My father, who was commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1943, was fond of the joke that it was an act of Congress to make him a gentleman, as in “an officer and a gentleman.” But Dad was a “country gentleman” of the old school and wore the title proudly.
The title “gentleman” doesn’t sit quite as easily on me, at least as the term was originally intended; candidly, I have more rough edges than my father did. But I accept it as a generic form of address.
Delta Airlines, however, is abandoning this perfectly acceptable term of address in an egregious example of pandering to the woke.
Over the last few years, Delta Air Lines has embraced the diversity, equity and inclusion agenda under the purview of a chief officer who believes that the phrase “ladies and gentlemen” isn’t inclusive.
Delta’s Chief Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Social Impact Officer Kyra Lynn Johnson has said publicly Delta is striving to “boldly pursue equity” which has impacted every level of the company, from its hiring practices to the language it uses in gate announcements.
“So we’re beginning to take a hard look at things like our gatehouse announcements. You know, we welcome ‘ladies and gentlemen.’ And we’ve asked ourselves, ‘Is that as gender inclusive as we want to be?’” Johnson said during a February 2021 panel with other DEI insiders. “You know, we’re looking at some legacy language that exists in some of our employee manuals. And getting to the root of the way some things are described and saying, ‘Does that actually send a message of inclusivity?’”
This is a person with far too much time on their hands, and who brings nothing of value to Delta Airlines or their shareholders. Indeed, Delta seems to still be on the wrong side of the curve on this issue, as some companies are already ditching this nonsense.
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The term “ladies and gentlemen” is just elementary good manners. It’s a way of showing respect for the passengers — you know, the customers — and a little respect goes a long way. And, candidly, anyone who is so hypersensitive that the term “ladies and gentlemen” sends them into a tailspin is probably too unstable to be walking around in public unsupervised anyway.
Here’s what Delta’s “inclusive language guide” has to say:
“Use gender-neutral language and pronouns. Do not use language that suggests a gender binary (male-female),” the Delta guide said.
Oh, for crying out loud.
I’m sorry, Delta, but there is a “gender binary.” More properly — as gender applies to grammar, not people — there is a sex binary. People are mammals. Mammals are sexually bipolar — male and female. These are facts. If people are offended by biology — nature — facts, well, that’s not a problem for the rest of us. So this raises the question, how are the people working the gates for Delta Airlines supposed to address the passengers? “Hey, you?” “Passengers?” “Humans?” “Attention, all meat popsicles?”
Delta’s shareholders need to bring this up at the annual shareholder’s meeting. This crap does nothing to enhance the company’s core business — transporting people from place to place in reasonable (hah!) comfort.
