Black Lives Matter uniform pins allowed by American Airlines spark backlash from pro-police workers
AMERICAN Airlines has allowed staff to wear BLM pins, which has sparked backlash amongst pro-police workers.
This week, the commercial jet carrier announced that on-duty flight attendants are now allowed to wear Black Lives Matter pins on their uniforms.
This has reportedly offended some of American Airlines‘ pro-police staffers in New York, because they consider the movement divisive and anti-cop.
“I take offense to this,” one flight attendant told management in a blistering email cited by the New York Post.
“Serious offense. My husband is a LEO (Law Enforcement Officer), as was my deceased father and as far as I’m concerned ALL LIVES MATTER.
“I am completely disgusted at the fact that we can’t show support for our GOD, our COUNTRY, our LEOs but when it comes to BLM organization (which is controversial in itself), American Airlines says that’s obviously different.
“And we can. How is that right? Well, I don’t feel included.”
Another attendant called “John” said the contentious pin will also be a means of excluding others on the team.
He told the Post that people who don’t want to wear one will “be ostracized and labeled as racist.”
“[BLM is a] terrorist organization that promotes violence to further their agenda,” John said. “If this pin is sanctioned, I will wear my NYPD pin supporting the police department.”
An airline official claimed the company was shocked by the reaction despite the widespread civil unrest, BLM protests, and counter-demonstrations all over the country for over three months.
In an email also obtained by the Post, Jill Surdek, AA’s Senior Vice President for Flight Services claimed the move was part of their “inclusive” culture.
“One symbolic way to show our support is through a uniform pin,” she insisted.
“We are working with our Black Professional Network on designing a specific pin that may be worn with the uniform. In the interim until this pin is produced, to recognize the significance of this moment in history, we are allowing people to wear a Black Lives Matter Pin.”
The airline told the Post they’re working on pins for various causes – like Christian, veterans and LGBTQ groups – not just BLM.
They said they view the movement as a universal cause for equality rather than being anti-cop or rooted in divisive politics.
But their employees say that the move was just a way to keep up with their rival Delta Airlines, the Post reported.
Proponents of the scattered BLM movement – which has more than 40 chapters internationally – have repeatedly called for the police to be reformed, defunded, or even abolished.
Their protests, which are often peaceful, have also resulted in violent clashes between demonstrators and police in major US cities since George Floyd‘s police custody death in Minneapolis on May 25.
The civil unrest came while the coronavirus pandemic shuttered the entire country and many people were laid off from their jobs.
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The actions of some protesters in states like Pennsylvania have also caused people to question the objective of the anti-racism movement on social media.
In Pittsburgh, a crowd of enraged BLM activists were recorded screaming at two elderly outdoor diners – with one female demonstrator stealing and drinking the old man’s beer on Saturday.
On Sunday, local station WTAE revealed that authorities are looking into the video from the restaurant and different footage of a cyclist carrying a bike who was targeted by enraged protesters.