XPost: alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, or.politics, talk.politics.misc
XPost: talk.politics.guns, alt.atheism

Conservatives Are So Scared of
Diversity They're Starting to
Boycott 'Woke' Airlines
Jan 25

Nervous fliers are nothing new,
and the fear of air travel is as
common as they come. But a cohort
of right-wingers have convinced
themselves that planes are more
dangerous than ever because of
airlines' diversity, equity, and
inclusion (DEI) policies, which
they baselessly argue have put
unqualified flight crews in the
cockpit. Lately, some have even
expressed racist doubts in the
abilities of Black pilots or
pledged not to fly on commercial
carriers that support for the
LGBTQ community.

Although DEI has become a
favorite boogeyman for
conservatives of late -
supplanting a moral panic
over the supposed inclusion
of Critical Race Theory (CRT)
in grade-school curricula -
the focus on planes is the
result of actual safety
concerns about Boeing's 737
Max 9 model. One such
aircraft, operated by Alaska
Airlines, had a panel of its
fuselage blow out mid-flight
on Jan. 5, causing rapid
depressurization and
necessitating an emergency
landing. Early analysis of
the accident has indicated
a possible bolt failure,
and Boeing is now under
scrutiny for possible
manufacturing errors. The
FAA has meanwhile grounded
other Max 9s in service.

Rather than hold Boeing to
account, however, some
culture warriors have opted
to build a narrative around
the airlines, accusing Alaska
and others of creating unsafe
flying conditions with
initiatives to employ more
women, people of color, and
LGBTQ individuals. They
falsely claim such diversity
goals are now the only
criteria in the hiring
process, over and above the
ability to "effectively fly
an airplane," as Michael
Seifert, CEO of an "pro-
America" online shopping
website, put it earlier this
month.

There's zero proof that
recruiting pilots who aren't
white men (still the
overwhelming majority of the
profession) puts airline
passengers at risk.

Yet the anti-DEI crowd has
used this latest frightening
episode (which the flight
crew handled expertly) to
air grievances over what
they view as affirmative
action for the workplace,
painting bogus scenarios of
how "woke" corporate
branding could potentially
bring down a plane with you
and your family aboard.

https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/conservatives-blame-di >versity-dei-airlines-boycott-1234953756/

Trump says DEI is why we failed to land on the moon and needed to fake it instead.

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