child, she refused to answer the captain’s direct and reasonable question.
Captain: Tell me now, so which is it?
Passenger: Tell you what? The hat is off. There’s nothing to tell you, the hat is in my lap.
Captain: For the entire flight?
Passenger: The hat is in my lap.
Captain: For the entire flight? It will not be worn the entire flight?
Passenger: The hat is in my lap.
Captain: I see where it is.
Passenger: The hat is in my lap.
Captain: Tell me it’s off for the entire flight.
Passenger: The hat is in my lap.
Captain: One thousand one, one thousand two. I’ve got six kids, I raised 10 kids. I know better.
Passenger: I’m not a child sir, the hat is in my lap.
Captain: So you agree not to wear it or pose that hat the entire flight? Is that correct?
Passenger: The hat is in my lap. You told me to take the hat off. The hat’s in my lap.
Captain: Do we have an agreement?
Passenger: The hat is in my lap.
No lady, you act like my four-year-old when you are asked a direct and reasonable question and refuse to answer it.
“A tactic that drags on too long becomes a drag.”
-Saul D. Alinksy, Rules for Radicals
Whatever her point was, she made it….but was escorted off the flight.
The Captain bent over backwards to accommodate her, showing her more respect than she deserved in repeatedly asking her simply to give him her word that she would not put the hat on during the flight.
She refused to give it. She deserved to be escorted off.
You can watch the exchange here:
.@Delta Captain Dennis Reilly berated and embarrassed a member of our community. This kind of white privilege should not be tolerated. We demand a public apology and that this Pilot no longer be allowed to fly a Delta aircraft. #BlackLivesMatter #FlyingWhileBeingBlack #Delta pic.twitter.com/xaLCWq7dxa
— Black Lives Matter DC (@DMVBlackLives) October 25, 2020
“Make the enemy live up to its own book of rules.”
-Saul D. Alinksy, Rules for Radicals
The passenger missed a step in not demanding that the captain wear a mask. She could have freaked out, like a flight attendant on my flight last night who went berserk when a passenger lowered his mask to order a drink.
Let’s get the mask issue out of the way. The captain is not required to wear a mask in the cockpit. He IS required to wear a mask on other parts of the plane and while in the airport. So no excuse for Captain Reilly failing to wear his mask here.
He undermined his own “follow the rules” authority when he failed to wear a mask himself.
The passenger should have aggressively turned the tables on him, deflecting attention away from her own misbehavior and zeroing in on the captain’s failure to wear a mask. That would have made Alinksy proud.
No Defense For Passenger
“Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it.”
-Saul D. Alinksy, Rules for Radicals
I read Alinksy among others during my political science studies at UCLA. The video above is a clear application of his Rules for Radicals.
Why, though? Why is Black Lives Matter DC defending a woman who wore a vulgar cap and refused to answer reasonable questions? What does this have to do with being black?
Folks, this isn’t about skin color. Do you really think this privileged WASP (me) would be able to get away with the same hat? I think not. Not a chance.
I have little tolerance for vulgarity on airplanes. It’s not that I am personally offended by coarse language any longer (sadly, in my line of work I’ve become so desensitized to it), but that it represents a lack of respect for others who are.
This passenger was given ample opportunity merely to affirm that she would not put the hat back on during the flight. That’s called respect. She was afforded dignity in being offered many chances to follow an equally-applicable rule. Though she acted like a child, she was treated as an adult and as an equal…her word would have been enough. But she refused!
We are increasingly seeing this behavior on airlines and in our nation. It doesn’t bode well for building bridges. Instead, it causes division and stirs animosity.
CONCLUSION
Captain Reilly erred in not wearing a mask in the cabin and should be held accountable for that omission. But contrary to One Mile at a Time, I don’t see his conduct as rude. He only treated her like a four-year-old when she acted like a four-year-old. Don’t blame race for that. Instead, blame her unreasonable refusal to reciprocate respect with respect.
I fully realize I see this from my own perspective, which is not at all intersectional. So I am curious to read a cogent defense of the woman onboard and am open to hearing other perspectives and learning. But I took a full day to think about this issue and just cannot see any possible defense of her action beyond an assumption that her hat was not vulgar in the first place. But that’s Delta determination to make, not yours or mine. Please leave your comments below.
you are as big an a**hole at the passenger. Weather or not the captain had a mask on is a separate issue. When she refused to answer his question he should have just had her removed.
Weather is something that happens outside, numbnuts.
Is that a medical condition?
Hooray for the captain. Vulgarity had no place in public. This is not a BLM issue. It is a matter of common courtesy to the other passengers, especially any children.
Initially I thought the good captain should have taken her aside to address the vulgar language on her cap so as not to embarrass her in front of other passengers. But wait a minute! Could someone who walks around with” F***”! on her cap possibly be embarrassed by anything? NO; she simply needs an attitude adjustment! But unfortunately, she will learn nothing from the incident except to become even more belligerent. Sad.
Well said!
AGREED !!!
Sad state we are all in these days.
I read through this, the whole time picturing a skinny, greying, short haired white liberal chick with a “F*** Trump” hat. I read it and pictured her responses as a self – absorbed liberal white chick… Identical in looks to the one on a plane whose husband’s mother died and she was offended to sit by the boy with a Maga.. You know the one. The whole time I read it I was in full agreement that she can just get off and walk if she can’t simply remove a hat for a few hours. Then… I got to see the link to the video… In a black lives matter Twitter post. Well, now, I’ve changed my mind! I think since she’s black, she can do whatever she wants without repercussions.
Actually, no, but if the racial roles were reversed, you know damn well BLM would be on the captain’s side.
What really happens here is that reasonable people begin to lose respect for your BLM cause, we see that you’re actually more racist than the people you’re accusing. We become hardened against your cause.
Pick your battles, not everything you see is racist.
As a former flight attendant and have experienced alot,Being firm,but fair is a must(all while presenting great customer service. The flight crew is a team who stands together. The PIC is in charge of that aircraft and all souls aboard. If you have not walked in the shoes of a crew member and experienced the great amount pressure and good stress associated with taking care of passengers and their safety, all while assuring a enjoyable experience, then one would not even began to understand how crucial leadership and making executive decisions in a time sensitive industry. The FA could have made that call to have this individual deplane after the first time she refused to comply to the direct question of the captain. FA has some many detailed pre inspections and duties to handle before PIC gives the ok to close the main cabin door. I know this is a case by case and based on this case the right call was made. If folks want to express vulgarity or anything inappropriate that others find offensive, then stay in your corner of your house, cave,island,car. If she had stayed on the flight,more than likely she would have put it back or had the vulgarity exposed on her lap. At that first sighting…all bets would have been off and when the aircraft landed…she would have been greeted by the local police on charges (interference of flight crew) and if other passengers wanted to file charges of disorderly (bcuz they found the wording on the cap to be offensive to them and or children). PIC really did her a big favor! And Ban her from Delta. Aint nobody got time for that foolishness!!!
This woman has no GMRC (no good manners & right conduct. she does not respect authority. Obviously nobody @home to teach her. everything should start @home. These are the people that BLM wants to be on their side.
My first clue to her ignorance was that fact that she even owned a hat that was so vulgar.
Well said! Thanks.
the hat isn’t the issue. it’s the fact that’s he’s using a tone with her he wouldn’t use with a male passenger. Your the captain you don’t own Delta. People need to learn how to talk to others. If it was a male he wouldn’t have talked to them like a child. He only did that shìt b/c she was a female so he feels dominant in this situation. Then on top of that he could’ve easily showed her the guidelines instead of saying “he makes the rules” b/c he doesn’t. Everybody need to stay in they place
Heehee. It’s always someone calling somebody a name, to boot.
Twit with your heehee. The Captain should have had his mask on, then boot this cretin off.
Funny catching the incorrect version of weather, or is it whether? That said just another example of the black lives matter folks siting something completely non racist, as it being racist. You know what, black lives matter is racist. This is no racist incident. Simply an individual who thinks rules everyone else is abiding by, don’t apply to them.
Omfg..why can’t passengers juuuusstt behave? I’ve worked as a flight attendant for 41 years and am sooooo tired of insolence and misbehavior. It’s exhausting. Just do it. The captain’s word is the final word, and because she couldn’t just grow up, necessitated her own removal, incurring a delay and inconveniencing everyone on that aircraft
We shouldn’t have to seek the pilots’ help with customers. They have more important concerns, namely flying the aircraft. We should be able to take care of backend issues ourselves, but sometimes it’s necessary to drag the pilot out of the flight deck and although h/she will impart the exact same instruction as a flight attendant, certain passengers simply have no respect for the inflight crew, but will listen to the pilot in command. We are the authority and there is zero tolerance for bad behaviour these days. I would have taken the initiative and had her removed without pilot intervention
I concur. The woman caused the problem, was offered a compromise and, rejected same by her own volition or lack thereof. She, probably exited the plane quoting her own vernacular affixed, prominently .
Lmfaooooo Eggzacklee
lately I’ve noticed these in-flight episodes involving black women who might be agent provocateurs. the one dressed for a cheap club revealed her bosom and now this vulgar cap wearing character. they wanna gain clout, free flights and Instagram or TikTok fame. Sad.
The passenger was WRONG! And totally disrespectful to the Captain and her fellow passengers. She should have been removed.
Exactly! I am African American and I agree-people need to stop making everything about race, it should have been common sense NOT to wear a hat that had profanity out of respect for children if no one else. Damn people, we need to do better!
The Captain was right. He is responsible for his ship. He clearly needed to clearly communicate his authority and not hide behind mask in order to do it
Get over yourself concerning masks. Common sense prevailed in this situatiom.
I have flown often during this pandemic and am both a DL Platinum and Million Miler.
Every person must abide by the rules of social respect to one another. We must rspect authority and not offend others much more the csptain of the airplane. The passenger did not cooperate decently therefore had to be taken off the plane. Ignorance cannot be accepted at all.
Yup. African women seem to be especially emboldened these days.
I am tired of BLM and everything they pretend to stand for. The captain was 100% ccorrect!
He did have her removed
What amazes me the most is the widespread sense that you have to take sides. Yes, he should be wearing a mask at the same time that she should have the common sense to realize that while in public that has a different meaning. If you have to get down to that level to express yourself than you really have communication issues, which was clear on the way communication went. He was professional? Yes. Was there a better way to express it? There always is, now piggybacking on one or another argument to make a point just shows how much critical thinking is becoming less of a focus in society because there are way too many wildcards, entitlement and egocentric behavior.
Oh and by the way either one not following rules does not rule out any rule.
Technically, in a crisis situation such as this, the applicable rule is to respond in order of the most urgent threat. This situation was not a contest. The caption’s was the only authority. The hat in lap was the urgent threat because of passenger’s refusal to verbally concur it would not be used offensively. Without such concurrance it was captain’s decision & resposibility to take appropriate action.
@WL
Very well put.
All interpersonal relationships are a two-way street and we can go down the rabbit hole of shifting blame back and forth, playing the chicken-and-egg game while both sides have somewhat failed in this matter (on the one hand, FAs calling out the lady publicly and captain scolding her publicly to remove her hat and keep it off, and on the other, the lady’s lack of awareness in choosing to wear it and her reluctance to cooperate).
We have a saying in my native language, Serbian – the smart is the one who can let go, the jackass (donkey) is the one who can’t.
In an ideal world where we’d have good soft skills (which sadly doesn’t and never will exist) this should have played out in a way where the lady agrees to remove and keep the hat off, apologizes, but expresses her frustration about being called out like that and suggesting that the matter could’ve been dealt with more subtly by the crew, to which the crew would have apologized as well for the way they handled the situation.
#1 He was not in compliant with his own airline regulations!! Masks!! A friggin hat can’t give me covid.
I was a f/a for 14 yrs until they shut us down due to covid and contracts.
I do not agree with this. This pos pilot said “he doesn’t like it” yes maybe it goes against the dress code but goodness it’s a word.
What would they do if it was a neck tattoo or a person’s name? Just saying.
Freedom of expression and speech to a certain degree yet I can watch a PG13 movie on a plane with the same explicit words.
This was some personal issue. Let me guess “Christian” pilot dealing with a POC?
It wasn’t about race, it was the fact that she gave the pilot a hard time. All she had to do was answer his question and comply with delta standards!!
No it’s the way she was being spoken to. The disrespect. There was no need for him to try and embarrass her by asking for her word. I complied and that should have sufficed. He carried on asking for more than she had to comply with. He should take customer service lesson since he is providing a service to a paid customer. Flights are not cheap.
Come on….
Everyone watching that video knew she was going to put that hat back on once the plane took off. That’s why the Captain wanted her word she wouldn’t put the hat on during the flight. It’s also why she played that whole, “I heard you” bit instead of saying she understood what the Captain was telling her.
She was just being stubborn and thinking that she’s the special one that rules don’t apply too.
Let me guess – you are a moron
The pilot was only there because he was the next line of authority once the passenger was not compliant to the request to remove her hat from flight attendants.
Yes, he should’ve worn a mask but two wrongs don’t make a right. He’s trying to fly a plane on time to it’s intended destination and he gets suddenly called outside puff the cockpit, where it’s o.k. for him not to wear a mask, into a situation that this passenger never should’ve caused.
So what you can look at movies that have profanity. That’s up to personal choice. Being offended by words that are meant to be offensive has nothing to do with race or religion.
Freedom of expression has nothing to do with it and the airline already has policies in place for all passengers from the size and weight of your bag, to the contents allowed, inappropriate behavior, when to stand, etc. I you don’t like it, don’t fly.
As an African American I am embarrassed by behavior like this that only serves to distract and undermine real issues that we are dealing with, because racism and inequity still run rampant. Not every white person is guilty, and not every black person is innocent. But that doesn’t mean that the opposite doesn’t hold true. So for those of you looking for sad opportunities like this to dismiss everything, stop. And for those of you taking advantage of real issues to get a pass at breaking the rules, stop.
I like your perspective. Very true. There are issues of discrimination/ racism in this country, but this wasn’t one of them. But we can’t dismiss racism all together because of this either. Thank you.
The Captain was professional and asked her a simple question. She played a game and lost, the hat is VULGAR AND DISRESPECTFUL to other passengers on the plane. The Captain was extremely patient with her and took time to address this issue. The right decision was made OFF THE PLANE SHE WENT!
hooray for the captain !!! some people just have NO RESPECT. It’s just a word.!!! yeah a word many people don’t like regardless of their religious beliefs.when you own your own airline then you can make your own rules!!
Well said!!!
AGREED !
This is not about her being black. She merely needed to give her word that the cap word stay in her lap the entire flight and all would be well. I personally do find vulgar language offense and am grateful for those willing to protect my right not to be expose to it. For the record, not that it matters, but I too am black. This wasn’t about race it was about compliance!
She should have put the hat in the above bin or in suitcase and respected the Captain. There is no excuse!
You people are psychos, he’s an employee he deserves no special treatment and she doesn’t need to give him any respect he isn’t showing her. Let me guess, you’re a male boomer.
Matthew, I agree with you 100%. The passenger was treated with much more respect than she deserved, considering that she was looking for a confrontation to begin with.
The Captain, had every right to remove her from the airplane. He spent way too much time and effort with her. She should be permanently banned from flying on Delta…then maybe she will grow up and act like an adult in public.
She and her apologists must agree that her 1st amendment rights also grant her immunity to scream FIRE on a plane. Stupid is as stupid does. SMH
Unbelievable…thank God our cockpit crews stand up for us in the cabin….that woman should be arrested for violating crew member instructions period….if you don’t boot people off like this immediately it becomes acceptable behavior…
BLM – needs to get over themselves. This had nothing to do with her being black. Stop using excuses for rude behavior! If she was embarrassed by being treated like a 4 yr. old then she shouldn’t act like one! He was way too patient with her. Good for the Captain. She showed who she was by wearing that hat in the first place.
You are so right. Black and proud.
Matthew, I think I may have to respectfully disagree with you. If I spoke to customers at work the way the captain did, I would be fired, regardless of what they had done.
You accuse the woman of being petulant, but so was the captain. She ultimately removed her hat, and obeyed his request. He created the problem by demanding that she submit to him. At least that’s how I interpreted it. Even if she would have said “yes” to his question, she could have put the hat back on if she so chose.
The fact that he had the audacity to “count” at her, like some parents do for their children is completely unacceptable. How doing that was supposed to fix the situation is beyond me.
We all have unconscious biases, and this seems like a textbook example of it. We know this captain would not have spoken to an older white man that way. He simply wouldn’t have. I think the correct situation would have been to remove both passenger and captain because neither seemed to have much respect for anyone other than themselves.
You make a persuasive point, but I question this statement. We can only speculate, but I tend to think the captain would treat any person who acted like a child…like a child, even if it was an old white man.
Calling an African American woman “a child” is incredibly offensive.
Calling her child is different than saying she acted like one.
The captain could have simply taken away the offensive headgear from the woman for the duration of the flight and returned it to her at the destination. This would have resolved the confrontation in a jiffy!
He said she was acting like a child!
you were in the cheap seats where you belong.
I find the whole story stupid.
The hat doesn’t say “F*** You”, so NOBODY SHOULD TAKE IT PERSONAL.
Also, we (ALL OF US) heard that word written on the hat several times a day EVERY DAY and very few complain what that happens.
Who could feel offended for the words on her hat other than who is looking at her? And who the hell will be looking at her on a plane the entire flight?: NOBODY!
So, the captain went way to far for something THAT PROBABLY NOBODY NOTICED BEFORE.
If that is company’s rule, the people who checked her ticket BEFORE SHE GOT ON THE PLAIN, doesn’t know about THE SAME RULE? THEY SUPPOSED TO LET HER KNOW BEFORE SHE GOT ON THE PLAIN, because I doubt that she WERE NOT WEARING THAT HAT AT THE CHECKING POINT.
We (well , some people) give importance to irrelevant things and ignore the important ones.
It’s WAY MORE OBSCENE TO SEE A HUNGRY CHILD ON THE STREET THAT A (WO)MAN WEARING SOMETHING MEAKING SOMEBODY FEELING UNCOMFORTABLE. BUT WE IGNORE THE HUNGRY CHILD and prioritize the person’s “OFFENSIVE WORDS” on his/her cloth.
THAT DOUBLE STANDARD MAKES THIS WORLD A MUCH WORSE PLACE.
Would you wear this to church, work, wedding and feel its ok. Would you still be employed if you did? Come on. Respect for others while stuck by them for hours should not be a problem.
By the way its PLANE, not plain.
What if the hat had a picture of Trump and the f word embroidered in black?
+1. And Columba is 100% right: there were probably movies on half the iPads on that flight with the word “f***” (asterisks only because I don’t want to be censored by some filter). If two white businessmen on the flight had used the F-word this captain wouldn’t be perturbed in the least.
Prior to the Captain getting involved, a flight attendant had already told/asked (?) the woman to remove the cap. It is against the law to disobey a crew member’s orders. The Captain should not have even been involved. The passenger’s refusal to take off the cap was enough to have her removed from the flight. She was given a 2nd chance with the Captain entering the situation. Why? As a former flight attendant I had a couple of situations where I had passengers removed from the aircraft. In one situation, the cockpit crew disagreed with me. I won, and they were later chastised by the Chief Pilot (don’t ask me how I know, I just had connections, let’s say. Does it matter that the woman was black? There is no reason to believe it was a factor here. The passenger went out of her way to challenge the system and remain obstinate. She challenged to system, – and she LOST!
An older white man wouldn’t have wore a vulgar hat
Exactly. I am tired of having to ask ANYONE to not drop the F bomb in front of my 80yo mother. Lack of class and respect for others is rampant in this country. One writer suggested the captain take the hat from her. Can you imagine the premeditated and staged brawl she was purposely trying to instigate that would have ensued? By the way, who filmed this? My guess is one of her cohorts.
Richard, FYI, agree w the captain. However, I’m an 80 yo and F **k has become my favorite go to word…after 79 years of cringing. I love to say it! Not everywhere of course.
The woman was excercising her first amendment right to express herslef through the printed language, which was subsequently violated by the captain. If americans excercising their rights offend you, leave. Dont undermine a cornerstone of American Ideology.
The First Amendment applies to government and does not extend to airplanes or other non-public places.
spot on, too many Americans don’t fully understand that free speech protections are to protect citizens from the government.
In point of fact, if the captain was relying on federal aviation regulations (FARs) to remove the passenger in question, then arguably those FARs need to survive a first amendment review. That is particularly true if you oppose Chevron deference, as an increasing majority on the Court does.
This has nothing to do with FARs.
What if the printed language on the hat was a racially offensive message? Would you agree that it would be OK to wear that on a plane? Unlikely, and rightly so. You don’t have a right to say whatever you want wherever you want. The woman was wrong and deserved to be thrown out. I am glad that she was.
The Captain if an airplane (or ship) has complete authority to make any reasonable decisuk that affects the safety or comfort of the passengers o the plane. Period.
Was that a F”#& malcolm X hat?
I’m lost….BLM …trolls… agent Provocateur’s…. This human experience is getting really hectic.
There is absolutely no respect from or for anyone in this world at this place in time.
I’m kinda old and in the 60’s there wasn’t this kind of lack Love existence for other human beings. This who lose their humanity… Are simply list human being’s
Oh Plzzz..Stop It!!!!! Please lets nit go there!!
This entire opinion piece is embarrassing and childish, written from the perspective of a person who obviously demands respect he doesn’t give. It’s an aged and illogical perspective that reads as small minded and self absorbed, you’re as bad as the captain.
Thanks for weighing in.
NOW, that you have put yourself in place of the captain…put yourself in the place of a black woman ( I hope you have a good imagination) or a WOMEN of color. She took the damn hat off. From my perspective he was 1. Treating her like a child, 2. Trying to make her submissive by trying to force her to say ‘she understands’ while massaging his male ego. 3. AND, spoke to her in a manner in which he would never have directed towards a man.
I don’t think the captain should be removed (technically speaking he had the power to force her to take off the hat) but I agree with the overall sentiment here.
The woman was a pain, but she did end up taking the hat off. The captain (putting the mask thing aside, which is NOT ok given that all the passengers are thrown off if they take a mask break) treated the customer really badly. It would be OK to treat her that way if she refused to comply, but the petty back and forth was really low (on both their parts), but especially the captain.
That said I don’t think the captain should be removed; a slap on the wrist for the mask thing is enough.
The rules are different in the air. The captain needed reasonable assurance from passenger that she would comply for duration of flight. You cannot just escort someone off the plane once airborne so compliance before takeoff is crucial. She refused to give that reassurance. Yes, he should have had his mask on, but that does not negate her behavior. There is more at stake here than just a standoff; a delay in departure costs time and money for the airline and passengers. Decisions have to be made quickly and the Captain has full authority to make the call. And calling it racial is ridiculous. She was just downright rude.
He was more than respectful to her. He told her the reason for his request, never raised his voice, allowed her to answer and was more than patient with just asking if she would not put it back on and her refusal to answer his question. She was not being aggressive in any way but most definitely was refusing to answer his question.
What an idiot!
I’m a Delta Captain too. You’re wrong!!!
100%. The issue is that the Captain would not have spoken to a white man this way. You need to have a little cultural sensitivity also when you speak to people. She removed the hat and he didn’t have to speak to her and compare her to a child. The bottom line is yes, he is the Captain, but she’s a paying customer. Have more conversations with BIPOC people and find out why they seem so annoyed or aggravated.
The point is she flat out refused to not put it back on. Once in the air what would be his option, land the plane? By being combative and unreasonable she was giving the “first amendment FY” to all paying customers who had better things to do. Her agenda failed and she should be banned from Delta for life. I am sure she is planning her next stunt.
Oh PLEAS!!!! STOP IT..PLEASE!!
No, Kim. *You* stop it. Sm79 is 100% right — the captain would not have done this to a white male, and he deserves the opprobrium he’s getting.
“Opprobrium?” Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. The captain was right. The woman doesn’t seem to know how to behave in public. A white man who behaved the same way would have gotten the same treatment “Cultural sensitivity” be damned.
I believe he would have had the same convictions with any race, culture, or gender. How are we to know how to be culturally sensitive to everyone. What does this even mean? I treat everyone the same no matter what they appear to me.
Captain showed great restraint and courtesy. Passenger probsbly never experienced any in her life. In addition to dealing with her rudeness and disrespect he then has to get a plane up in the air and fly it then land it. She has never ever had that kind of responsibility in her life. Guaranteed
YES HE DID SOW RESPECT AND RESTRAINT
Agreed!!
Jerry, just because you can’t talk to people this way in your position doesn’t mean it’s wrong, unethical, or indicative of poor workplace behavior in another person’s role. A coffee shop owner can speak this to a customer. An actor can speak this way to a producer. A ship’s captain can speak this way. So why can a pilot not on his own plane? This man is responsible for flying a container of humans thousands of feet in the air at high velocity and landing them safely on the ground. He does this all day long. And he has to come out of his cabin while prepping for flight to deal with a privileged American consumer too immature and media hungry to care about the consideration and safety of everyone else.
What has happened to our society? Have we gone mad? Perhaps it’s a side effect of parents replacing discipline with babysitting devices? My only question….did a single passenger stand up to defend this pilot? THIS is what we need to start doing in public people.
Disagree WE need to get along. Only one planet, so grow up. Stop the race stuff.
This is the New Way we’ve got to live by. And pay attention! Or We, The People, are going to become anything but a Democracy. I’m too old to learn a new language, we’re playing right into their hands. (Russia, China, who knows?
Jerry, I disagree with your implied conclusion that race was driving this conflict. Rather than speculating about the captain’s inability to give this passenger a “pass” because of race/gender bias, it is more likely that bias should be attributed to the passenger who for whatever reason chose to verbally contribute to an already bio-degraded environment.
The captain went too far in treating her like a child. The cap came off, and that should have been the end of his interaction. For him to demand she answer his belittling questions crossed the line… As did him not wearing a mask. The problem is this was political speech, and yes, it’s vulgar, but you must realize a white man telling someone they must stop speaking against the offenses to them is… Not a good optic. The captain should have said ‘I don’t care what the politics is, I just can’t have vulgarity on clothing. I respect your right to speak, however the language isn’t appropriate’. That would be how to have done it… Not treat her as a child.
I do see your point, I really do. Your alternate statement may have been better received. But I do think sometimes adults who act like children need to be treated like children. She apparently refused to take off the hat when flight attendants told her to. While it is good that she did for the captain, I don’t think it was so unreasonable, considering the totality of her behavior, to simply ask for a verbal assurance she would leave the hat off during the flight.
Some rules can be enforced while others are ignored? White man in charge standing over a black woman giving orders and demanding respect is naturally a case study for abuse of power or discretion.
Is it ok that the captain was ignoring common rules to protect the physical safety of others while insisting on the the rules that protect someone’s political sensitivity?
Didn’t I address that? (The answer is NO).
No one knows the reason why this woman was agitated for being told to take her hat off and why she refused initially. It could be because she had worn the hat in the airport and no one informed her she wasn’t allowed to board a plane with a hat on that had expletives on it. She made it through and boarded the plane with the hat on again no one telling her she needed to take it off until she arrived on the plane and was most likely seated . So unless somebody is staring at her the whole time sitting in her seat probably didn’t seem like a situation where someone would be offended by a hat she had on her head. It didn’t sound as if she was talking in vulgar language or acting vulgar in any way she was wearing a hat. Again this is speculation because I don’t know what was going through her head or the head of the flight attendant or the pilot. It seems to me with the way that she was being treated he was more concerned with her following the rules and obeying him than looking at the situation for what it was a person wearing a hat. For him to treat her as if she were a child and make her promise to not put it back on is ridiculous she’s a grown woman and she does not have to answer to the pilot. She complied with his request and it should have been left there. He may not have started out being disrespectful but he certainly disrespected her in the end and did not act like a professional in any stretch of the imagination.
Jerry, I disagree with your implied conclusion that race was driving this conflict. Rather than speculating about the captain’s inability to give this passenger a “pass” because of race/gender bias, it is more likely that bias should be attributed to the passenger who for whatever reason chose to verbally contribute to an already bio-degraded (covid-19) environment.
Freedom of expression does not mean freedom when it’s comfortable for you.
Delta might have rules, there is no way that captain was justified in pulling rank. A ‘i assure you wev have rules, but i dont have time. The gate agent will help you find it’ would have been better.
Don’t blame us if we think all this freedom of expression, personal responsibility, personal freedom is just a sham. A lot of Americans actually have authoritarian tendencies
In the public square, she has an absolute right to wear that hat. On an airplane, it’s up to the airline. You are correct that had the captain simply deferred to a gate agent, he may have saved himself and the passenger some hassle.
Oh I could just watch it myself…?
No satisfied with making his point, more than once, he wanted to continue to ‘lord it over’ the passenger, hectoring and brow-beating her, on and on and on.
This ‘type’ loves nothing more than to make a public demonstration of their authority, rather than have such a matter easily and quickly resolved.
Yeah, and the woman’s “type” is the kind who can’t submit to authority for even one second. She and others like her need to get over themselves. Unless people are ready to actually start killing others to change the status quo, you’re just gonna have to deal with being powerless.
I am 100% of the same opinion as you, the author of the article. There is no viable reason other than just plain rudeness and disrespect for not giving the Captain an answer to the several attempts at a direct response. I see this an awful lot in society today, mostly in the younger generation who want and demand to be treated as adults but lack the maturity and plain minimal applicable respect and socially common courtesy to be treated as an adult or given the respect of a fellow member of society.
What I see now days with many of the younger generation is a complete lack of social guidelines and simple common courtesy that goes beyond any racial, ago, nationality and gender. The same common courtesy that is used here is used in China, Cuba, England, South Africa, New Zealand, Brazil, Equador, Mexico and the North Pole.
It doesn’t matter where on Earth you are. common courtesy is the same the world over. Her childish actions were just that, CHILDISH. therefore she deserved what she got.
AND as far as B.L.M. getting involved they are just trying to use the Democratic ruse of blaming everything on racism. If you tell them no or point out something that is not right that they are doing you are a racist or it is racism. This crap has to end.
Shut up, oldie. Your time on this earth is much more limited than mine, by any metric. So your opinion doesn’t mean a damn thing. Go ahead and kick the bucket and do us all a favor.
By any metric your response is puerile and ageist. Well done young buck.
The fact that she kept saying “do you see this, do you see this”? shows that she was wanting to do nothing more than to put on a show.
Your response validates his post. Perhaps you should check-out sooner than later.
No need for such disrespect, Andrew, no matter your age. As for longevity, the odds are in your favor when you’re younger, but none of us are promised a long life.
I agree totally with you Linda. It had nothing to do with race. There’s just common courtesy and respect for others. People that wear clothing with offensive logos or language are usually just starved for attention, angry or bitter and want the whole world to know it. It seems this woman would have been defiant no matter what color the pilot happen to be. And yes, I would have been upset that she was holding up my flight with this nonsense! I am African American and this was not a racial issue in my opinion. Of course there are instances where we are singled out or mistreated. This was not the case here. The bottom line is some of us just refuse to acknowledge authority and rules. There are consequences for that mindset. Enough already.
I can’t believe that there are some who are saying the captain should have just left it when she took it off. You KNOW she was just going to put it right back on. You know that and the captain knew that. Thats why he patiently gave her ample opportunity to agree to not wear it. All she had to do was agree to not put the cap back on and they would have been on their way! And for Heaven’s sake stop trying to turn every problem that an Africam-Ametican has into a race issue. It’s detrimental to push for equal rights.
Thank you Captain for doing your job and doing it well. I would not have wanted to share the cabin with this person and it has nothing to do with race and everything to do with dignity and common sense.
I’ll take on your question, “Why is Black Lives Matter DC defending a woman who wore a vulgar cap and refused to answer reasonable questions? What does this have to do with being black?”
It’s because the passenger wasn’t just “wearing a baseball hat with the f-word on it” as you say. The cap was F- 12. In other words it was about police brutality, towards African Americans in particular.
It’s fine to say a plane isn’t the place to make a political point, though those are permitted all the time. It’s fine to say a business has a right to insist that passenger clothing not include such words. But the context her certainly matters if you want to understand the interaction: the white man in a position of authority tells the black woman to take off a hat that is all about abuses of authority. She’s taken off the hat, but she doesn’t want to say ‘uncle’. He counts “1001, 1002” and then says “I got six kids, I raised 10 kids, I know better.” He infantilizes her. He handled the situation very badly, even if he was in his authority to take the position that he did.
But this wasn’t an F-12 cap. You can see it in the video. Just “f*ck” as far as I can see. Would that change your analysis? And how is this an abuse of an authority or analogous to an unlawful or harassing arrest? I’m not being obtuse, I really don’t see it.
The fact is, had the woman not worn a vulgar hat on the plane none of this would’ve happened. We have a lack of personal responsibility in this country and this woman epitomizes that.
She played a stupid game and won a stupid prize
It’s a f$#*ing word!!! How you view what makes it vulgar. Goodness I can watch a movie on flights that use the same explicit words. Oooo even a lil nudity. This was an authoritative statement. I’ve flown with guys like this…he wasn’t even following his own company regulations…. masks!!! I’m calling bs on this overly aggressive approach definitely wasn’t necessary.
Gary, why is it so important that she was black and he was white?
Totally agree. Woman and particularly Women Of Color are fighting back. Unfortunately, to some a detriment as I understand the young lady was evicted from the plane.
it’s detrimental to THE push for equal rights.
She should act like an adult
The fact that anyone would wear a hat with the word F**K on it while taking a flight shows just how much society has devolved. It really is a sad time to be alive.
https://www.reddit.com/r/PublicFreakout/comments/jik3ak/cry_me_a_river_eric_trump/
It’s another example of BLACK PRIVILEGE. A belief that some black people have that rules don’t apply to them. I see this all the time . Black people illegally parked in handicapped spaces, black people with 20 items on a 15 item express line. All she had to do was say I wouldn’t put that hat on again during the flight. In any case, it shows unbelievable rudeness to board the plane wearing that hat. Oh, U forgot, she has BLACK PRIVILEGE.
You racist pos!!! You’ve been privileged your whole life .
Didn’t mention this pos captain possibly spreading covid because of his privilege not having to wear a mask. Gtf out. White ppl park in handicap spots, white ppl cut lines, white ppl burned down black churches, white ppl could only sit in the front of the bus, white ppl lynched for looking at a person. Oh but that was the past. Yeah a history of privilege. Got nothing to do with this Capt not being compliant but expecting it from his passengers. He was causing more harm than a friggin word on a hat!!!
Think you fail to consider that the Captain was in the cockpit doing his preflight when called to deal with the dumbass and just may not have realized he hadn’t put his mask on…
I’ve done that many times from the car to the wipes at the entrance to the supermarket.
I can assure you that the passenger knew exactly what she was doing. I can also assure you she didn’t wear the cap in front of the agent or during boarding. When she put it on she was well aware of the possible outcome. It was all preplanned.
I think you are 100% correct. she wanted a filmable scene.
You can ASSURE us of that? How can you do so? I am sure you have proof of that since you say it.
I agree with him. If she was wearing that hat while boarding the gate agent would have stopped her. They also work for Delta and follow the same rules.
What color was she and most of the others who have problems on planes????
The woman created this situation. She probably enjoys provoking people.
The captain didn’t even need to leave the cockpit to speak with her. He could just have told the flight attendants to have the airport police remove her.
Since he did engage in a conversation with the woman, I think he should have stipulated that the crew would put this item away until she stepped out at the destination. She almost surely would have put the hat back on during the flight.
I can just picture an SNL skit with Leslie Jones.
This is not a BLM scenario. The palest male in a business suit would also be confronted about this attire.
If you need to be sure that racism is alive and well in the US today, do nothing more than read the comments on OMAAT, here, and VFTW. Its SCARY.
“It’s SCARY”
No, it is not.
You have it about right here. I give you a lot of crap when you’re wrong (and you often are). Not this time. Your analysis is correct.
Woman acted like a spoiled 3-year-old and the pilot treated her appropriately.
Pilot should have had a mask on once he left the flight deck.
Two wrongs don’t make a right.
None of this has anything to do with BLM, skin color, privilege or anything else. It’s not complicated.
Pilot-In-Command is In Command. That means, you obey the PIC. Always.
You don’t have to like it. You do have to obey. Otherwise get the f*** off the plane, get your own plane.
This has everything to do with spoiled children inhabiting adult bodies, a phenomenon which transcends racial and political differences. The world is just full of idiots who are proud to be idiots. Expect more of this.
What a useless post about two not-so-classy people.
Please go back to the coffee and flight reviews. Those are great.
I am an airline person who gets it.
This was a safety issue!!!
So, this blog is basically a tabloid now, yes?
There are 3-5 stories per day. If this story doesn’t grab your attention, hopefully one of the others will. I find this issue fascinating.
Matthew, I’m also from LA, also a flyer, and I also think this incident was worth reporting. I especially give you major kudos for admitting your perspective could be limited.
People’s perspectives are tinted, if not tainted. We don’t see things that are there. And we see things that aren’t there.
A few things to consider…
Your blog is called Live and Let’s Fly. Is the hat so bad that you can’t be on the same plane?
Is the woman trying to piss off others, or just expressing that she’s pissed off?
If the f-word on a hat, said silently, non-violently, directed at nobody in particular is offensive, vulgar, potentially traumatic to children… then what of the n-word, spoken out loud, directly to someone’s face?
Does the story start with the hat? Or with the deaths that led to the hat?
If a bad cop wrongfully kills someone, can it be a triple victimization, triple injustice? (The murder, the paid vacation for cop, the verdict (or choice to not charge him))
Is that why POC see it as not just bad cops, but also systematic, institutional or cultural wrongs that foster bad cops?
If the murders, paid leave, and innocent verdicts are the seed, soil and water that grow the f-word hats, what is the fertilizer?
Maybe it’s the people who make a bigger deal of the hat than the murders?
Do you find some rap music obnoxious? (I do) Does it bother you that some people get free health care, but you have pay for yours? Is it possible that things like that get projected onto the woman and the hat?
If a scale is designed to weigh fully loaded 18-wheeln trucks, things like a feather, dumbell, frozen turkey won’t even register. But they are very real.
If you grow up being looked at differently, treated differently, surrounded by people constantly making assumptions about your intentions and your intelligence, it’s like guns pointed at your head – all day long, all life long. Guns that are both potentially hurtful and actually hurtful.
The hat is merely an attempted defense mechanism. A shield. A way of fighting to breathe, fighting to be free in a world where she never can be totally free. Perhaps she hopes that with the hat, maybe she can at least get a little sympathy, perhaps a silent nod from a passerby who understands how she feels.
She absolutely was NOT trying to ridicule the captain in anyway!
To you, the hat was so bad that she deserved nothing better than, ” You’re going to take it off or you’ll be taken off the plane”.
To her, it was as if he said, “You’re going to pick that cotton or you’ll be hanging from my special tree.”
She did her best to comply, without kissing his butt, bowing down, surrendeimg her dignity.
Matthew, you said you were willing to give the benefit of the doubt to a pastor who peed on a passenger. Yet you thought about the woman in the hat all day long and can’t see any defense.
I think you’d see things a little differently if you were the person peed on, the person in the hat, the person with 1/10 the generational wealth, hoping to, at the very least, get a little respect.
I would agree that the woman was insensitive. In my opinion she wasnt aware she was offending anyone, and wasn’t trying to offend anyone.
“Sensitively training” and unconscious/subconscious bias apply to all. If we learn about other cultures, engage with other cultures, our scales get adjusted, so we pick up on the things that were always there, that we were previously unaware of.
Conquering racial and political divisions leads to great friendships and allows us to focus on the real threats
Mr. Mathew Klint I support you. Keep up the good work. Good work replying respectfully to disrespectful people.
Captain showed great restraint and courtesy. Passenger probsbly never experienced any in her life. In addition to dealing with her rudeness and disrespect he then has to get a plane up in the air and fly it then land it. She has never ever had that kind of responsibility in her life. Guaranteed
Great restraint on not wearing a mask. I guess we know who he’s voting for. Oh but compliance right?
I was a flight attendant for 14 yrs I know these overly authoritative guys.
She wasn’t hurting anyone she took it off he was possibly putting ppl in danger by not wearing a mask. We don’t know where he’s been or he’s been around. F this dude.. if she would have been a mileage plus member I’m sure the outcome would have been handled differently.
Extended version of video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7eGQGFP-nU&has_verified=1 on “TRIPPLE DARKNESS PUBLIC ENEMY NUMBER 1!” channel
Has additional 35 seconds of video that was trimmed in the BLM posted video showing the initial interactions with the pilot where he says:
“so you can put me on your camera if you’d like, but make sure you put that hat on the camera, because that hat is not going to be allowed on this flight. Delta has families on on-board and that word on your hat is inappropriate”
More footage at the end where a guy says he is a police officer and will give her money for the FUCK hat which she gives to him – WTF is going on there.
Captain Reilly should be rewarded for his class in how he handled the situation. Will not waste my time regarding the passenger. It is not worth it commenting. Now, was the passenger wearing that hat before boarding the plane? If yes, should the gate agent had stopped her from boarding the plane? If not, she did it on purpose just to see how far she could go. Captain Reilly showed her the street. Well done!!!!
The captain was well within his right in removing her from the flight. He acted quite respectful and polite to her, she was the one who was disrespectful
Koi
It’s a f$#*ing word!!! How you view what makes it vulgar. Goodness I can watch a movie on flights that use the same explicit words. Oooo even a lil nudity. This was an authoritative statement. I’ve flown with guys like this…he wasn’t even following his own company regulations…. masks!!! I’m calling bs on this overly aggressive approach definitely wasn’t necessary.
“I’m the Captain” equates to “We’re not equal”. So it’s an easy solution if you consider them unequal. She should just acknowledge his authority, and do as asked.
But what if they’re equals?
There’s a delicate, nuanced dynamic at play here. The fine line between authority and superiority.
I respect the hell outta pilots. Flying a plane requires a combination of skills, brains and guts that I’m nowhere close to possessing. Extra respect for the ex-military.
But interpersonal skills aren’t that Captain’s strong suit. The conversation could have been about the rule, and the Captain’s responsibility to enforce the rule. The Captain let it escalate to a personal, confrontational battle. If a customer is a ticking time bomb, there are ways to diffuse bombs.
Show respect. The customer paid for the plane, the crew, the gas. The Captain isn’t her commanding officer, boss or parent. He works for her. And his main job is to fly her to where she’s going, safely and comfortably.
If the customer isn’t aware there’s a dress code, explain it to them respecfully. As if they are Mark Cuban, Jeff Bezos, Richard Branson. A very drunk, aggressive, irritating, hostile CEO still gets “The Customer Is King” treatment.
How are you doing, Ma’am?
Is that your daughter with you?
Are you flying to Dallas with us today?
So I know you’re paying me to fly to to Dallas, and I hope I do good job of that for you. And you’re not paying me to be the fashion police, right?
“Yes, I don’t understand why I can’t wear this hat!”
So, Delta, like other airlines takes the air travel dress code very seriously. The reason is because airlines always take double and triple precautions about anything that has even the tiniest chance of becoming a safely issue or even a late departure issue.”
I don’t care what your hat says, and I respect your right to express whatever you want to express. And I would say 99% to 100% precent of the people on this plane probably have absolutely no problem with you or your hat.
But what if, on some flight, someday, one customer has a problem with another customer, and it escalates to a confrontation? Then it could delay takeoff, and then it’s a problem for everyone on board.
“The only thing we want to see escalating is the plane, you know? ”
“So that’s why airlines make such a big deal if it. I’ve even seen people removed from flights for wearing potentially offensive clothes, before anyone even objected to the clothing.”
“I would hate for that to happen to you”
(Notice this Captain didn’t seem particulary upset about potentially having her removed)
“Anyways, so I don’t get fired, or reprimanded or anything like that, could you just sort of keep it out of sight during the flight? Would that be a problem?
“No sir, that’s not a problem.”
“I’ll take it off and keep it off. I wouldn’t want you to have to make an emergency landing because of my hat.”. *makes sarcastic half-smile*
“Ok. Thank you. We appreciate that!” *big smile*
*Reaches out his hand. Somewhat reluctantly, she shakes it*
This situation was not all that different from the George Floyd situation. A little respect goes a long way. He kept saying “Mama”. Was she alive? Maybe they could have offered to call her. Maybe she would have told him to get in the cruiser.
I’m not saying there aren’t passive-aggressive types, and people that like to push other’s buttons.
But I didn’t see that woman as that. I think she genuinely wanted to know if there was an actual rule against her attire, or if she was just being picked on because the message wasn’t well-received.
This! The captain approached the client from a position of superiority…this is why BLM DC is defending this passenger.
And BLM is idiotic to do so. Their priorities are screwed up. The captain WAS in a position of superiority. For God’s sake, he flies the plane. Are you a moron?
Funny how the universe works, sometimes.
( all the time? )
She took off the hat.
That was showing the pilot a modicum of respect.
If you put it under a microscope, it turns out to be the exact modicum of respect the pilot showed her.
Sure it was. You can’t see the full cap in the video, but do you see the face on the cap?
Some of these comments defending this woman are moronic.
Delta has a clause in its conditions of carriage that states it can refuse to carry a passenger “when the passenger’s conduct, attire, hygiene or odor creates an unreasonable risk of offense or annoyance to other passengers.”
The woman was asked if she would agree not to wear the hat for the duration of the flight.
All she had to say was “Yes” but instead acted like a petulant child “The hat is in my lap, the hat is in my lap, the hat is in my lap”
And this has NOTHING to do with race. She could have come from any ethnicity and she would still be 100% in the wrong.
Jon, calling me or other people a moron doesn’t make you better or smarter. It just means you don’t understand the woman, the hat or the people defending her. You see the situation differently.
The didn’t ask her to remove the hat. He told her, “We’re not b going to do that, meaning you’re not going to do that, mesning you have no choice, I have total control over you. This coming from the same power structure that once said, “You have no freedom of choice, you’re going to pick that cotton or your going to hang from a tree.”
I’m not equating a dress code to slavery. I’m saying that the woman sees the same face, feels the same attitude coming at her (whether it’s the same attitude or not is irrelevant because perceived disrespect is disrespect. Even if disrespect is unintended.)
Just like with the hat. She meant no disrespect to anyone on the plane, but big they felt disrespected they were.
The woman also sees in the captain the same people, the same system that kills unarmed black men, and gives them paid vacations for it.
She complied when told to take the hat off. End of story. Should have been the end. But then the captain assumed she’d put it on again. That’s more of the same crap. It’s not slavery, and it’s not murder, but constant assumptions that you are unintelligent, dishonest, immature, etc etc, etc. etc etc. can only be tolerated for so long.
She absolutely did not owe it to the captain to capitulate. Taking the hat off she did. He put her in a position where she felt that she would have been condoning all the evil perpetrated against Black people for centuries, if she capitulated any further.
If you don’t see that, it might just be lack of cultural awareness.
A black guy stepped in between me and four guys with baseball bats who might have beat me to death. I’ve also been in black churches, summer camps, courtrooms, jails, living rooms, bedrooms, rock groups (yes Black rock groups are a thing).
From my view, the Caption was far more disrespectful, and it wasn’t even close.
Should we conclude that f_word written on a hat is more important than the health of everyone? Remember this pilot could contact covid and die while flying. Just wondering what is more important
She was wrong.
She did remove the hat. (Eventually)
But to think she was the only one being disrespectful, and acting like a child is either bias, because he’s white, and clearly trying to flex his superiority over her. Or simply your a racist. You guys never try to evaluate both sides. Its always immediate persecution.
Customer service 101, never stand and argue with anyone( they could be crazy)
He should have told, and given her direct instructions to put it away. ( In a bag, in the overhead bin), that’s effective communication. She obviously didn’t know there is a such thing as appropriate flight attire. Heck, I am pretty sure you guys never considered it might have been her first flight. Yall don’t realise that some black people just like white people get uncomfortable or intimidated by the other race, and emotional reactions can range from irate too cowardly.
The Captain, instead, not wearing a mask ( again flexing his superiority over everyone). Proves my point of his ability to effectively tell her what she needed to do, instead of giving her direct instructions, he started and engaged in childish back and forth banter. He did tell her to remove the hat, instead of saying put it away.
His failure to communicate and assumed superiority is the bigger problem here, and I hope Delta recognise this.
It was a reasonable request. The passenger was purposely being an a**hole. He did the right thing and it had nothing to do with skin color. Being Black doesn’t give us a pass to be ignorant. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.
I’m sure the captain was up front prepping when they called him to the back. He likely was in a rush to see what was going on and didn’t grab his mask. I’ll give him a pass.
FAA gives total Authority to the Captain. The Captain signs for the plane and is 100% on the hook if anything goes wrong. This individual should have been advised before boarding to remove the hat. Preflight duties are extremely hectic on the flight deck. To have the Captain come back to be the bad here was wrong. We don’t wear masks on the flight deck because it interferes with vital communications. He probably was task saturated and simply forgot.
Anyone that would argue with the Commander needs to be removed and banned from the line. All these customer interactions are no win situations and should be handled by customer service rep not the Captain.
Well after she removed the hat that should have been the end of it. However the captain wants to become extra with it and it made matters worse. She removed the hat end of discussion. Don’t continue to push the issue.
No, you’re wrong. She could have easily put the hat back on after takeoff, and then what? The crew has to get the captain back there again to put out another fire? I don’t trust passengers. I’ve been a flight attendant way too long. Just kick her off before it escalates. If she’s incable of answering a simple question, “buh bye”!
Asking for reasonable defenses, acknowledging the privileged lenses you view this from, then discounting any defense that would be posited, is disingenuous.
This pilot originally asked the passenger to remove her cap…which she did. But then he invokes a level of insult, suspicion and distrust that Blacks are often subjected to when dealing with white Americans. That is where he was wrong and she was right. She did not owe him a verbal acknowledgment once she complied with Delta’s rules and regulations.
That you are oblivious to this history is RICH!
Well said, JJ
What’s next, a lie detector to get on a Delta fight because the captain is always right. If the wearing of the hat was so important then the captain should be willing to return back after takeoff, if in fact, the customer returned the hat to her head. The fact that the passenger removed her hat should have been enough to satisfy the captain’s concern. But the captain wanted something more, something personal, an omission of some sort. The passenger could of easily surrendered, only to then, place the hat back on her head after takeoff.
Yes, the captain apparently put too much trust in the passenger’s word.
Why is Saul Alinsky quoted and revered so highly here?
Revered? I quoted him because the passenger’s conduct was right out of his playbook.
But you kept misspelling his name.
This is obviously an old article, but to be clear, are you claiming here that the woman was attempting to employ such ‘rules’? And does such focus serve as a commendation of Alinsky’s work? Or does it all merely consist of broadly referencing, without substance or context, some leftist work peripherally remembered from university, in order to gain the appearance of some ‘intellectualism’?
I don’t like his tactics, but they work. That’s all.
Thank you.
Anyone who thinks that this woman is justified in her actions and behavior is crazy! This woman was defiant, argumentative, and childish. I can understand her questioning the rule(s), however, if the CAPTAIN asked and told her to remove the cap because it’s offensive, just remove the freaking cap! What was the point in all of the back and forth. I do agree that the Captain shouldn’t have exchanged in a back and forth with her, he should have just called to have her removed from the plane after he asked twice, but I did NOT see where he was rude, belittling, or disrespectful, she was in the wrong in regards to this situation, her very own companions told her to just agree and she ignored them in her quest to prove her RIDICULOUS point.
Black Lives Matter getting involved in this CRAP that clearly could have been avoided had she just removed the cap and agreed to leave it off during the flight, could have easily been avoided and resolved before the childish back and forth began. But hey, that’s just MY opinion.
And this comment is coming from BLACK WOMAN.
Contradictions kill. If she took it off, she took it off. Captain just wanted to pick a fight. It probably hit a soft spot of the way his children act. Fly the f***ing plane! And wear a mask! It’s not a race thing, it’s common sense! She was wrong for wearing it, she took it off after being humiliated and she was thrown off for following orders.
Hmmm… Maybe it is a race thing..
” officer I’m reaching for my registration in my glove compartment” POW!!!! DEAD for following orders. This is America.
Have a blessed day!
You couldn’t be more mistaken. First, the captain has no idea what’s happening at the back during boarding. He has a million and one checks to perform in the flight deck prior to departure. He has no interest in getting involved in a petty issue faced by the flight attendants. Obviously they felt it necessary to enlist his help, because this woman refused to obey instructions (although we, as flight crew, are the authority). It has nothing to do with the pilot’s prejudices or biases. It has nothing to do with his personal beliefs. He is simply helping at the behest of the hapless backend crew who are getting nowhere with the passenger, who is hanging her non-compliance on the BLM hook. I, for one, am sick of it. I would have kicked her off long before.
In case you haven’t noticed, anyone with common sense no longer cares about the opinion of BLM.
What we have here is yet another attempt to convince Americans that Black Lives Matter, using the tactic that if you don’t give me what I want we will take it regardless. It hasn’t worked in the past and it won’t work today. You receive in this country what you deserve and worked for. The Captain of the plane returned as much respect to the woman as she deserved. Kenneth L> Dempsey
Damn straight! I am so sick and tired of the BLM movement as an excuse. It’s backfiring. The racial divide is worse than it has ever been in the States. No wonder
Omfg..why can’t passengers juuuusstt behave? I’ve worked as a flight attendant for 41 years and am sooooo tired of insolence and misbehavior. It’s exhausting. Just do it. The captain’s word is the final word, and because she couldn’t just grow up, necessitated her own removal, incurring a delay and inconveniencing everyone on that aircraft
We shouldn’t have to seek the pilots’ help with customers. They have more important concerns, namely flying the aircraft. We should be able to take care of backend issues ourselves, but sometimes it’s necessary to drag the pilot out of the flight deck and although h/she will impart the exact same instruction as a flight attendant, certain passengers simply have no respect for the inflight crew, but will listen to the pilot in command. We are the authority and there is zero tolerance for bad behaviour these days. I would have taken the initiative and had her removed without pilot intervention
Damn straight! I am so sick and tired of the BLM movement as an excuse. It’s backfiring. The racial divide is worse than it has ever been in the States. No wonder
He might as well just said “get off the bus off Rosa”.
Interfering with a flight crew is a federal offense. Failing to comply with the repeated requests of a flight crew member is considered interference and can be subject to an FAA fine of up to $25,000. If you don’t want to be thrown off the airplane and potentially fined or put on a no-fly list, it is simple. Bite your tongue and do what the FA or pilots tell you to do. They deal with too many issues daily to put with petulant behavior.
I see the hat sort of as an example of “sh*t that some of us white people (not me, tho) don’t want to deal with”. A lot of white people don’t want to see it, they wish it would just go away. The thing is “sh*t” doesn’t just materialize out of thin air. It comes from somewhere. Elephant sh*t comes from an elephant. Matthew, you spent an entire article addressing the sh*t, and not one word about the elephant. Whether she’s upset about racism, an injustice, systemic injustice or whatever, maybe that’s what’s worth taking about. Talking and listening. You don’t the big elephant in the room. Many people don’t. Many have proclaimed that racism doesn’t exist. I’m pretty sure that if it didn’t, there wouldn’t be hats with the F word. One is the genesis for the other. The captain has his ultimatums. Life has ultimatums, too. One of them is “No justice, no peace”. I don’t mean that as a political or militant slogan. I think it’s the way the world works. The universe can’t be in harmony and balance when there’s injustice. It’s like a vacuum or water flowing uphill.
One thing that should be stressed is while the claim that “BLM thinks the pilot should be fired” might seem outrageous (I think it is — the pilot was acting appropriately), Black Lives Matters is a decentralized organization — there is no guarantee that all people who support Black Lives Matter would want this pilot fired. So, we should try not to develop a bias against BLM or the spirit of BLM based on this.
Why do people need to create a problem ? When you purchase an airline ticket you are agreeing to their rules. If you didn’t read them then that’s your fault. If she didn’t know where to find the rules , her fault. Take the hat off and stop creating problems where there aren’t any. Stop recording the problem you created to turn around and claim there’s a problem where there isn’t. I’d be pissed if I was late to my destination for someone else’s nonsense.
The lady was 100% wrong, but he could have been more persuasive if he had allowed her to keep her dignity. Once you treat someone as authority, they will feel bullied and become defensive. You simply have to consider sensitivities and feelings, because most people have them, especially when there is an audience. They both dug in and that will never end well. It looked more like a battle of wills, even though it wasn’t that. He gave her too many chances; once she stopped complying, he should have called security to come take her off.
And BLM…? Does anyone take them seriously anymore? They have made it clear how prejudiced, unobjective, and destructive they are. Who cares what they say, lol?
Let’s pull the race card instead of keeping it about being respectful. The difference in this country now and 20 years ago is at least two fathers (white and/or black) would have done what the captain did and would have said, if I have to explain to either of my kids what that “f” word on your hat means I am going to take your hat off dip it in the smurf juice in the plane lavatory and then stick it back on your head. All the Saul Alinksky social change rhetoric aside, grow up folks and if you can’t do it to respect others, how about doing it for your own self-respect and dignity.