Robert J. O’Neill’s claim to fame is that he killed Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan while a US Navy SEAL in 2011. He has turned that feat into a lucrative career as an author and public speaker.
But O’Neill received negative attention yesterday when he tweeted a picture of himself sitting on a Delta flight without a mask along with the caption, “I’m not a p*ssy”.
After receiving pushback like the tweet below, he deleted the tweet about five hours later.
You’re not a “pussy” because the vagina is one of the most resilient parts of the human body that can withstand childbirth. You’re more of a selfish coward willing to jeopardize the lives of others, including the Marine veteran behind you proudly wearing a USMC hat and a mask.
— Eugene Gu, MD (@eugenegu) August 19, 2020
Then later blamed his wife…
I didn’t delete my tweet. My wife did.
— Robert J. O’Neill (@mchooyah) August 19, 2020
What Should Delta Do About Robert O’Neill?
One Mile at a Time hints that Delta should ban him for being a d*ck.
Maybe, but one selfie is hardly indicative of his behavior on the flight before or after the photo was taken.
I’m not going to defend him for taking his mask off or his puerile statement. But let’s not be judge, jury, and executioner simply based upon one photo.
(if we do want to judge him, maybe take a look at some of these other NSFW tweets…)
Maybe he was eating or drinking when this photo was taken. Maybe he took his mask off, took the picture, and put it right back on. If that is the case, it makes him a hypocrite and somewhat cowardly (I won’t use his word), but remember Delta’s policy is not about one-time violations, but passengers who are not correctable. As Delta CEO Ed Bastian explained:
“We’ve been steadily and rather aggressively stepping up our enforcement of the mask policy. You cannot board a Delta plane unless you have a mask on. If you board the plane and insist on not wearing a mask, we insist that you do not fly Delta into the future. We already have 100 people put onto that list.”
Key word: insist, which implies not a single violation, but a continued refusal to wear the mask.
If he really refused to wear his mask, wouldn’t a flight attendant have documented it? After all, Delta has already banned over 100 passengers and has been very clear about enforcing its mandatory mask policy.
The fact that O’Neill deleted the tweet suggests some level of remorse to me. If he now understands that he’s welcome to his opinion but has to play by Delta’s rules should he choose to fly Delta, then we don’t have a problem anymore.
CONCLUSION
We have one tweet. Now let’s see if there is an incident report or the guy was just trying to pander to the crowd that sees masks as a sign of weakness, not solidarity. At this point, I’m not prepared to do anything more than roll my eyes at him.
That said, he does seem to make a habit of at least taking pictures onboard airplanes without masks…
Bozeman Bound… @thebigshorty1 pic.twitter.com/4B4PbLS091
— Robert J. O’Neill (@mchooyah) July 20, 2020
Your thoughts on Mr. O’Neill?
Repulsive creature. He’s vile beyond description and a disgrace to the military, the men and women who serve, and to the country.
That’s a bit over the top don’t you think?
No, fully deserved. He’s utterly loathsome. The very idea of profiteering from that mission…is an accurate reflection of the individual, and it’s the very antithesis of how someone in his situation should behave.
The mask story is just a minor symptom of a deeper, darker sickness. There is NOTHING to celebrate about this guy ( in contrast to the majority of his peers maintaining a dignified and entirely appropriate silence). Truly, an ugly American…
Paolo is spot-on. A perfect description.
Thank you for your service, Mr. O’Niell, but….you’re a complete dick.
The man is a navy SEAL – he’s tougher and braver than 99.9 % of us, and you call him loathsome because he doesn’t want to wear a mask? Lose the sanctimony.
Being a seal doesn’t mean you get to skirt the laws.
Yeah, he’s a Navy SEAL. And a complete assrocket. And, I’m sure, many other things, too.
And now he’s also banned from Delta, as he should be. Good job, Delta. Rules is rules.
@Paolo: Tell us how you really feel lol
O’Neill IS a p*ssy!
I think his tweet probably gives half the population more reason to not wear a mask and be combative. I would ban him based on the fact he is an instigator and could lead to more people following his lead.
The radical right look at this and thinks they can then do it. I think if I was Delta or any airline that has 100% mask policy I would ban anyone who makes it harder to enforce their policy. Him doing this definitely doesn’t help get people to wear masks.
vile americans. so fekking selfish.
Yes, because they are all like that, of course.
New Zealand looks better and better every day.
Have you read the news on their COVID increases?
And looking on from the US, what’s your point, Andy K?
You realize Covid cases to date past ~6 months in NZ are equal to a couple hours in Florida – right?
Gotta love the right wing “both sides”-ism – to call it “intellectual dishonesty” is an insult to any intellect
@Andy K: Do you read at all?
Andy K regularly posts and is a complete fool on these forums
Takes one to know one.
The point I was trying to make is that despite their efforts and success, COVID is still a big problem in NZ.
https://abcnews.go.com/Health/zealands-renewed-covid-crisis-scientists-virus-hard/story?id=72420563
Sounds like you’re the one who doesn’t read.
They reported an outbreak!!! of nine (9!!!) whole cases this week. You sound like a Trump mouthpiece calling it “a big problem”. SMH.
I agree, or even cave in Wyoming.
No doubt he served our country and contributed to the victory, but it was a TEAMWORK. He didn’t fly the helicopter and/or was alone in the mission. All team members were hero, not only him. The language he used in his text was… strong.
The irony of the older gentleman to his left with a USMC hat wearing a mask speaks volumes. I saw this guy present once and he is enteraining but he really does think he’s “all that”.
That is what happens when you have a strong type A personality which is pretty much a requirement for SF in any branch of the military. Also being opinionated is everyone’s god given right, and so he just like the rest of us has every right to express his opinions. Also this mask thing is not a law, and wont ever be one. The mask thing is a policy, in some places, but will not become a law in america. So even though cities, and states are giving out fines, they cant legally collect on them. So in the end everyone is going to have there opinion on being for, and against masks, and left or right of the isle shouldn’t matter. We are all americans, and so we should all act like it, and just get along.
Based on the position or point of his posts (especially about the “China” mask), it’s fairly clear he doesn’t believe them. He even insisted that his wife made him take down the post in question; otherwise he’d keep it up.
So clearly, he doesn’t believe a mask is doing him (or anyone) any good.
And that is sad… Because during WWII, this country, and its citizens, were willing to make sacrifices that allowed us to be able to produce an amazing amount of goods, weapons or otherwise, by collectively rationing and having everyone participate. Not to mention the people going off to war and making true sacrifices. The very things that this “soldier” should understand about.
What’s more disappointing is that we have a part of the population who actually will look at this guy’s post and feel empowered to not wear a mask… cuz if a “tough guy” says he won’t, certainly is good enough for a regular person. We have just become a society of selfish, coddled, whiners who don’t care about anyone but ourselves.
Just one more example of the irresponsible behavior that is keeping our country from being able to contain this pandemic. And one of the reasons I don’t even feel like flying right now and finding myself sitting next to someone like this.
Masks are pretty pointless. Nonetheless I wear one if required to avoid trouble, it’s not a big deal really. However, seeing the reactions of the mask karens – “Loathsome”, “Vile”, “Disgrace” – makes me want to NOT wear one. You people need to relax a bit.
I think after 9 years of casually inserting “…and oh, by the way, I put a bullet in Osama bin Laden’s head” in conversation, his brain has officially turned to mush. In the same way we would expect any other Hollywood-type star to have their mind ruined by dint of their celebrity.
I fail to understand why the anti-mask crowd can’t get it through their thick skull that when you enter private property–be it a Walmart or a Delta plane–you are subject to their rules. Your view on masks doesn’t matter. Don’t want to be subject to their rules, get off their property.
It really isn’t that complicated.
Let me explain why the anti-mask crowd acts the way they do:
They’re selfish dicks. It’s not complicated.
On the use of the word “puerile” …
Matthew, not even the New Yorker or another high-brow publication was use such obscure words. This isn’t high school and you don’t have to show off you SAT vocabulary (is that still a thing..??).
Trust me (or read your own comment section) – your audience is full of a lot of normal hard-working people who do not need to be condescended with such word choice.
Heck, I have a masters degree and I didn’t know what that word meant. Just my 2 cents.
Oh okay Andy K.
I’m good with learning new words every now and then.
Hmm when I see a word I don’t understand, I look it up and learn it.
I bet that happens to you a lot. Good thing your name is only four letters.
You can be like the guy who was our President for the first several years of this century who said “I use The Google” and exercise your erudition (book learnin’).
Har har. You should look up the meaning of your name and start trying to live up to it.
Can you get a refund for that master’s degree?
It’s an MBA, not a useless Masters in English. [Redacted]
I’d ask the gentleman to watch his language.
I have an MBA too but I know the meaning of “puerile”
Maybe you can use the dictionary a bit more, along with sites like Worldometers that put Covid data into context
Having read the comments it’s only you who seems to have a problem with someone using words which seem fancy.
@Andy K: You have a master’s degree? Oh right, you mean you have a printer and the internet.
I have an MBA. Judging from your picture, you have an HIV.
Uncalled for Andy K. Please don’t attack other commenters in that way.
If you think about what this troll is implying beneath the surface Matthew, it’s basically hate speech.
I think you’re confusing remorse and cowardice. Look at his comments. He’s not the remorseful type.
Lol. Some athlete with testosterone won gold medal in the olympic and making a life becoming public speaker about it. Later become a woman.
This guy shot osama bin laden in a military operation and gain fame and fortune by becoming public speaker of due to the said operation. Later confronting a general-scientificaly health instruction, retract it and blame his wife for it.
How much beta a veteran can be? Did he really was in military covert ops? Or all of it just an elaborate hoax to justify the war?
Anyway, please continue doing it. Thank you for providing jokes in this pandemic.
Can you get a refund for that master’s degree?
So you’re smart enough to know the meaning of SAT words but you post comments twice? Can you get a refund on your high school diploma?
You’re not smart enough to know the meaning of words like puerile. In the Words of your own Dear Leader “Sad”
Update: Delta banned him. Good for Delta!
https://www.usnews.com/news/business/articles/2020-08-20/delta-bans-purported-bin-laden-killer-for-not-wearing-a-mask
Nothing says valor and courage like throwing your wife under the bus(or in this case the landing gear).
The guy is a total douchebag
Egoistic braggart with loose lips. I doubt anything he says.