Muslim Family Subjected To Shocking Racism On Delta Airlines Flight

On Monday February 2, 2015, Darlene Hiber and her four children boarded a Delta Airlines flight, headed from Florida back to her home state of Michigan. After a passenger began shouting racist insults at her, a Delta airlines flight attendant added fuel to the fire. According to Hiber’s statements, a female passenger began harassing her during flight, shouting ‘This is America!’ She says the woman then hurled threats and insults at her, because of her Muslim headscarf. Other passengers were visibly disturbed by the woman’s treatment of the family. According to the legal and policy director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), most of the passengers supported and offered comfort to the family, and one witness to the incident broke down in tears.
Instead of addressing the bigot who was openly harassing Hiber, a Delta Airlines flight attendant told the Arab-American woman to “get your kids and change seats.”
Hiber said following the incident:

“I felt that I couldn’t defend myself or kids because I was afraid of what more they’ll do … I was afraid to be called a terrorist.”

The flight attendant was caught on video threatening to have the family removed from the airline. She reportedly told Hiber’s husband:

“You are at my wit’s end. You better be quiet before I kick you off of this plane!”

All while taking no action whatsoever against the racist bigot who was subjecting the woman to the abuse.
Sit down, shut up and take it? That’s how Delta Airlines attendants treat passengers being subjected to this kind of treatment by another person?
The attendant can be heard shouting at the victim in the video:

“You want to get off the plane? … I’m fixing the problem … If you want, we will take you out.”

According to ADC National, who uploaded the video to YouTube on February 3:

The video footage shows the Delta agent yelling at a Muslim American, and her husband. Moments before this footage, another passenger verbally harassed the Muslim American woman. In response to the harassment the Delta agent scolded the victim and threatened to throw her and her family off the plane. The mother of four was forced to change seats, all in an effort to accommodate one individual who made bigoted remarks.

Video Link

ADC has been in touch with Delta Airlines over the incident. The organization is asking that the airline better train and equip its staff to address issues of religious and racial discrimination. ADC President, Samer Khala said:

“We encourage Delta to take immediate steps to rectify this matter and ensure that their agents are better equipped to address instances of harassment.”

Brain Kruse, a spokesman for Delta, told the Detroit Free Press Tuesday that the company has been in touch with Hiber and is ‘reviewing the situation.’ Kruse went on to say that “Delta does not condone discrimination of any kind.”
Newsflash Delta – not condoning discrimination means not catering to it. It means not requiring victims of discrimination to accommodate racist behavior by giving up their seats. It also means not telling victims of racism to ‘sit down, shut up and take it or else.’