passenger sues Southwest F/A

[Weasil]

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — A judge has set a trial date in a discrimination lawsuit filed against Southwest Airlines by two black passengers who were upset when a flight attendant recited a version of a rhyme with a racist history.



Grace Fuller, 48, and her sister Louise Sawyer, 46, were returning from Las Vegas two years ago when flight attendant Jennifer Cundiff, trying to get passengers to sit down, said over the intercom, "Eenie, meenie, minie, moe; pick a seat, we gotta go."

The sisters say the rhyme was directed at them and was a reference to its racist version that dates to before the civil rights era: "Eenie, meenie, minie, moe; catch a n----- by his toe."

"It was like I was too dumb to find a seat," Fuller said. Sawyer said fellow passengers snickered at the rhyme, which made her feel alienated.

The sisters are seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.

U.S. District Judge Kathryn Vratil last week dismissed the sisters' claims of physical and emotional distress but set trial for March 4.

"The court agrees with plaintiffs that because of its history, the phrase 'eenie, meenie, minie, moe' could reasonably be viewed as objectively racist and offensive," Vratil wrote. The second line of a modern version of the rhyme usually goes, "Catch a tiger by the toe."

Airline attorney John Cowden said there was no intent to discriminate against any passenger.

Cundiff, who is white and was 22 at the time of the incident, said she had never heard the offensive version of the rhyme. She said she learned the Southwest version from co-workers and used it as a funny way of getting passengers -- who are not assigned seats on Southwest -- to sit down.

Plaintiffs' attorney Scott Wissel said the sisters also want Southwest to stop using the rhyme and provide employee training to prevent such incidents.

 

[hydroflyer]

I too only knew of the version "catch a tiger..." Judging by the F/A's age, she likely had no clue either as to what the rhyme could have meant. Amazing.

 

[BaronFR8Dog]

This is pathetic. The judge should have laughed these two BIGOTS right out of the courtroom. A 22 year old flight attendant recites a rhyme she learned as a child and these two BIGOTS scream racism!

Liberal political correctness run absolutely amock! Freedom of speech is becoming a thing of the past. Thanks liberals!

 

[SATCFI]

Weasil,

Dude, get a more recent copy of the newspaper. That case was settled almost a month ago.

Southwest Airlines Cleared in Race Discrimination Lawsuit
By David Thibault
CNSNews.com Managing Editor
January 23, 2004

(CNSNews.com) - A federal jury has decided that a Southwest Airlines flight attendant did not discriminate against two black passengers when she used a nursery rhyme to get passengers to pick their seats.

The plaintiffs, Grace Fuller and her sister Louise Sawyer, both of Kansas City had filed suit, objecting to the flight attendant's use of the ryhyme that begins with the words, "Eenie, meenie, minie, moe."

"Eenie, meenie, minie, moe; pick a seat, we gotta go," flight attendant Jennifer Cundiff said over the plane's public address system in February 2001 as the Southwest flight was about to leave Las Vegas.

As CNSNews.com reported on April 16, 2003, Fuller alleged in the lawsuit that Cundiff's recitation reminded her of a racist version of the rhyme that includes a derogatory term for African Americans.

"Eenie, meenie, minie, moe; catch a n***** by his toe ..." was used as far back as the mid-19th century, according to the earlier report on CNSNews.com . The more modern version of the nursery rhyme substitutes the offensive phrase with the words, "Catch a tiger by the toe."

Fuller had alleged that Cundiff caused her to suffer a small seizure on her flight home and that later at home, she suffered a grand mal seizure that required her to be bedridden for three days.

Cundiff testified in the trial that she had never heard the racist version of the nursery rhyme and that she was only trying to add a dose of humor to get her passengers into their seats so the plane could take off.

Fuller criticized the verdict, insisting that the all-white jury had conspired against her and her sister.

"If we had jurors of our peers then we would have won the case today, and we should have won the case today, with all the evidence shown," Fuller said. "It's a shame that the jury pool we had to draw from did not have one black and not one minority," she said. "Something has to be done to make sure there is justice in America for blacks."

Fuller and Sawyer accused Southwest of violating a 1981 civil rights law that bars businesses from discriminating against minority customers. They said they decided to sue after the airline failed to take their complaints seriously.

Scott Wissel, the attorney for the women, had argued in his closing argument that Cundiff's use of the rhyme was the equivalent of a racial slur.

John Cowden, the lawyer for Southwest Airlines, said he was pleased with the verdict because, "All along, Southwest Airlines has contended that it did not intentionally discriminate against the two ladies."

Cowden had argued to jurors that the case, at best, was "an argument that something [that] is not politically correct" and at worst, represented nothing.

 

[TEXAN AVIATOR]

They claim the FA is racist, sounds to me like they're the one's who fit the category. They are just looking for some free cash.

 

[350DRIVER]

Obviously the lawsuit that was filed was a no-brainer.. I am just a tad surprised that with all the obnoxious, silly, ridiculous, etc, antics and tactics that the swa crews use this is not happening more frequently... Just a complete lack of professionalism, but I guess one would just need to look at the people that ride on em...

one time on swa for me was enough to last a lifetime.


3 5 0

 

[ShawnC]

I thought this case was dismissed. At least thats what I heard on the radio news a couple of months ago.

 

[bart]

obnoxious, silly, ridiculous, etc, antics and tactics that the swa crews use

Yes, we must do all that we can to make sure that our customers have a rigid and humorless experience, lest they think we are less than professional.

Thanks, I enjoy flying SWA because they don't take themselves so bloody seriously, and make the experience fun.

I guess fun and humor is not for everyone, particularly those that are "offended" and suffer seizures easily.

 

[Typhoon1244]

Fuller criticized the verdict, insisting that the all-white jury had conspired against her and her sister.

Jesus Christ. These people've been inhaling too many chemtrail fumes.

Maybe some day all of the PA's (including the ones from the cockpit) will be automated. No crewmember will ever have to speak directly to a passenger, and nobody will ever get their feelings hurt.

 

[mar]

This is really the solution

Honestly.

If you use a recorded message then it can be reviewed before production by the company's legal dept.

Not only that but it relieves individual crew members of any personal liability.

We had 'em in the Metroliner. I loved it.