Posted on 12/28/2017 10:04:33 AM PST by Kaslin
We really haven’t invested any virtual ink in the story of Jean-Marie Simon, the United Airlines passenger who was bumped from her first class seat in favor of Texas Democratic congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee. After all, terrible things happening to people flying on United are pretty much dog bites man stories these days. But the response of both Jackson Lee and the airline to the kerfuffle is turning it into a bit more of a newsworthy item. The explanation for the alleged “mistake” and lack of a formal apology have resulted in United’s customer service department taking another self-inflicted wound. But Jackson Lee’s claim that the woman was probably a racist really tossed a jerrycan of gasoline on the fire.
I noted that this individual came toward me and took a picture. I heard later that she might have said “I know who she is.” Since this was not any fault of mine, the way the individual continued to act appeared to be, upon reflection, because I was an African American woman,
— Sheila Jackson Lee (@JacksonLeeTX18) December 26, 2017
As has already been noted by numerous conservative critics, Sheila Jackson Lee rarely sees anything in this world which can’t be attributed to racism in some fashion, but is that really the case here? Was this some privileged white woman who messed up her own reservation and then became enraged when a black person was given her seat? The Washington Times dug a bit deeper and found that Simon’s background isn’t exactly one which lends itself to KKK membership. In fact, she’s worked for years as a human rights activist in Guatemala.
The woman Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee accused of racism is a celebrated photojournalist who helped document human-rights abuses in war-torn Guatemala during the 1980s.
Jean-Marie Simon, whose first-class seat on a United Airlines flight was given to Ms. Jackson Lee, Texas Democrat, lived and worked in Guatemala during the turbulent decade that saw the military seize control of the government in a coup. Hundreds of thousands of Guatemalans were killed or “disappeared” during the conflict.
Now a teacher, Ms. Simon, 63, is the author of “Guatemala: Eternal Spring Eternal Tyranny.” A 2012 blog post on Amnesty International said Simon donated 1,000 copies of her book to schools and universities in Guatemala “to keep the truth of what happened alive.”
This doesn’t absolutely prove anything since none of us can read the secrets buried in the hearts of men (or women), but Simon seems an unlikely candidate for a racism charge at best. Also, the airline’s explanation of how this all took place is dubious to begin with. Simon was on the final leg of a no doubt exhausting trip from Guatemala back to DC with a flight change in Texas. What possible motivation would she have to suddenly cancel her trip? In fact, other than checking the departure gate and seeing if the flight was on schedule, why would she be messing around with her reservation at all? She’s asked the airline to provide proof that she had inadvertently cancelled her flight, but none has been produced yet. Seems to me that it would have been a relatively easy thing for United to do and they could have put all of this to rest.
Then there’s this tidbit which wasn’t given as much play originally, involving another unnamed member of the Texas congressional delegation. (Emphasis added)
“I was the last passenger on the plane,” Ms. Simon wrote on Facebook. “A Texas congressman, a nice guy, sat down next to me. He said was glad I had made it on the flight. I showed him my boarding pass with my seat, 1A, printed on it. He said, ‘You know what happened, right? Do you know who’s in your seat?’ I said no. He told me that it was Jackson Lee, a fellow U.S. congresswoman who regularly does this, that this was the third time he personally had watched her bump a passenger.”
If this is true, surely we could get confirmation of it. There are only 33 male members of the Texas congressional delegation (Simon specifically said it was a male) and it probably wasn’t a Democrat ratting out their colleague. That narrows it down to 24 men. If one of them actually had this conversation with Simon and is willing to own up to it we’d have some fairly solid confirmation of her story.
Meanwhile, United apparently had some low-level staffer say they were sorry during a phone call and gave Simon a $500 voucher, but as of yesterday, she says that a formal apology hasn’t been forthcoming.
Received UPS receipts for 12/26 delivery of letters to United customer care officer and chief legal counsel. Called United today, left message, since no apology forthcoming yet. @United @AP
— Jean-Marie Simon (@JeanMarieSimon1) December 27, 2017
This entire story really should have been much ado about nothing, but the repeated denials and accusations from Shiela Jackson Lee, combined with the mishandling of a PR disaster by United have turned it into a prolonged problem. Simon isn’t backing down and United really needs to do something to calm the waters.
A previous report noted the po' black Congresslady ----just freed from slavery----has "global status" w/ United.
============================================
SOURCE miles.com
WHAT IS GLOBAL STATUS?---United’s Global Services, introduced around 2003, is an unpublished, invitation only level of status in the United MileagePlus Premier program that is designed to reward its most profitable customers with an exceptional level of service. While United doesn’t publish a specific list of benefits for Global Services, there are some that have been publicly disclosed, while others are more ad hoc that we detail below.
How to qualify for Global Services---This is probably the most opaque part of the Global Services program. There are no published qualification requirements but generally people who qualify…....
Spend a significant amount of money on United operated flights relative to other Premier level fliers (some think this means $50,000 or more per year, but it varies) Concentrate much of that spending on full fares (Y/B in Economy, F/J/C/D in Business / First Class) Some members qualify with less of the above via…Influencing a significant amount of corporate travel spending.Being a relatively large spender in a home airport with unique competitive situation Having flown over 4 million lifetime miles on United and receiving lifetime Global Services status
Being designated as the annual companion of a lifetime Global Services member Even with those guidelines, nothing is set in stone, as a variety of factors are used which constantly change to determine Global Services eligibility. Invitations to Global Services are sent early each calendar year.
What are the possible benefits?
<><> Global Services members get the base Premier level benefits of the status level they qualify for (which more often than not is Premier 1K) and in addition to those benefits, they have been reported to receive these additional benefits, though since they are mostly unpublished they may change at any time:
<><>Highest priority on lists for Complimentary Premier Upgrades, trumping 1Ks and all other Premier members.
One exception is if a Premier member buys a high Y/B/M fare and gets an instant upgrade to First Class, while a Global Services member is flying on a discount fare. Global Services members get upgraded into the ‘PN’ fare bucket at their upgrade window, which tends to be more generous than the ‘RN’ bucket used for other elites (read more about United fare codes here).
Expanded upgrade inventory for upgrading with miles / certificates. Global Services members get to upgrade into the ‘PN’ fare bucket when upgrading from Coach using miles, Global Premier Upgrades, or Regional Premier Upgrades. This fare bucket ties more closely to actual revenue ticket availability than upgrade / award inventory for non Global Services members, which comes out of the ‘R’ bucket. Award ticket upgrades. Global Services members have the ability to upgrade award tickets with their Regional and Global Upgrade certificates. Saver awards for companions.
If you’re flying on a paid premium cabin ticket, you can bring along a companion for the Saver level number of miles, even if Saver awards aren’t available on that flight.
Access to Global First Class lounges. When flying on a Business Class ticket, Global Services members can use the United Global First Class lounges, which are typically reserved for passengers in Global First on 3 cabin planes. The lounges are available at San Francisco, Washington Dulles, Chicago, Hong Kong, Tokyo, and London Heathrow. Priority boarding.
If you fly United a lot, you hear this whenever the gate agent makes the boarding announcement. Global Services members get their own private boarding time, just before 1Ks, First Class, and other priority travelers board. Private check-in.
At Newark, Chicago, and San Francisco airports Global Services members get to use a private check-in facility with a door that opens to the very front of the priority security line. Los Angeles will be getting a Global Services check-in lobby when renovations of that terminal are complete. Priority check-in. At airports without a Global Services facility, there are often counter positions assigned to serve Global Services members first.
Mercedes Benz transfer. United will pick some Global Services members with tight connections from the jetway in a Mercedes Benz to reach a connecting flight. This is available at all U.S. hubs (San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Newark, Denver, Washington Dulles, and Houston).
First meal choice. When sitting in First or Business Class, Global Services members have top priority for getting their choice from the menu.
Priority reservations. Global Services members get top priority when calling United reservations, and have typically been handled by agents dedicated to serving Global Services customers.
about the only one left at Hot Air
As to her “global status”.....there’s no frickin’ way this parasite spent that much to get status.
This is nothing more than bribery by United in case airline issues come up in Congress.
United needs to be prosecuted for bribing a lawmaker.
Can anyone imagine Jackson-Lee going into Guatamala (or any other third world, war-torn hell hole) ? How would she get her hair primped, her fashions displayed? She’s nothing but a racist, loud-mouthed showboat. But she will be reelected and reelected and reelected for so long as she pleases.
She is African
It's like the old Mafia Insurance.
"Take care of me today and I won't hurt you tomorrow."
Why do blacks work so hard to make everyone hate them?
We DO know Jackson Lee...
Much like the Trayvon Martin / Zimmerman issue. Turned out Zimmerman was involved in promoting diversity and worked especially with black.
The race card is becoming more and more irrelevant every day. Keep it up, Sheila; you’re doing a great job!
It does seem unlikely, although UAL would reserve the right to "adjust" the qualifications in a particular instance.
It would be interesting however to learn under what circumstances Global Services was initiated and how many <$200k per annum wage earners typically qualify for such cream of the elite treatment. We all know people who book more mileage than she does and make more money than she does who are not in the program. Perhaps the program was a defensive maneuver by UAL faced with snotty nosed public figures.
IMO, it is unlikely the bumped passenger actually canceled her flight and she seems willing to go to the mat on the issue. So the question is whether UAL just reached in and bumped a first-class passenger to avoid dealing with SJL. The smart bet is UAL made that specific decision long ago.
If that becomes provable, then SJL's behavior casts a dark shadow on the entire Congress and would justifiably be the subject of a censure.
Scurrilous Commentary by Fred Reed
"It is curious that blacks, the least educated thirteen percent of the population, the least productive,
most criminal, and most dependent on governmental charity, should dominate national politics."
"Yet they do.
Virtually everything revolves around what blacks want, demand, do, or can't do.
Their power seems without limit.
Courses of instruction in the schools, academic rigor, codes of dress, rules regarding unceasing obscenity, all must be set
to suit them, as must be examinations for promotion in fire departments, the military, and police forces.
Blacks must be admitted to universities for which they are not remotely qualified,
where departments of Black Studies must be established to please them.
Corporate work forces, federal departments, and elite high-schools must be judged not on whether they perform their functions
Do laws requiring identification to vote threaten to end multiple voting?
The laws must go.
Do blacks not like Confederate flags?
Adieu, flags.
Does Huckleberry Finn go down the Mississippi with the Nigger Jim, or Conrad write The Nigger of the Narcissus?
These must be banned or expurgated to please blacks who haven’t read them or, usually, heard of them.
Do we want to prevent people coming from regions infested with Ebola from entering the United States?
We cannot. - It would offend blacks.
We must never, ever say or do anything that might upset them, as virtually everything does.
It is positively astonishing.
One expects the rich and smart to have disproportionate power. But America is dominated from the slums."
READ MORE HERE:
https://fredoneverything.org/black-power/
Did you ever notice that she wears her hair like a crown? If she would go to these countries, she probably would demand that she be addressed either as “your Majesty”, or “your Highness”
All the more reason to avoid United Airlines. Do any other airlines also pull that stunt of telling a passenger that they just cancelled their flight?
To be sure they gave her a voucher for $500--but that can only be used toward another flight on UAL, I assume. And she is lucky--she didn't have any of her teeth knocked out.
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