Moments after I posted the item below, the following statement about Monday’s incident came across from Leisha Hailey and her girlfriend, Camila Grey:
“We have always promoted tolerance, openness and equality both as a band and as individuals. We both come from loving homes where our parents not only love and accept us, but are also proud of who we are. We believe everyone has the right to live openly in this society as equals. In no way were our actions on Southwest Airlines excessive, inappropriate or vulgar. We want to make it clear we were not making out or creating any kind of spectacle of ourselves, it was one, modest kiss. We are responsible adult women who walk through the world with dignity. We were simply being affectionate like any normal couple. We were on the airplane less than 5 minutes when all was said and done. We take full responsibility for getting verbally upset with the flight attendant after being told it was a ‘family airline.’ We were never told the reason the flight attendant approached us, we were only scolded that we ‘needed to be aware that Southwest Airlines was a family oriented airline.’ No matter how quietly homophobia is whispered, it doesn’t make it any less loud. You can’t whisper hate. We ask this airline to teach their employees to not discriminate against any couple, ever, regardless of their own beliefs. We want to live in a society where if your loved one leans over to give you an innocent kiss on an airplane it’s not labeled as ‘excessive or not family oriented’ by a corporation and it’s employees. We find it very disturbing that the same airline who lauds itself as being LGBT friendly has twisted an upsetting incident that happened into our behavior being ‘too excessive.’ The above is not an apology and we are in the process of filing a formal complaint with the airline. We hope that when all is said and done a greater tolerance without prejudice will evolve.”
I believe in equality and we need to respect each other’s feelings and beliefs. Being a straight man, I’d probably enjoy the show (being 100% honest here). However, since it is something that I teach my children is wrong, I would not like them witnessing two women (or 2 men) kissing.
In the same light, if I saw my kid witnessing 2 older kids picking on a younger kid, I would sand up and say something about it as that is my duty as a father to my child.
However, I also teach my child that no human being is better than another human being, we all have our issues, especially issues that we are predisposed to having. That every one deserves equality and not to be looked down upon or judged.
Readers may believe that I am wrong for believing what I believe in, and teaching my child what I believe is right and what I believe is wrong. But those readers who are judging me for what I believe and teach my child are excising the same judgement that they despise.
Respect what I believe in, and I will respect what you believe in. Do not to offend me and my children and I will not offend you and your children. This goes for all human kind, LGBT&S … then we can all be humanitarians ;).
When we get into trouble is when we get offended by people being offended instead of respecting the fact that they are offended no matter what the reason.
Ring0…how is kissing someone offensive? I don’t call the dogs on you when I see straight people almost making a baby in public. Honestly get over it. Same sex couples exist. They hold hands, walk arm in arm and of course KISS in public.
@ring0 i’m going to point out a few things “respectfully”.
first, you come to a website that caters to a primarily LGBT audience and yet you act as though being a part of that community is somehow wrong. being gay isn’t a disease.
second, you speak of equality for everyone and not looking down on people or judging them yet you teach your children that two women are somehow wrong for sharing a quick kiss? while you, yourself “enjoy the show?” would you be equally offended if a man and woman shared the same kiss in front of your kids?
you ask me and my LGBT brothers and sisters to “respect what i believe in” however hypocrisy isn’t something i find respectable. you are teaching your children that LGBT people aren’t entitled to the same respect you say you value.
consider this, would you be ok teaching your kids whatever it is you teach them if one of them was gay?
@Tisha McDaniel: If doing any of those things, gay or straight offends someone, then they should not do it. That was my only point.
@brian nesbitt: First, I enjoy the articles and comments here as they are written with much more personality. The first post that hooked me was when one of the editors wrote about having a camera following them everywhere and it making them very self aware… relating to the article, I became a frequent flyer.
Offended is such a strong word. The word offended is very close to judgement… Maybe I don’t like the word “Offended” because it seems like a personal word, where I am not offended (more like desensitized or use to it). More like “not something I want my child to see” rather than “Offended”.
“you are teaching your children that LGBT people aren’t entitled to the same respect you say you value.” — no… Every human deserves equality. No matter what they look like,
Hate, judgement, looking down on, being cast out… You’d think I was talking about anti-gay prejudice, but I’m not. I am talking about me being asked why I’m here (as if I do not belong here), being labeled a hypocrite… even the subtleties like “… me and my LGBT brothers and sisters …” (aren’t we all brothers and sisters). Since when did the word Christian become a synonym for bigotry and hypocrisy, you who judge masqueraded by your sexuality.
Second, “enjoying the show” is wrong (according to my beliefs), was an attempt at depicting one of my predisposed issue where I was trying to relate and say that I am no different (better or worse) than you be for your issues. I am not perfect… not by a long long long shot. You two commenters (and readers) are probably a much better people than I.
As a father I am going to try to teach my son to be better than I am. Hopefully that is not why you throw a label on me Brian, for if teaching your child ALL the right things is hypocrisy (since nobody is perfect) scoity’s state would be a degrading continuum.
In regards to your question, I have thought about it… along with many “other what ifs” like all parents do. I have even played this out in my head, I believe my love for my child would prevail over me teaching I know is what I should teach. But it would be so tough… I have 2 very close (gay) friends that befriended me when I first moved to Texas 5 years ago, and I have heard stories from all perspectives, and some of the situations they have had to
deal with…. from best friends turning their backs, to rejection by immediate family.
@ring0 my portrayal of this site as a primarily LGBT audience was not to make you feel unwelcome here, but to point out that you should know your audience when speaking publicly. i’m sure there are plenty of straight people that come here but my educated guess is that you are in the minority. this part of my response wasn’t intended to drive you, or others like you, away.
>>being labeled a hypocrite… <>even the subtleties like “… me and my LGBT brothers and sisters …” (aren’t we all brothers and sisters).<>Since when did the word Christian become a synonym for bigotry and hypocrisy, you who judge masqueraded by your sexuality.<>As a father I am going to try to teach my son to be better than I am.<<
a noble endeavor, however, it doesn't change that teaching one thing while living another is hypocritical. i don't expect perfection out of you or me. it's obviously impossible. however, i do attempt to be honest about who i am and what my shortcomings are and if someone calls me out for those shortcomings, i try to accept the truth of the matter and learn from it rather than argue with them about it.
listen, ring0, i have a feeling that if you and i were to sit and have a drink we'd probably get along fine. i'm just pointing out a few things that caught my attention when reading the post you made here. by all means, continue to read things here and comment. dialog is a good thing but do be aware that it is a two way street.
weird. some of my response was garbled there. part of it was the miriam webster definition of hypocrite which is “a person who acts in contradiction to his or her stated beliefs or feelings”. saying you teach that being gay is wrong yet admitting to enjoying some hot woman on woman action is the very definition of hypocrite. just pointing that out.
i also stated that christianity became synonymous with bigotry and hypocrisy when christians started acting like bigots and hypocrites. you say i judge based on my sexuality yet that’s not entirely accurate. i was raised in the church. i spent 20+ years dedicating my life to it. i saw first hand what happens when someone comes out and is honest about who they are. i spent years feeling guilty for being who i am. i spent another few years in ex-gay therapy trying to change who i am. as for hypocrisy, how about the ex-gay therapist i saw for those years being charged with molesting his clients? so yes, you’ll have to forgive me if i’m a little bit sensitive to those who have a double standard when it comes to who i am.
I think this is simply a case of over-reaction. If you think about it, both parties should’ve simply said, “We should’ve communicated better.” I think sometimes we’ve gotten too paranoid we’re being discriminated against (not that we’re not in our right to be on our toes). According to Southwest (which is supposedly one of the most gay-friendly airlines there is -they just don’t take any flack at all!), the flight attendant approached the ladies because they’d used profanity, hence the remark: this is a family airline. It probably didn’t help matters that they got upset with the attendant after the comment. Southwest has very low-patience and I think these ladies reacted too quickly. Southwest refunded the flight because they felt bad for not better relaying their message and now this response from the ladies. Next time, just take a breath first. Everyone needs to take it easy. Life is short. Take a chill pill. Put your feet up. Relax!
@brian I agree with everything you’ve said, and also understand what you are saying about church. I do not attend main-stream church for remarkably similar reasons. Just noticing, by the way you said ‘the church’ rather than ‘church’ I would guess LDS, or maybe Catholic. Organized religion is ran by flawed men. The entire history of organized religion has been littered with exploitation. I would (personally) like to dedicate my life to God (not necessarily church), but what He is (biblically) represented by (not by men and women who claim to represent him). However, I do not believe that I am yet a good enough person to do so, as I knowingly make wrong choices.
Also, I do understand this is a seriously touchy subject, and it’s human nature to be jaded by experiences… I know anyone in the LGBT community has been challenged on more than one occasion to “be the bigger person” to “roll with the punches” and to feel sorry for the people who hate on you… I have to say that I am glad it isn’t me, because I would not have the strength to do the right thing & they would probably end up floating face-down in the Trinity River.
My heart goes out to anyone that has to put up with that kind of hate. And who knows, maybe someday I might be a good enough person to actually teach His words to other people without feeling like a dirty hypocrite :).
On a plane, yes, two people kissing is annoying, and after a while inappropriate, then later offensive. It gets the attention they wanted.
To Ring0 & Brian – in reading your back and forth banter…it gives me hope that there are still good people in this world – your ability to listen and comprehend each other, without calling names, or pointing fingers, etc. is quite impressive. Perhaps if there were more people that were able to share their beliefs and ideals in this manner, this world would be a much better place for all of us. Now, to touch on the subject at hand -you cannot judge an entire company based on the ignorance of one person – Southwest is very LGBT – and I have had many friends, both gay and straight that work, or have worked for them…this however, does not mean that every single person working for them share the same beliefs as others – that will never happen in any company – as I said, I do believe this incident was due to one persons ingnorance, and inablility to follow the guidelines set forth by their company. I have travelled with friends, and with my partner numerous times – we have held hands, and yes, exchanged quick kisses. My own beliefs – I don’t care whether gay or straight, I don’t want or need to see it in public, I can be just as easily grossed out by seeing a same sex couple make out and grope each other as I can be by a straight couple – what it boils down to is manners and respect – if I wanted to see what you do at home, I’d invite myself over to watch!
@ring0 actually raised southern baptist, went to a methodist college and finally abandoned christianity at a church of christ.