Friday, September 30, 2011

Tell Southwest Airlines to apologise for over-reacting to public expression of endearment...

LOS ANGELES, CA - APRIL 05:  A Southwest Airli...Image by Getty Images via @daylife

Change.org
Tell Southwest to apologize for kicking lesbian couple off flight
Sign the Petition

Leisha Hailey and Camila Grey weren't expecting anything out of the ordinary when they boarded their Southwest Airlines flight last Monday. Camila kissed Leisha -- just a typical "I love you" peck like any couple might share. 
Apparently, this was not okay with their flight attendant, who came over to explain that two women kissing was not acceptable, because Southwest is "a family-oriented airline."
Leisha and Camila were extremely upset. The flight attendant wouldn't back down. The conflict escalated. And Leisha and Camila were kicked off their flight.
Southwest claims to be a supporter of LGBT rights -- and, as corporations go, Southwest has excellent anti-discrimination policies. It's even the official airline for the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD). But now that those policies are being put to the test, Southwest is failing miserably.
In multiple statements, Southwest has refused to accept responsibility for the actions of its employee, and has instead blamed Leisha and Camila for bringing this discrimination on themselves. But Leisha and Camila would have had no cause to get upset if they hadn't been targeted by their flight attendant for their sexual orientation.
Eradicating homophobia means more than saying the right buzzwords and sponsoring the right organizations. It means making sure that LGBT families are treated equally every day. If Southwest can brush this incident under the rug, what's to stop other well-meaning companies from doing the same? 
Southwest has already received an avalanche of bad publicity for both its employee's discriminatory behavior and its failure to accept responsibility for the incident. The airline's executives need to understand that potential customers aren't going to let this go until Southwest issues an official, meaningful apology. 
Please sign Jeremy's petition asking that Southwest apologize to Leisha and Camila:

Acknowledgements:  Eden and the Change.org team

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2 comments:

Catch My Words said...

Was it a peck or were they full on making out? I don't even like seeing heterosexual couples going full at it in public. Would the airline have said something if they were a man and woman? If not, they need to apologize?

Joyce
http://joycelansky.blogspot.com/2011/10/silly-sunday-redneck-hunting-accident.html

Unknown said...

From what I read it was just a peck on the cheek. The airline went over the top and should apologise. If it had been anything worse, they would have had the right to make a fuss about things.