Southwest Airlines Passenger Forced to Cover up Pres. Joe Biden Sign Because ‘Many’ Find It Offensive

A Southwest Airlines passenger carrying a sign displaying President Joe Biden's name has been told by staff to cover it as many passengers found it offensive.

The Independent reported that Jenny Grondahl was carrying the cardboard sign that read "Arizonenses Con Biden" during her flight from Phoenix to San Diego on Southwest Airlines last Friday.

Grondahl said it was designed by an artist named Javier Torres and a remembrance of the volunteer work she had done in Arizona before the election.

She told the Washington Post that the sign was important to her because she worked very hard to register Latino voters. Grondahl added that Latinos showed up, and "Arizona went blue."

The Southwest Airlines passenger serves on the executive board of Laborers' International Union of North America (LIUNA), representing workers in Arizona and California. She reportedly volunteered for the Joe Biden campaign for president in 2020.

Southwest Airlines Staff Says the Sign is Offensive

Jenny Grondahl said when she got to the gate, a Southwest Airlines employee told her that "many customers are offended by your sign." The Southwest Airlines agent also told her to either cover it up or fold it and put it under her seat.

She then asked the employee what would have happened if she was wearing a T-shirt supporting Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

The employee told Grondahl that she would have had to turn the T-shirt inside out to board the flight. Grondahl then opted to fold the sign and placed it under her seat.

The Southwest Airlines passenger said the language used on the sign was Spanish, and she was extremely upset by the confrontation and found herself shaking.

Meanwhile, the airline company has yet to comment on the incident, but Southwest Airlines spokesman Dan Landson denied that the firm would censor political expression.

Landson said in a statement that they pride themselves on providing a welcoming and safe environment for all customers and employees regardless of political beliefs, the U.S. Sun reported.

Landson added that they are already in conversations with the "customer to address her concerns and we hope to welcome her back on a future Southwest flight."

Meanwhile, legal experts said the incident was probably a one-off that happened due to decisions on what customers can bring or wear onboard are at the discretion of individual employees.

Tom Demetrio, a Chicago-based lawyer, noted that Grondahl just probably run into a buzz saw with a flight attendant, who was just trying to appease some unhappy passengers. Demetrio was known for representing David Dao, who was a passenger dragged off a United Airlines flight in 2017.

Demetrio said that if passengers have an issue with a flight attendant, play along as they win. He noted that there's no use in protesting as they were backed up by the pilot 100 percent.

Gripes About Airline Dress Codes

In 2020, a graduate student Arijit Guha was barred from a Delta flight as his shirt stated "Terrists gonna kill us all." Guha said the misspelled shirt was satirical and a mockery of federal screening policies that he said were racially profiled.

In 2012, a woman was asked to cover her shirt as the airline's spokesperson said that her shirt contained an expletive.

This article is owned by Latin Post

Written by: Mary Webber

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