Last year pilots were making announcements “Let’s Go Brandon” and that made it into air traffic control chatter too. I thought this had died out, and was now being crowded out by the counter Dark Brandon meme but pilots are still bringing their politics on board with them.
Here’s a Southwest Airlines pilot with a “I used to be liberal / Then I left home and got a job” sticker on his bag.
.@SouthwestAir is this really the type of garbage you allow your pilots to have on their work bags? As a liberal woman (with a job, thanks very much) who flies your airline often with my kids (who are of reading age), this is downright offensive. pic.twitter.com/H8ODcXoSit
— Theresa (@theresalenz) August 25, 2022
Shortly after Donald Trump was first elected President, a United Airlines captain went viral for asking passengers not to get political on the airplane regardless of which side they were on. Everyone cheered.
Beyond Southwest, airline uniform standards generally speak to stickers on the outside of luggage, but conformance with such standards is more likely to be applied against cabin crew than pilots. Pilots have a lot more leverage than flight attendants.
Airlines themselves are highly political. They lobby to pick taxpayer pickets for bailouts. They lobby to keep competitors out of the U.S. and to keep domestic airlines from accessing space in the airlines they operate – limiting consumer choice and raising prices. They want government subsidies for alternative fuels. Already shielded from state regulations, they lobby to limit regulation at the federal level too. We’ll never keep politics out of airlines – but time inside of airports and inside of metal tubes at 35,000 would sure be nice as a politics-free zone. Let’s stick to puppies and kittens while on board.
Do you think pilots ought to be able to express themselves – politically – on the job, even if just through ‘flair’?
Should he be able to? – In an ideal world, yes. In this world – not a good idea. And if it’s against company policy, which is a perfectly legitimate position, then it should be true for all political statements, from BLM to MAGA.
FWIW, what’s the over/under on her having pronouns in her (hidden) Twitter bio. And want to bet she doesn’t object to people on her side expressing themselves, she only objects to being made fun of (indirectly) by the other side. Clutch the pearls, my children might realize there is more than one political viewpoint in this country!
Is it too much to ask people to be consistent? You want to spew politics at every conceivable opportunity, then everyone gets to do so. You want no politics, then no one gets to. This is not a viewpoint dependent situation.
We certainly can’t have her children alternative points of view . . .
And they call conservatives fascists . . .
What’s kind of absurd is that pilots are extremely well paid for what they do. And that is in no small part a function of the many ways you note, that airlines are subsidized and insulated by the government from competitive forces.
Love it. Reminds me of a bumper sticker I saw last week that read –
God when I die please don’t let me vote Democratic
A liberal snowflake triggered by a sticker.
yawn.
liberalism is a mental disorder.
1KBrad, no, I call fascists fascists. Conservatives I respect while usually disagreeing with them. But people who incite beer hall putsches are something else again, especially when they lie, don’t take responsibility for their actions and chronically betray those who trust them. But to get one’s politics from a mindless and in your face bumper sticker is pretty sad. For the woman in question, if her children were old enough she could have used that moment to give them a lesson on tolerance. But why force that on somebody when they could be tired or busy?
As Winston Churchill was reported to have said, “If you are not a liberal at age 20, you have no heart. If you are a liberal at age 40, you have no brain.”
Truer words have never been spoken.
Bless his heart. I’d love to have a conversation with this pilot to educate him on all the subsidies that airlines and airports get which fund his salary.
But but but BLM pins are ok!
At every company I’ve ever led we have not permitted our employees who are on our property, or who interact with the general public off property to have stickers, pins, clothing, etc. that makes political statements of any kind to be seen while they are at work, or wearing a uniform that indicates they are an employee. We don’t permit employees to make political statements on social media if they do it as an employee by stating they are working for us, showing themselves wearing their employee uniform, etc. In addition, while on company property, or when on the job off our property, we allow no political campaigning, no petition signature gathering, no political activities of any kind.
When not at work, off our property, or not representing us or representing that what they’re saying is or may be from the company, we support the right of our employees to have whatever political opinions they have and speak about it. They just can’t do it at work or if it appears what they’re saying is representing the company.
Know what you could show this womxn that would REALLY offend xer?…..a penis.
I’m pretty sure this goes against most airlines policies regarding baggage and uniform standards. Regardless, we are highly paid professionals who transport a variety of people with different backgrounds and beliefs. I wish my coworkers would leave all the stickers and pins off our bags/uniforms and help restore the once respected image of a professional pilot.
This extends to cabin crew as well. I order to create a neutral and welcoming environment for all this “flair” needs to stay at home.
Nothing says maturity quite the the posts on this thread.
What none of you seem to understand is that when you are in uniform you a representative of your employer. You are entitled to your personal beliefs, but when those have the potential to harm a company’s brand the line is crossed. Every company sets standards for what is and is not appropriate. Don’t like it? Find a new job.
“…who flies your airline often with my kids (who are of reading age), this is downright offensive.”
“This is liberalism’s dilemma: There are so many things to be offended by, and so little time to agonize about each.” George Will
Wow I am so impressed with the Right sided comments for a nice change!! Good job all-keep up the the great work!
Why is everyone so offended by free speech. I have to agree!! I worked my way through loans and life and it hurts to see America turning into a socialist nation. And if you think thats an extreme comment, I cannot help you.
Karen sounds a little sensitive here. Everyone is entitled to a viewpoint. Her shielding her children from opinions other than hers is a bit over the top as well. I bet if he had a Biden 2024 sticker she’d be fine with that.
I totally believe in freedom of speech, and not just when I agree with it. However if pilots want to maintain their aura of respectability I believe they need to keep their politics to themselves when they are on the job.
@Cindi…How does expressing a political opinion denigrate one’s “aura of respectability”?
Maybe they should decertify their union then…after all, organized labor/unions are part of the Liberal/Democratic agenda, no?
Freedom of speech is only allowed if you are a Liberal crybaby spewing your hate speech. Everyone else has to shut up. (roll eyes)
I would be very comforted to know that my SouthWest flight had captain conservative flying the plane. (someone with a logical brain)
On another note, thanks to Gary for having a good sense of humor and letting everybody chime in.
Having a pilot who insists on forcing his political opinions on non interested persons should be grounds for free rescheduling and a $800 voucher from Southwest. Someone that invested in his/hers political opinions should have a ground job. Yes if the pilot had a BLM sticker, I would say the same thing.
This lady has locked her Twitter account, but she is the textbook definition of a Karen. Her tweets were full of her going around her city and photographs parking scofflaws and tagging the parking enforcement Twitter handle.
@Jake
“I would have said the same thing” No you wouldn’t have …..just like you don’t when you’re on DL and the FA has a BLM …..AND the stupid “I got my vaccine” pin prominently displayed. You nod in approval because they’re on “on the same team”.
I’ve sat next to idiots like you before. You’re ALL insufferable losers.
Great sticker. I will have to get one because it is so true.
“Having a pilot who insists on forcing his political opinions…”
Give us your definition of “forcing”.
That pilot is probably one of those triple-dipping freeloaders, who probably dropped out of school, signed up as a reserve, got his pilot’s license courtesy of my tax dollars, and then landed a job flying a few hours a week with a fat salary and now showing his true wings, aka, his radical rightwing thinking, like the comments posted by rightwing nitwits.
@AFairTexan You obviously aren’t a native Texan with such a warped view of the world 😀
I am surprised about all these reactions. Republicans seem to have the idea that they are the ones working and paying the taxes…. Wake up morons! The majority of taxes is being paid by Liberals. Liberal companies make most of the money, pay most of the taxes. The people with the large incomes who actually pay taxes are Al ost all Liberals. Your whiny reactions are ridiculous. The “jokes” and remarks made by the right wing are childish and juvenile. And no, i would not fly on an airline where they allow their pilots to walk around with stickers showing his IQ being below 80.
Brandon won !! and that’s Mr. Brandon to you !!!
The movie Shooter with a senator played by Ned Beatty sums it up, “There are no sides. There’s no Sunnis and Shiites. There’s no Democrats and Republicans. There’s only HAVES and HAVE-NOTS.”
This is also called the Establishment a/k/a the Swamp. This is one of the principle reasons Donald Trump is where he is today. He pulled the covers back on both parties. Is what it is until it’s not and then what difference will it make.
@AFairTexan-more likely he’s double dipping-working after retiring from flying for the military (protecting your free speech which you use to denigrate him). Fortunately his taxes will be used to subsidize lots of necessary philosophy and women’s studies degrees so there’s that silver lining.
@Gary
It’s time for you to shut this conversation down.
What could have been a civilized conversation about professionalism and how one comports themself has turned into immature mud slinging, personal attacks and sexist comments. But, I guess I shouldn’t expect anything more when people can hide behind the safety of a keyboard. So many big, tough people out there who are big and tough until they are outed.
Imagine what we could accomplish if people put as much effort into solving problems as they did insulting one another.
@FairTexan I can assure you that is not how it works. Less than 1% of the pilot population really gets to do that anyway. If you are there, you have given up a lot, probably furloughed a few times and worked your tail end off. You also flew for decades and can count 100’s of thousands of safe passengers that exited the airplane.
Okay, Karen
“…aka, his radical rightwing thinking, like the comments posted by rightwing nitwits.”
The epitome of lazy thinking. Whenever you disagree with someone’s opinion, attack their character. Of course, it says much more about your character.
The only thing that baffles me more than people thinking anyone cares about their political opinion are people who think anybody cares if they are offended.
@Jake,
What about the unionization and pro Union flair that the flight attendants often wear? That’s just as political, and they intentionally wear it on their uniforms, rather than it being displayed incidentally on a piece of luggage.
So, not a liberal, but still a union member.
As a retired f/a I cannot believe this woman was offended by a sticker on a bag with no cuss words…….get real! When society returns to some politeness, maybe then we will not have to deal with this crap……..cussing, swearing, and people half dressed. Very few people have manners any-more. Wish we could go back to the old days……we were taught never to discuss politics and religion.
Maybe one day………..
I’m a liberal, and a Democrat, to the core, and I could give two screws what idiot sticker this pilot wants to put on his bag. Like, who cares. Can he fly the plane safely? Great. That’s kind of what matters to me at 35,000 feet. (If I had some small child with me who asked what it means, I’d just say it means the guy’s an jerk and be done with it.)
@ Gary
FYI – apparently, the original tweet is either deleted or blocked or only visible to a limited audience. And yet you are publicly disseminating such…;)
Not sure why anybody would give a f–k about some random person’s sole tweet anyway.
It’s the absolute laziness of many media outlets that they republish some social media post as if the existence of such lends any credibility to a story or is of any relevance.
“Truth uncompromisingly told will always have its ragged edges.” Herman Melville
The decline of America began when women were given the vote.
;-D
Agree with Ivan X ….to his question about how well can he fly? Hard to say about his flying skills but he is likely a weak Captain (or FO)….pilots who bring their politics or religion to the cockpit generally have weak CRM skills.
@Rob Vance
White, male, republicans pay more in taxes than every other group combined.
@NSL: That was likely before companies themselves started taking political positions.
Let’s also not forget that airline employees including pilots throughout the industry want pay raises – even though their salaries were paid for during the pandemic by taxpayers – and dealing w/ employees that display non-standard company positions but don’t personally talk w/ passengers about them are just not high on any company’s agenda.
Let’s also not forget that Southwest was just slapped with a multi-million dollar judgment in a case that involved silencing the voice of a conservative WN FA who voiced her pro-life opinions; the company and the union acted together but WN itself had to foot the bill.
Gary posted the article because he wanted clicks and he got them. I would rather see politics than random bizarre off-the-wall passenger and anecdotal service stories.
If the mere presence of button you don’t agree with “offends” you, there is no shame in seeking help from a licensed mental health professional.
How easily this Karen was offended. She just needs to lighten up. Whichever side you’re on, please respect others’ opinions.
This womxn’s husband (or whatever the hell it’s married to) needs to start doing their job.
@ 1KBrad
Your quote probably not Sir Winston Churchill – which completely changes the original context and thereby meaning (probably a good thing since Churchill expediently changed from Conservative to Liberal and then back to Conservative).
Try French politician, Francois Guillaume Gizot, in the lead up to the 1848 French Revolution: the original referring to whether you were for a republic or monarchy.
That then begs the question of whether you are content with USA being a Republic or would rather subscribe to MAGBA – Make America Great Britain Again to enjoy colony status under HRH QE2?
I find all this outrage against people who say/do things you don’t approve of to be almost comical. Are the liberals so threatened that they can’t just stand up for what they believe? Instead, they scream at people they don’t agree with? One of the vast downsides of the internet and instant ‘communication’ … these screamers have a perfect way to express themselves with nobody knowing who they are. People who are too weak to stand up for themselves need to figure life out. We’re not all the same, and we never will be. This is a GOOD thing. So deal with it and stop screaming about how your kids are being corrupted by a pilot’s statement of what he believes. Why not explain the situation to your children so they can be informed and have their own opinions?
thank you, Judy,
People are being increasingly fed up w/ being told what they can or can’t say do or think because it might offend someone – and it isn’t partisan.
It is the result of trying to stifle individual thought in the name of a common narrative and anyone with a grain of intelligence can see that such practice will bite them in the backside some day.
The idea that this was a private account and a private tweet, therefore it shouldn’t be publicized is just wrong. This was an attempted mobbing, she tagged Southwest in an attempt to get him fired. That then backfired when people started mobbing her in response. Then she went private.
Live by the sword, die by the sword.
No problem with pilot dishing it out, I just hope he can take it, too.
The pilot is using this insulting bag sticker because he’s clearly angry and spoiling for a fight, likely due to his diet of nonstop Fox “News”. Ignore his immature cry for attention and let him get about his work for a second-rate airline. As long as he’s a competent pilot, yawn.
@ huey judy
“I find all this outrage against people who say/do things you don’t approve of to be almost comical.”
Yes, the cult of outrage is comical. But it cuts both ways – your perceptions of such depend upon your political position, at least they very evidently do in your post.
But the question posed in this case was whether an employer (airline) should or should not have the power to dictate the actions of their employees (in expressing a political partisan position) when at work.
An attendant question is whether such control should extend to their social media accounts.
Those questions exist regardless of your political persuasion. They are relevant to the concept of free speech.
“Are the liberals so threatened that they can’t just stand up for what they believe?”
Judy, people of non right wing politics make their core beliefs very plain.
Where the right wants private health, the non right wants equality of access through some sort of universal health care system. The non right want equality of access to education, where the right wants the cash to grant that access. The non right seeks to take responsibility for the environment whereas the right refuses to countenance such. The non right seeks to guard peoples’ working rights and the right seeks to favour the employer. The list goes on. Essentially, the fundamental differences are evident and expressed.
FWIW you can be “liberal” and disagree with some of the histrionic stuff about pulling down statues and renaming everything, just as you can be “right wing” and see through the fakery of of the Orange Muppet and be uncomfortable with his dog whistle racist narrative (I have Republican friends who are members of her GOP and have refused to vote for the man).
“Instead, they scream at people they don’t agree with?”
Seems to me that people will scream regardless of their political persuasion. There are plenty of evidently and self confessed right wing screamers on this very website.
“One of the vast downsides of the internet and instant ‘communication’ … these screamers have a perfect way to express themselves with nobody knowing who they are.”
IMHO, so very true.
“People who are too weak to stand up for themselves need to figure life out.”
Isn’t the real weakness when people don’t stop and think about stuff?
Perhaps what people need to figure out their own understanding of free speech (since this is the subject of the article above), its strengths and limitations and the effective way to use such a freedom.
I would argue that free speech is all very well until it is used to harm another person. Some jurisdictions respect this and have laws against incitement. There are examples above of a couple of posters making vile comments about women – such comments have the potential to invoke discrimination – where do you draw the line?
In other cases, claims to free speech are used to justify presenting information which is inaccurate. Gary on this very blog often gets his facts wrong – and then won’t change them when challenged – when you read articles do you assume that the content is true or accurate or do you assume it’s riddled with errors and not take the article seriously and say, no problem, that’s just his right to free speech in action? To note, there can be a difference between a media article which purports to offer news rather than opinion.
The problem is that some people read stuff uncritically. We’ve had examples on his very blog of people making wild claims about masks and vaccines based on stuff they have read (in their case right wing sources) – when I’ve checked them out I have found misreporting of the original science and medical research.
Free speech can be viewed differently in the context of comedy. By way of example, in Australia there is greater latitude in defining what is discriminatory, if the context is comedic.
The final point is that a right to free speech is not unlimited. It does to apply, for example, to this very blog. Some of the vilest comments are legally deleted by Gary.
“We’re not all the same, and we never will be. This is a GOOD thing. So deal with it”
Sure. But per the above, there are limits – the question is where do you define them?
“and stop screaming about how your kids are being corrupted by a pilot’s statement of what he believes.”
Why? Is that not in itself an expression of free speech?! But one you don’t want to tolerate, dare one suggest, scream about yourself, because in this instance, it’s anti-right wing?
Were you screaming the same stuff a couple of weeks ago when the airline employee had reposted cartoon of t*RUMP in a KKK mask?!
“Why not explain the situation to your children so they can be informed and have their own opinions?”
Yes. And maybe that is exactly what the woman did. We just don’t know. Interestingly, too many assume they know stuff that they don’t about a cited incident, right? The judge the other individual without the full context.
@C_M
“The idea that this was a private account and a private tweet, therefore it shouldn’t be publicized is just wrong. This was an attempted mobbing, she tagged Southwest in an attempt to get him fired. That then backfired when people started mobbing her in response. Then she went private.”
Maybe you’re right.
But you don’t have any evidence for your interpretation of events, do you? You are making a number of assumptions, which appear (yet again) to line up with your political persuasion and attenuation towards hatred.
On the one hand, (on one extreme) for example, is there any evidence that this event even actually occurred (e.g. an undoctored photo) and wasn’t entirely manufactured – if fake, the woman could be subject to legal redress by the airline (the post removed accordingly by demand from the airline)? If so, Gary is republishing a post, which could become entangled in a legal case (and thereby perhaps best left well alone).
On the other hand, for example, (the other extreme) the pilot could have indeed made a political statement, not compliant with the employer’s regulations. In such case, it would be up to the employer how to handle the situation (discipline or not, if so, how to discipline). Crucially, it wouldn’t be up to the woman, whatever her intentions and whether you are correct and incorrect in ascribing them.
Perhaps compare the posts in response to the previous article of an airline employee disciplined for reposting a cartoon about the Orange Puffhead in a KKK mask, with those appended to the current article.
I don’t see anyone baying for the blood of the pilot like they did for the other employee – such is the nature of political bias, and, perhaps, why employers may be prudent in removing political statements from the workplace.
Anyway, and as Gary points out, probably different standards applied to pilots since they are currently in high demand (which begs the question about equally applied rules in the workplace).
Blah, blah, blah… Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
To repeat, if my dog wrote like you, I’d shave his butt and teach him to type backwards.
@ C_M
You have some very unhealthy fantasies about your dog.
You have an inflated sense of ego that you’re writing “Decline and Fall Of The Roman Empire” in the comments section of a travel blog.
Sometimes you have a point, but brevity!
@ C_M
PS…Hurry up, batter. It’s gonna be a short game, and I gotta get home for lunch…;)
(Dumb baseball movies for juvenile minds!)
Ha! So funny to hear stuff like this from conservatives:
“People are being increasingly fed up w/ being told what they can or can’t say do or think because it might offend someone – and it isn’t partisan.”
Conservatives are the ones who ban Critical Race Theory because white people are offended by history they think paints them in a less than favorable light.
@ john
Add the various attempts to stifle the teaching of evolution to that list over a number of decades.
Oh, and, another delicious irony is that the regular anti-science poster, @ James N, quotes a novella Herman Melville in a post above, perhaps without realising (apart from the oft discussed potential homo-erotic undercurrent of the content) that the sailor hero of said text (Billy Budd) its sentenced to death in order to preserve the old fashioned orthodox conservative ways of the time (to avoid any chance of mutiny).
Wow…looking at the discourse her it’s pretty amazing how radically divided Trump was able to make America…you do have to wonder what his next move was gonna be given he has been caught red handed with so much Top Secret information that was of such value to our enemies…
Just a thought:
Overly-politicized pilots flew planes into the world trade center.
Do I want my pilot radicalized? No thanks.
1. If you can’t tell the difference between religious radicals and ordinary political discourse, you also can’t tell the difference between people who knew how to direct an aircraft in flight from real pilots who know how take-off and land. You’re an obvious idiot.
2. You know the difference between Hilary Clinton and Donald Trump – Trump had his classified information stored in boxes in his home, where you would need to break in to get it. Clinton, meanwhile, had hers stored on a server where any half decent hacker anywhere on the planet could access it and spread it to the world. Neither is good, but one is monumentally stupid. You need to be complaining about both.
3. The only use evolution is to the left is as an issue to club religious fundamentalists with. They no more believe in the implications of evolution than do the right, although the right seem to like the implications of evolution without the evolution itself. At least the right gets biology correct, something some on the left seem to have thrown in the chipper because it conflicts with their ideology.
4. CRT isn’t history, and anyone who thinks it is has no idea what CRT actually is. Put simply, it’s a neo-Marxist framework that substitutes race for class and is anti-individual rights and anti-Enlightenment. That’s why people on both the left and right oppose it – if you support it, you are fundamentally opposed to liberal democracy. You cannot be for both, any more than you can be a Catholic atheist. One can create a Marxist history or a CRTist history, but CRT is a lens that one views history through, not history itself.
@ C_M
ZZzzzzz….brevity?
1.I wouldn’t want somebody who was part of the t*RUMP inspired murderous mob storming The Capitol flying my plane.
“People on ludes, shouldn’t drive”.
2. How do you describe Donald Duck’s actions then? Perhaps extremely disturbing given his record to subvert your democracy.
“Mathmagic land? Never heard of it.”
3. In western countries being anti-evolution is a right wing idiopathy (the US right wing want the science banned from schools). IME most folk have a very superficial grasp of evolution, let alone science, or their applications.
“What I came to understand is that change is not a choice. Not for a species of plant, and not for me.”
4. Whether perceived as a lens or not, the strength of CRT (or any other approach) can be judged by whether it / they provide insights of practical merit.
“Make your choice”.
Gotta walk the dog – he’s not happy – some idiot saved his butt!
Funny because I was a die hard conservative until I left home and now I’m insanely liberal.
@Danny I don’t find it funny that you have a mental disorder. I feel bad for you.
@Danny: Don’t worry. You’ll grow out of it.
Right about the time you stop taking from the government and start paying taxes and are unhappy that others are taking your money.
Funny how that works.
Gotta love the liberals. They go through life assured that they know how to spend MY money better than I do.