Demetria Poe, a kindergarten teacher from Minnesota, shared a story about Delta Air Lines on Facebook about the seat mate from hell – that Delta told her would be banned from the airline – and about how other passengers around her reacted to the incident. The story ends in an upgrade, and a gift bag from the airline.
She was flying to Washington’s National airport last Thursday to attend the Commitment March, her seat opponent struck up a conversation after departure. Since she was flying Delta they had the middle seat open between them. Ms. Poe is black and the woman sharing her row white. The woman got up, presumably going into the lavatory, and returned wearing a Blue Lives Matter mask and pin and as a conversation starter declared, “I support blue lives because I support our officers.”
That’s always a good way to start a conversation, and then continue to defend the three-fifths compromise in the U.S. constitution, to talk about slavery being promoted by West Africans, and that this was a net benefit to African Americans today. The woman also stated that “Floyd didn’t die from suffocation. He was on drugs.”
Two other passengers sitting nearby intervened, and a flight attendant came over offering to move the obnoxious woman. Ms. Poe reports that, according to a flight attendant, that woman “would not be flying with Delta anymore because they do not personally or as a company stand for racism and discrimination.”
“I felt the genuine and sincere concern the flight attendants had for me and the people around me,” Poe said. “I was shocked. I was happy, but I was still fearful. Living in Minnesota, I have seen how things get blown up. I just really wanted to get off the flight.”
According to Delta, “When we say Black lives matter, we mean it. You matter to us, Demetria.”
For her flight home Delta upgraded her to Comfort+ extra legroom seating. Would first class have been too much to ask? Delta gave the woman a gift bag on the return flight, too. Here she is opening it:
Last year Spirit Airlines forced a woman to move because a seat mate didn’t like their race while United reseated a passenger who wouldn’t sit next to a black woman. In each of these situations, though, the best response is precisely this:
Notice that the upgrade here isn’t to extra legroom coach.
I’ve got to ask – why does supporting the concept of Blue Lives Matter make you racist?
If someone like @Ritz even has to ask that question, no answer that anyone provides is ever going to satisfy them. It’s pointless to even engage the trolls, so don’t waste your time.
Of course you need to ask that, like you need it explained to you again
Because it misses the point. That historically Black lives have been considered expendable.
The passenger’s provocative row-mate was reported to be sort of defending slavery and the US Constitution’s original de facto valuing of most black people in the US as just 60% of the worth of other people in the US.
The nutty row-mate reminds me of a woman whom I encountered at DCA and near Key Bridge and was eager to launch into xenophobic, anti-Semitic and other kinds of racist provocations based on whom she thought she was encountering at the time of the conversation.
Anyone can make anything up and cry racism for a number of reasons. We see it all the time. It is unfortunate Delta staff is falling for it and not standing up for citizens who don’t want their towns destroyed by BLM rioting and arson; nor do they want parts of cities destroyed by black gang violence. Police abuse is common but it happens to all groups and most of the people touted as victims are often very bad guys with a long criminal history who were violent. There actual victims of police abuse are victims of the war on drugs and all the chaos it creates in the lives of citizens.
Air transport is federally regulated and for now federally funded. It is very dangerous for airlines to refuse to serve citizens if no reasonable other option exists between destinations, Delta management has made a lot of poor decisions in the last two years. They should be sent packing and be forced to return all their income.
@Ritz
Did you even read the article? The answer is clear.
Sadly blue lives matter have been compromised by racist people. Just like mask wearing should be about safety instead it is a political statement. The 20% of people out there have gone wacky. Must be what happens when you don’t do anything but watch the nuts on Fox news. I’m not 100% democrat or republican but I am 100% for fair reporting and not state television as Murdoch and Fox has become.
Can we talk about how this kindergarten teacher is flying for pleasure during a pandemic
Can we talk about how teachers are supposedly underpaid, but here we have one committing to fly only Delta, the most revenue premium airline
Can we talk about how we are forced to support an ever growing list of political movements just to complete basic transactions like flying on a domestic plane
Can we talk about how multiculturalism set America up for failure
BLM just means arson and rioting to me now.
I think everyone here is glossing over the initial offense: People who strike up unwanted conversations with seatmates and lack the social awareness to know when to stfu. Christ I don’t miss that one bit.
I riot supporter gets upgraded and if you don’t like it, you’re a racist.
Seriously though, all those black lives matter folks are scum, and if I ended up sitting next to one, I would just ignore them. There’s no point talking to the brainwashed. You’d get better conversation from a nematode.
The three fifths compromise was designed to LIMIT the power of the slave states in the federal government. It had zero to do with the “worth” of a slave as a person.
Without the compromise, the USA probably wouldn’t have been formed at all, and slavery would have existed longer than it did in the US. Instead of having the CSA (Confederate States of America) after secession, there simply would have been one at the founding.
Just plain garbage and propaganda. Black lives matter, blue lives matter, white lives matter…. ALL lives matter. How is that so hard to understand? Wake Up America! We are ALL people.
I am NOT defending this woman. But it was odd singling out the drugs issue without providing context. It is clear he had drugs in his system when he died due to the knee to the neck. This likely contributed, but is not the cause of death. (The choke hold was likely the main cause.) Please make an effort to not come off as a left wing, riot endorsing radical.
https://www.kare11.com/article/news/local/george-floyd/new-court-docs-say-george-floyd-had-fatal-level-of-fentanyl-in-his-system/89-ed69d09d-a9ec-481c-90fe-7acd4ead3d04
https://www.fox9.com/news/court-filings-medical-examiner-thought-george-floyd-had-fatal-level-of-fentanyl-in-system
I’m sure that the white woman was doing more than just wearing a Blue Lives Matter face mask. But Delta’s over the top support for BLM is just nauseating. I’m actually astonished. To throw your support behind a NeoMarxist organization with such an evil and subversive agenda is really disappointing.
Talk of privilege… The insidious attempt to silence those systemically oppressed. The nematodes are those who are brainwashed to stupidly think that skin color makes you superior. I support good policing, there are good cops and bad cops…There are both bad white people and bad black people…there are good black people and good white people. Fortunately, there are more good people than bad people. In the end good will prevail over bad…what we are witnessing are the growing pains of ethnographic, social and political metamorphosis of America. Those who don’t like it can jump off the wagon.
As a society we’re too easily offended by stupidity (which doesn’t discriminate) and then somehow these incidents are publicized to arouse the wrath of others. and to support the chosen agenda of select groups. It’s unfortunate that we have too much media to make too much of too little.
Here, we only heard one side of the story. Generally, we hear “we have to have these conversations”. Consider there’s a chance a “conversation” could have been had here. Just a slight chance that opinions could have been changed, even just at the margin. Instead, the seat mate is labeled, and literally forbidden from flying Delta again.
What does this say for us being able to have a conversation? Again, I guess we’ll never know the other side of the story, and the Facebook post could be altogether accurate, and the seatmate was the devil. But on the chance she wasn’t, maybe there was just a chance to have a conversation. And if that slim chance was there, Delta blew it. Not by supporting Ms. Poe (which is spectacular) but by stifling the conversation. Do you think the seatmate is more or less steadfast in her opinions now?
What exactly did the white woman do that was racist? And why was she banned? I am asking this genuinely and waiting on a response. Simply wearing a blue lives matter mask pin etc and staring your opinion on the Floyd matter does not make you racist. Floyd did have drugs in his system that exacerbated what happened to him. He was also a convicted felon following a home invasion robbery where he held a gun up to a woman’s head while robbing her. Does not excuse the Officers actions however he was no angel.
Don S says with praise from BLM.
“If someone like @Ritz even has to ask that question, no answer that anyone provides is ever going to satisfy them. It’s pointless to even engage the trolls, so don’t waste your time.”
Don S calling @Ritz a troll is like the pot calling the kettle black. He asked a sensible and reasonable question. You are the one demonstrating troll like behavior with your answer.
Delta needs to stay out of this political fray. They are supposed to be neutral as their customers come from all walks of life.
Perhaps Delta needs to look at recent polling data which shows public support for BLM is going down rapidly on a daily basis !!
Only Black Lives Matter. Only.
Values are more important than polls and passing popularity, but don’t tell that to the narcissistic, BLM-bashing, trigger happy Trump fans who support their Lord Trump even as he engages in and encourages blatant violations of laws in the US, even to the point of encouraging voter fraud by his supporters.
All lives matter only becomes true when BLM.
“…her seat opponent struck up a conversation after departure…”
Never never never. Never.
Library rules on airplanes would eliminate 90% of passenger issues.
@Parts Unknown
Have you been in a library lately. Noise rules. Since libraries allowed the use of cell phones, it’s continually noisy. This is due to entitled white people. And who are these people. Most of them are older white people. Because of the constant noise and librarians not doing anything about it, I rarely go in a library any longer.
@GUQonder – Do you have any idea of the irony of what you just said, tool? Calling Trump supporters narcissists, and you chanting BLM rhetoric while that group loots and burns the whole country down. You’re an unbelievably clueless, ignorant stain.
Joe,
Keep imagining your dream as you wish, but in the real the whole country isn’t burning down and what is burning down is burning down in Trump’s American.
In the real world, the vast majority of people protesting against excessive police violence and systemic racism in America are not looting and burning down.
The criminal-in-chief is your Lord Trump who even publicly encourages felony criminal activity by his own supporters when it comes to voting in American elections, illegally uses government resources for his personal political campaign, engages in criminal violations of citizens’ rights and gives aid and comfort to known criminals who engage in criminality on his behalf.
The enemy of law and order in America is not BLM protesters. The enemy of law and order in America is your lying, scheming, self-dealing Lord Trump and his enablers who speak with forked tongues when speaking about law and order. Your Lord Trump is the friend of violence and disorder, and he is a de facto enemy of American law and order.
It ought to be no suspense that your draft-dodger-in-chief, Lord Trump has so much contempt for US soldiers and veterans who put everything on the line for the US Constitution and the Republic for which it stands.
Keep imagining your dream as you wish, Joe the Trump lover, but in the real world the whole country isn’t burning down; and what is burning down in America is burning down in Trump’s America.
GUWonder, you have absolutely refuted the facts with your well documented sources. :eyeroll:
https://www.britannica.com/topic/three-fifths-compromise
So called peaceful BLM protesters caused over a $100k damage last night where I live as they destroyed store fronts. I’m not sure why companies feel the need to use the BLM slogan when that slogan is also being used by groups that have engaged in violence and rioting. They can take an anti-racism position without specifically endorsing a specific group that has portions of it who think its ok to engage in violence or who think that police officers are enemy combatants.
Joe,
Someone arguing in the 21st century on behalf of the three-fifths clause of the original US Constitution is arguing on behalf of slavery and the under-representation of ethnic minorities centuries later.
Bill,
Keep imaging and peddling your Trump fantasy, but it’s not peaceful BLM protesters who destroyed anything where you live. It’s non-peaceful criminals doing what non-peaceful criminals do when having an opportunity to engage in violent criminality.
As with your Lord Trump, you’re engaged in a deliberate attempt to smear the cause of peaceful protesters — and peaceful protesters not of Trump’s liking — with the actions of criminals there who are not peaceful protesters.
@ Jason – 2 week advance purchase MSP – DCA
Delta 2h 18m Nonstop from $169
American 2h 28m Nonstop from $169
United 4h 34m+ Connecting from $173
As to whether the woman should be poor because she is a teacher – I’ll leave that to you – Should she be flying in a pandemic – seems like she took reasonable precautions and decided the “risk” was acceptable – just like everyone else on the plane..
As to multiculturalism – if so may people weren’t a-holes to people different from them – there wouldn’t be the outcry of “non-white” (multiculturalism) for fair treatment – It is only a reaction to being slighted or abused.
@GUWonder Umm I don’t support Trump. Nice try though. By the way last night BLM potesters in Portland threw moltov cocktails at police. I said portions of BLM act this way. If you are going to deny that then YOU are part of the problem in this country. Sounds like you don’t know what goes on at some of these protests. I hope they don’t come to your neighborhood.