Trial set in 'racist rhyme' lawsuit accusing Southwest Airlines of discrimination
And people wonder why our justice system is in such disarray....
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) - 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 Louis 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.
Now, if I REALLY stretch my imagination, there is the remotest of possibilities that I could understand how someone of African-American descent might be offended by the phrase in question, but physical and emotional distress? Get real. This smacks of someone whose sensitivity meter is dialed up way to high, or of someone who simply sees an opportunity to milk the situation for a few quick bucks. Yes, if it sounds as if I'm accusing these folks of opportunism and naked greed, that is exactly what I'm accusing them of. They deserve to be laughed out of the courtroom.
Beyond that, I would suggest that these folks are taking themselves perhaps a bit too seriously. Get over yourselves, already....
