ijgordon

Whether it actually was a factor is virtually unknowable to anyone but the DL employees, and even then they may not think so but it could have been driven by implicit biases they may be unaware of.

But it sounds like, irrespective of race, the behavior certainly warranted some reaction from the crew. Whether the reaction would have been identical if the passengers were, say, white, is again, unknowable. But of course that won't stop people from speculating, never has.

Old Hickory

How long before body cams are ordered for FAs and pilots?

TheHorta

Wiretapping and privacy laws vary so wildly across states and nations that I don't believe we'll see that happen anytime soon.

Of course, it could become part of the TOS that all pax must agree to before buying / flying. Heaven help the first airline who crosses that line -- talk about PR nightmares.

FlyingNone

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Why would you even speculate that that was the case (color of skin being the issue because that's what you are implying with "fit a particular description" - and if not, what "description" are you talking about) ? Scorn and condescension just doesn't happen at random - she must have really been giving the FA's a hard time - a little or a lot of scorn or condescension herself.
A captain doesn't waste time leaving the cockpit, get out of his seat to talk to a passenger unless they (the passenger) is going to be a disruption or danger to others. She was probably refusing to turn off her cell phone or sit down or stow her carryon properly. Stop throwing around the race card, people are sick of it - not to mention the number of people who have lost jobs (hopefully this Captain won't be called on the carpet) because they were lied about and accused of something they didn't do.

LondonElite

Beltway2A

And there it is. Whenever there's a situation involving a black person who has achieved some limited measure of success in the entertainment, music or sports industry, it's always accompanied by criticism not only at their perceived behavior, but also their career, financial status and education. Heck, in this situation the passenger's sister is the one who recorded and publicized the incident, the passenger herself hasn't said or done a thing, but that hasn't stopped half this thread from attacking her.

Nobody is suggesting it was random - the opposite. There's a very clear reason for it. I do enjoy the assumptions that you pulled out though - where do they come from? And please, pray tell, what is the "race card?" I'd love to hear an actual explanation that isn't accompanied by dog whistles out the wazoo.

gooselee

It's also amazing how so many people know for sure that race was a factor in this incident.

I'll agree with the poster above - something had to happen which prompted the pilot to come back in the cabin and interact with the pax in this way. I find it hard to believe he was just standing there in the forward galley, noticed a black person quietly sitting in their seat, and said, "Y'know what? I feel like lecturing that person today for absolutely no reason."

HWGeeks

My comment was about all celebrities and uneducated people. You're trying to make it simply about race and that's the problem.

Another link to the story for those curios. Delta says pilot did the right thing as the sisters were not obeying FA's instructions.

https://hollywoodlife.com/2018/07/31...turing-racism/

jetsfan92588

This is probably true (about delta, not FT, I think FT posters are indiscriminate in terms of their scorn and condescension). However, just because this lady is black doesn't mean she was treated like this because she is black.

pvn

Nobody is suggesting there was "absolutely no reason" for the lecture.

gogreyhound

Delete

gogreyhound

Actually, that is the whole point of this thread. The Instagram post by Towanda Braxton said in part, "tamarbraxton got ridiculed by a pilot for flying while black on Delta." That suggestion is about as "absolutely no reason" as you can get.

Race card (n): When someone is accused of doing something wrong and tries to deflect blame from the facts or merits by saying the accusation or accuser is motivated solely by race. Generally used in conjunction with the verb play. If that's a dog whistle, well, sometimes dogs are good at sniffing things out. Does this clarify things?

Old Hickory

I assume there is some protocol for the crew to act when a passenger(s) is not behaving well. The FA called the captain so this may have been approaching DEFCON 2 or Level Orange on the Terror Alert Scale.

pvn

The term "flying while black" isn't a claim of 100% innocence. Most people who are pulled over for "driving while black" have in fact committed a traffic infraction of some sort.

That you misunderstand the claim is itself a huge symptom of privilege.

gooselee

OK, "no good reason". I don't consider being black a reason for a lecture.

Um...ok, but it's absolutely a deflection of full ownership and responsibility for one's actions.

And in fact, I have personally been pulled over/aside and questioned when I was doing nothing wrong. I've had cops called on me for simply sitting in my car in my friend's driveway and texting her that I had arrived. I've also had cops called on me for doing stupid crap when I was a kid. The former was likely because of my physical appearance. The latter was because I was being an idiot. In the latter cases, I fully understood that my own actions got me in trouble.

​​​​​​There are real and legitimate race-based injustices out there. This case doesn't pass the sniff test for me, and if I'm right (which admittedly I might not be) the sister disowning her own responsibility and actions and making it about race is a disservice to the actual issues out there affecting people.