A Singapore Airlines flight attendant says one of the worst passenger complaints of her career began with a bizarre misunderstanding over an economy class meal: did she say “Cantonese-style black pepper beef,” or “Caucasians can’t cook beef”?
Did A Singapore Airlines Flight Attendant Make A Racist Remark, Or Was This Simply A Bizarre Misunderstanding?
A Singapore Airlines flight attendant named Shannon Faith has shared an unusual story about a passenger who accused her of racism after apparently mishearing her description of an inflight meal.
According to her account, she was serving a passenger on a Singapore Airlines flight from San Francisco (SFO) to Singapore (SIN) where the available meal choices included chicken or Cantonese-style black pepper beef.
She recommended the chicken instead of the beef. But the passenger apparently believed that she had said something very different:
“Caucasians can’t cook beef.”
That would certainly be an inappropriate remark.
But the flight attendant insists she actually said:
“Cantonese-style black pepper beef.”
Say those two phrases quickly, especially through a mask, over the ambient noise of an aircraft cabin, and I can understand how one might be misheard as the other!
The passenger nevertheless interpreted the comment as a racial insult and complained, leaving the flight attendant to defend herself against an accusation she says was based entirely on a misunderstanding.
The two praises certainly do match perfectly, but our brains have a way of filling in gaps once we believe we have heard something provocative. If a passenger thought the flight attendant had said “Caucasians can’t cook beef,” it is not difficult to understand why she took offense.
But context/motive matters. Why would a Singapore Airlines flight attendant randomly tell a passenger that white people cannot cook beef while presenting a meal cart? It would be a remarkably strange and self-destructive thing to say.
“Cantonese-style black pepper beef,” by contrast, sounds exactly like the sort of meal description one would expect onboard Singapore Airlines. That does not conclusively prove either side, though.
Is This Even Real?
Accusing someone of racism is serious. It can damage a career and permanently alter how colleagues and managers view an employee, even when the accusation ultimately proves unfounded.
I’m taking Ms. Faith at her word and see she even has a LinkedIN page saying she has been a Singapore Airlines Cabin Crew member for about four years…but these days, who knows what is AI and what is not? I don’t know what to believe any more…
But for purposes of our discussion, let’s assume this incident happened on a SFO-SIN flight.
The passenger may genuinely have believed the offensive phrase was used. Mishearing someone is not the same as fabricating a complaint. But sincerity does not make an allegation accurate. The surrounding context strongly favors the flight attendant’s account. She was discussing meal choices, one of which was apparently Cantonese-style black pepper beef. There was an obvious reason for her to say “Cantonese.” There was no apparent reason for her to launch into a gratuitous observation about Caucasians and their inability to prepare meat.
Sometimes the least sensational explanation is also the most convincing one.
CONCLUSION
A Singapore Airlines flight attendant says a passenger accused her of declaring that “Caucasians can’t cook beef,” when she was actually describing the “Cantonese-style black pepper beef” offered onboard.
I was not present and cannot independently determine precisely what was said. The Instagram video contains the former flight attendant’s account, not a recording of the original inflight exchange. But her explanation is both plausible and supported by the context.
If you hear a flight attendant say something you think is awful, maybe it’s best to clarify immediately with, “Excuse me, what did you say?”
What do you think happened here?
image: ShannX15.02 / Instagram
Yes we can! I cooked a mean steak on Saturday and paired it with a solid Malbec.
Amen! I also am very good on the grill! 😉
Wowza, what a… pairing… I mean, story!
I genuinely do not understand why that photo is posted at the top of this story. Is that the flight attendant? The passenger?
That’s the FA. No pictures in uniform I could find.