Source: Gary Hershorn / Getty Just when you think you’ve seen it all, Southwest Airlines proves you ain’t seen nothin’ yet. On Sunday, a plane traveling from Seattle to Dallas was forced to turn around in mid flight after officials realized a human heart had been left on board. The Seattle Times reports: Passengers were shocked when the captain explained that the heart was intended for delivery to a Seattle hospital after a previous flight from Sacramento. A Southwest spokesman said it was “absolutely necessary” to get the cargo back “as quickly as possible.” The heart had traveled from California to Washington state, across Idaho and back to Washington. The Southwest flight spent about three hours in the air before landing back at Sea-Tac Airport. Dr. Andrew Gottschalk was traveling on the flight and told the paper that while everyone aboard “was happy to save a life,” he still thought the incident was a “horrific story of gross negligence.” Southwest still hasn’t revealed the name of the company that shipped the human heart, but confirmed that it “specialized in shipments that are life critical”. Lordy.
The internet lost its mind after learning that a woman named her actual daughter “Abcde.” The furious mother complained that her child had been mocked by an airline employee who couldn’t believe the name on the boarding pass. Now, Southwest Airlines is apologizing profusely. Traci Redford says that her 5-year-old daughter, whose actual name is Abcde, was insulted and mocked by an airline employee. The girl’s name is pronounced ab-city . And yes, it is objectively funny on every level. However, Traci was not amused when a Southwest Airlines employee at John Wayne Airport in California laughed at the name on her daughter’s boarding pass. She was even less amused that the employee apparently photographed the girl’s name on the boarding pass in order to share it on social media. Now, Southwest has issued an apology. In a statement to People , Southwest Airlines profusely apologized for their employee’s very human reaction. “We extend our sincere apology to the family,” the statement begins. “We take great pride in extending our Southwest Hospitality to all of our Customers,” Southwest continues. The statement continues: “which includes living by the Golden Rule and treating every individual with respect, in person or online.” “The post is not indicative of the care, respect, and civility we expect from all of our Employees,” the airline says. “We have followed up with the Employee involved,” Southwest’s apology continues. That sounds … unpleasant for everyone involved. “And,” Southwest says. “While we do not disclose personnel actions publicly.” The statement continues: “we are using this as an opportunity to reinforce our policies.” Hopefully, that means making it a teaching moment, rather than making an example of those involved. “And,” Southwest concludes, they are working to “emphasize our expectations for all Employees.” Traci Redford spoke about the ordeal that her daughter experienced at the airport. “The gate agent started mocking my child’s name, laughing” Traci described. Traci said that the employee was “pointing at me and my daughter and talking to other employees.” “So,” Traci described. “I turned around and just said, ‘Hey, I can hear you, so if I can hear you, my daughter can, too. I’d appreciate it if you’d just stop.'” Apparently her daughter was puzzled: “She asked me, ‘Mom, why is she laughing at my name?’” “And,” Traci continued. “I said, ‘You know, honey, not everybody is nice, and not everyone is going to be nice, and it’s unfortunate.'” “While I was sitting there,” Traci accused. “She took a picture of my boarding pass and chose to post it on social media.” Traci clearly resents the employee apparently “mocking my daughter,” “It was actually brought to my attention by somebody who had seen it on Facebook,” Traci reveals. Yeah, we do have to say that, laughter may be involuntary, but uploading to social media? That’s a choice. (The “thirst” equivalent of this situation would be, like, the Alex From Target incident) “And,” Traci concluded, she “reported it to Southwest Airlines.” Children cannot help their names. Even adults have to go to court in order to get their names legally changed, and it takes time and money. As funny as a name like Abcde may be, it is totally inappropriate for anyone — especially an employee in the service industry — to mock a child to her face. Children can be very sensitive to these things. Instead, people should focus their ire on the mother, who cursed her with that name — which looks like a joke or a typo — in the first place. Someone who is not a Southwest employee should have explained to her that she was setting up her daughter for decades of ridicule. From elementary school classrooms to job applications, her daughter is going to face challenges that she does not deserve because of that name. View Slideshow: 22 People That Are Actually Named This
Southwest Airlines Allows Racists To Remove Muslim Passengers Southwest Airlines really ain’t isht after allowing a couple scary azz bigots kick off Muslim passengers just for making them feel “uncomfortable” on their flight according to Gawker reports. The world’s largest low-cost airline carrier allowed a few racist passengers to oust Arabic-speaking and Muslim passengers on two separate flights this week, quickly becoming the official airline for the country’s bigots. Two men, 29-year-old Maher Khalil and 28-year-old Anas Ayyad, who both moved to Philadelphia 15 years ago from Palestine, were speaking Arabic before their flight in the terminal this week, reports NBC Philadelphia. After overhearing them, another passenger on their flight approached the gate agent, demanding they be removed from the flight. The agent acquiesced, telling the pair that they wouldn’t be allowed to board because a passenger was afraid to fly with them. Not knowing what else to do, Khalil called 911, telling police that he’d been racially profiled. “If that person doesn’t feel safe, let them take the bus,” Khalil, who owns two pizza parlors in Philadelphia, said to a Southwest Airlines gate agent, according to NBC Philadelphia. “We’re American citizens just like everybody else.” After a delay and questioning, the men were allowed to board the flight. But this wasn’t the only instance of Southwest allowing racist passengers to pick the flight roster. Passengers on a second Southwest flight from Chicago to Houston Wednesday refused to allow six Muslims on the flight, causing the Muslim passengers to have to be rebooked on another flight. Southwest Airlines sent Gawker the following statement after the incident: We had a slight delay boarding, lasting only a few minutes, while we completed a brief passenger conversation. All customers were boarded and traveled on to their scheduled destination, Philadelphia. Southwest Employees welcome hundreds of millions of Customers onboard annually. We are responsible for the comfort of all passengers and do not tolerate discrimination of any kind. Really?!!?
South by Southwest is finally over, and our Skin Skouts braved the hipster strewn landscape of Austin to bring you all the new and nudest film festivals releases! Click through for all the highlights:
The South by Southwest festival wraps up this weekend in Austin, Texas, and Mr. Skin’s Skin Skouts have been hard at work all week, selflessly screening the films for sex and nudity. See the rundown of the newest and nudest after the jump!
The South by Southwest festival wraps up this weekend in Austin, Texas, and Mr. Skin’s Skin Skouts have been hard at work all week, selflessly screening the films for sex and nudity. See the rundown of the newest and nudest after the jump!
If he only could have held on a little bit longer… Via ABCNews A homeless man found dead under a Wyoming overpass last week stood to inherit $19 million from his deceased adopted great aunt, a copper heiress whose $300 million fortune is being disputed by her descendants in New York courts. The body of Timothy Henry Gray, 60, was found Dec. 27 underneath the overpass of Union Pacific Railroad in Evanston, Wyo., a small mining town in the southwest corner of the state, by children who were sledding nearby. Gray died of hypothermia, according to a coroner’s report, and police said there is no sign of foul play. “He appeared to have died from exposure,” Lt. Bill Jeffers with the Evanston police told ABCNews.com. “He was just wearing a lighter jacket and jeans.” Sad way to go out, but what’s worse is… Gray was the adopted great-grandson of former U.S. Sen. William Andrews Clark and the half-great-nephew of the reclusive New York heiress Huguette Clark, who died in 2011 at 104. Clark caused a stir with her will by denying any relatives her fortune, instead opting to bequeath her $300 million to a nurse, her doctors and charity. Clark’s last will was believed to have been signed in April 2005. Her private nurse was allocated at least $30 million. However, a will apparently signed just weeks before mandated Clark’s estate be left to her 20 great-nieces and great-nephews, who are now fighting a legal battle for the fortune of an aunt they likely never met. Talk about bad timing…R.I.P. Timothy Henry Gray. Your greedy a$$ family is probably thanking you. SMFH Image via Flickr
