I am not the biggest fan of air travel. And I’ve never even flown on Alaska Airlines. (Too soon?) A few years back I got CLEAR (not Scientology Clear but Airport Security CLEAR) and sometimes the regular lines are faster and I’m standing there as they try to scan my eyes. No, that’s not a glass eye. It’s allergies.
And then you get to the gate carrying your stale Auntie Anne’s pretzel and overstuffed carry-on just in time to see the pre-boarders. Let’s be honest. That one 5-year-old does not need to be accompanied by two fighting parents, a bitter stepmother, a scooter-riding grandmother, a spinster aunt clutching free drink tickets, two elder siblings in their 20s and one breath-stealing cat.
But what bothers me most is the surreptitious “diversity” and “inclusion” programs being pushed by the major airlines. Yes, following their long-fought, and well-deserved, win banning grossly inappropriate books in our school libraries, conservatives have set their sights on corporate diversity programs.
Seriously? Corporate diversity is the least of our problems. I don’t care who’s checking my bags as long as they can keep the doors attached during my flight.
The right-wing media and politicians have also been attacking DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) programs for their efforts in recruiting women and minority job applicants. One former FAA employee claimed that diversity programs could lead to safety issues. Because you know that stewardess will have a panic attack if someone stands up to grab an overhead item while the fasten seatbelt sign is still on. Delicate. Flowers.
Luckily, Donald Trump, Jr. is calling them out. Along with his startled-looking poop emoticon. I mean, that’s not your average poop emoticon, that’s like a super-duper poop emergency emoticon!
And some right-wing podcaster named Charlie Kirk (I listen to Wondery, not Crazy) has expressed his concerns about Black pilots specifically, saying, “I’m sorry, if I see a Black pilot, I’m going to be like, ‘Boy, I hope he’s qualified.’”
Really? Because if I see this muttonhead in the emergency row, I’m going to be like, “Boy, he needs to be reseated before he starts seeing dead people.”
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, roughly 92% of pilots and flight engineers are white and 92% are men. That tracks since everyone knows that women can’t even drive, let alone find their way around a cockpit.
And unlike Charlie Kirk, I actually know something about diversity and air travel. That’s my Salvadoran mother-in-law on the right. After coming to the U.S., she became a flight attendant/stewardess for Pan Am. But I guess Kirk wouldn’t want to come into contact with any of these women.
