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Home » News » John Wayne May Be Dropped From SNA Airport Due To Inflammatory Playboy Interview
News

John Wayne May Be Dropped From SNA Airport Due To Inflammatory Playboy Interview

Matthew Klint Posted onJune 29, 2020November 14, 2023 25 Comments

a statue of a man in a cowboy hat

In another culture war clash that impacts travel, Orange County is considering dropping John Wayne from its airport name.

OC Democrats, Weary Of John Wayne 1971 Playboy Interview, Want His Name Dropped From SNA Airport

“Duke” was interviewed by Playboy magazine in 1971. The far-reaching interview touched on many issues of race and history, with Wayne offering the following quips:

On racial equality:

“I believe in white supremacy until the blacks are educated to a point of responsibility. I don’t believe in giving authority and positions of leadership and judgment to irresponsible people.”

On slavery:

“I don’t feel guilty about the fact that five or 10 generations ago these people were slaves.”

On Native Americans:

“I don’t feel we did wrong in taking this great country away from them, if that’s what you’re asking. Our so-called stealing of this country from them was just a matter of survival. There were great numbers of people who needed new land, and the Indians were selfishly trying to keep it for themselves.”

You can read the full interview here (.pdf).

John Wayne Would Be Dropped From SNA Under Democrat Resolution

A resolution put forward by Orange County Democrats now calls for his name and statue to be removed from SNA:

“As Confederate statues and odes to Christopher Columbus are taken down across the country, Orange County must come to grips with its own tribute to a racially polarizing figure: John Wayne. The time has come to rename our airport and remove Wayne’s statue.

“It is widely recognized that racist symbols produce lasting physical and psychological stress and trauma particularly to Black communities, people of color and other oppressed groups.”

The full OC Board of Supervisors will consider a name-change at its next meeting.

CONCLUSION

Erstwhile comedian Bob Hope was dropped from the name of Burbank Airport in 2017, which now goes by Burbank – Hollywood Airport. That was for commercial reasons, though I suspect as a product of his time, he also said things for which he would be tarred and feathered today.

I bring this news to you because it impacts travel; it impacts an airport I have traveled from often and again demonstrates how that history is made…or erased…in brief moments.


> Read More: Hollywood Throws Out Bob Hope from Burbank Airport


image: Dave & Margie Hill / Flickr CC 20.0

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Matthew Klint

Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 135 countries. Working both in the aviation industry and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in major media outlets around the world and uses his Live and Let's Fly blog to share the latest news in the airline industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs, and detailed reports of his worldwide travel.

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25 Comments

  1. Paul Reply
    June 29, 2020 at 3:57 pm

    Same quote used twice. Intentional?
    On racial equality:

    “I believe in white supremacy until the blacks are educated to a point of responsibility. I don’t believe in giving authority and positions of leadership and judgment to irresponsible people.”

    On slavery:

    “I believe in white supremacy until the blacks are educated to a point of responsibility. I don’t believe in giving authority and positions of leadership and judgment to irresponsible people.”

    • Matthew Klint Reply
      June 29, 2020 at 4:10 pm

      Thank you Paul. My bad.

  2. Aaron Reply
    June 29, 2020 at 4:11 pm

    Yeah, the same quote is used to twice.

    Not sure how this will impact people traveling to and from the airport, or using the airport, since it is just a name change.

    Also, what history is being erased in this specific case?

    • Matthew Klint Reply
      June 29, 2020 at 4:17 pm

      Many now want the airport to go back to its pre-1979 name like Wayne was never there. That may be the appropriate reaction, but I like what HBO did with Gone With The Wind better.

      It won’t impact literal air travel.

      • MaKr Reply
        June 29, 2020 at 5:25 pm

        Wayne wasn’t “there”, it’s just an airport name. I don’t get what you’re suggesting with the comparison to HBO and Gone With The Wind… You want them to have a preface putting Wayne’s statements in historical context before every utterance of the airport name?
        What Wayne said was racist trash even in 1971. No historical perspective necessary

        • Matthew Klint Reply
          June 29, 2020 at 7:44 pm

          No. I’m saying the better solution might be to leave the Wayne statue up with a bit of an explanation rather than just removing all traces of him.

          • Aaron
            June 30, 2020 at 2:03 am

            Well, it’s not like he built the airport or spent time managing or running it…I guess they can put a plaque inside the airport explaining the history of the airport being named after him, along with the quotes lifted above to explain why it’s no longer named after him too.

  3. John Reply
    June 29, 2020 at 5:37 pm

    Also remember that John Wayne played a “Yellow Face” when he portrait Genghis Khan as it was reminded by the recent documentary Be Water.

    • Andy K Reply
      June 29, 2020 at 9:27 pm

      So a white person can’t play a person of color? Can someone explain to me why that is?

      • UA-NYC Reply
        June 30, 2020 at 12:02 am

        Get a clue, Francis

      • Ak Reply
        June 30, 2020 at 3:06 pm

        Erased from history? No. History is the writing/recording of occurrences and no one is doing that (a less-technical definition is study of the past). Please mind facts and definitions. The airport is changing names. That will be recorded in history.

  4. Jackson Henderson Reply
    June 29, 2020 at 5:48 pm

    Every single thing John Wayne said was true. The truth is hate to those who hate the truth. If John Wayne is offensive to some, what about statues of MLK, Malcolm X, and other black figures being offensive to others. MLK was an adulterer and was against gays. Malcolm X preached violence and racial separatism (for me perfectly fine but offensive to some). How about we eliminate these figures from street names and statues. Let’s not name buildings, streets, or ships after anyone.

  5. Paolo Reply
    June 29, 2020 at 6:11 pm

    This is getting ridiculous. I’ve no doubt that John Wayne was a major-league arsehole ( certainly during the ‘60s he was a major figure in the propaganda wars, making movies like “The Green Berets”) and a racist.But this sanitising of the past is a form of rewriting history. Even Woodrow Wilson getting dropped from public buildings.
    Where does it end? Start with deleting racists, then move on to misogynists, those whose policies are now deemed to be not PC? We’ll end up with Shakespeare being banned…
    I’d prefer to keep the past intact, warts and all, including statues and naming of facilities.

    • Aaron Reply
      June 30, 2020 at 1:36 am

      You do realize history exists in schools and museums, right? Removing statues is NOT rewriting history. Statues are just symbols that are being removed. Now, if you stop teaching about these figures in school or museums the way certain black historical people and events are, then yes, one could argue the past is being erased/rewritten.

  6. Stuart Reply
    June 29, 2020 at 6:30 pm

    Airports will eventually sell corporate sponsorships anyway, just like stadiums. Soon to arrive, Orange County Quest Software Airport.

    • Matthew Klint Reply
      June 29, 2020 at 7:45 pm

      That may be the path of least resistance!

  7. Andy K Reply
    June 29, 2020 at 9:30 pm

    I read an interesting article in the WSJ today that addresses this:

    https://www.wsj.com/articles/even-the-bible-is-full-of-flawed-characters-11593370160

    I think you will like it, Matthew.

  8. Nate nate Reply
    June 30, 2020 at 2:35 am

    If we are going down the path of corporate sponsorships, then why not sell the naming rights to Disney and name it Walt Disney Airport? When those tourists return, it will help them book flights to the right SoCal airport.

    Honestly surprised how bad those quotes are, and never really understood why we named an airport after JW. So no objection to the renaming.

    • Aaron Reply
      June 30, 2020 at 3:47 am

      Something I just realized, why is Matthew calling what he said “quips”? Does he not know what quips means?

      • Matthew Klint Reply
        June 30, 2020 at 10:12 am

        Sarcasm.

  9. John F Reply
    June 30, 2020 at 10:47 am

    This is really silly. To be sure, John Wayne was racist – but this trend of removing anyone who said something offensive from public life will not end well. I think that the right has far over-stated the extent to which “snowflake culture” exists for their own political purposes, but there’s a point to be made about over-sanitizing everything in public life. Are we going to expect perfect purity from every public figure going forward?

    I think we need to judge people by the standards of their time when reviewing whether to take down status, names, etc. While there is a good case for taking down some monuments/statues (e.g. Confederate ones), I don’t think this airport name qualifies.

    • Aaron Reply
      June 30, 2020 at 11:00 am

      The whole “standards of their time” is a weak argument to use, since there are many contemporaries of Wayne’s who weren’t racist. Maybe the airport should be named after one of them instead.

  10. Jared Reply
    June 30, 2020 at 4:30 pm

    This comes up ever 4-5 years when a new group of people “discover” that interview. You get a lot of sensationalist articles and outrage about it but then it quickly dies off. I don’t care if it gets changed either way I just hope the airport retains its ease of use-short lines, easy to drive into, etc.

  11. Kasper Reply
    July 6, 2020 at 4:00 pm

    But everything he said was true.

  12. Suzanne Peden Reply
    August 17, 2022 at 3:37 am

    His view point is pretty outrageous however you view it. No respect for other PEOPLE !!

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