Woman refuses to let man board first class regrets it when she hears remark excited to be traveling, Emmett had no idea that someone was about to spoil it all. Before he could stop himself, the words were out. The racist woman had been harassing him for a while now, and he’d had enough. The words hit her like a ton of bricks and she recoiled scandalized. But how dare she act so indignant.
He’d only said what was on everyone’s mind. Slowly, everyone in line began to clap. But how would it escalated so quickly? If you’ve been to an airport and flown at least once in your life, you probably already know what a stressful experience it can be. Delayed flights, long queues, lost luggage, and being singled out for a search at airport security can all get a person’s blood boiling.
But Emmett wasn’t about to let anything get him down today. He’d been saving for this trip for months and had even decided to splurge on a first class ticket as a birthday gift to himself. Little did he know an entitled woman was about to ruin his day. Emmett was on his way to the Dominican Republic. He’d worked extra hard during the previous weeks to make sure that he had cleared his workload.
He even planned to fly out the day before his birthday, so he had more than enough time to celebrate and unwind when he arrived. He’d planned for every eventuality, but he was caught completely unprepared for the nastiness that he was about to encounter. Emmett hummed and tapped his feet as he waited in line. Life was good. He’d made something of himself and now he was reaping the rewards.
His hard work as a music executive meant that he worked long hours, but at this moment, it all seemed worth it. He couldn’t wait to kick back and enjoy some much needed RnR. Emmett had no idea that someone was about to try and take it all away. He watched the line shuffle forward and the anticipation of boarding a flight was almost too much to bear. But then he heard a high pitched voice coming from behind him and felt someone trying to push past.
Excuse me, excuse me, the whining voice continued. Emmett turned to find out what this woman could possibly want, not realizing that he just entered the confrontation of his life. The woman blatantly gave Emma a once over, slowly and deliberately looking him up and down and taking everything in. In her mind, he obviously wasn’t meant to be there in the same line as her. She pointed her chin at the sign that indicated that the line was reserved for first class liars.
Her mouth was almost a sneer as she spat out the puzzling words. Emmett was mystified. I believe you may be in the wrong place, the woman sneered. But before Emmett could correct her and explain that he was indeed flying first class, she told him to get out of line. Then she tried to get in front of him by rudely yelling, let us through.
Emmett tried to remain calm and defused the situation. Was there something wrong with this woman? He looked at the woman, puzzled. He calmly explained that yes, he was meant to be in this line. But she insisted, I believe you may be in the wrong place.
You need to let us through. This line is for priority booking. She didn’t even try to hide the condescending tone in her voice. Emmett tried to reason with her. Priority means first class, correct?
But still the woman wouldn’t let it go. But he would understand what she was really trying to say soon enough. Yes, the woman snapped. Now excuse me. They’ll call you all after we board.
Now Emma was confused. Why was this woman so sure that he was waiting in the wrong line? And why had she singled him out? He was beginning to get annoyed. He pulled out his ticket from his wallet and proceeded to show the woman that he was exactly where he was meant to be.
He didn’t know this woman anything, but Emmett thought that it would put an end to the altercation. He was wrong. The woman looked scandalized, her face turned down in an unfriendly frown, and she said something loudly to her friends, deliberately loud enough for Emma to hear. He must be military or something, she moaned passive aggressively. But we paid for our seats, so he should still have to wait.
Emmett couldn’t believe his ears. Not wanting to cause a scene at the airport, he mentally tried to think of excuses for her behavior. She obviously had assumed that he couldn’t afford a first class ticket. Was she really implying what he thought she was? By now, Emit had a good idea as to exactly what it was that the woman was trying to say, but he didn’t want to believe that she was judging him because of his skin color.
In this day and age, here was a woman who thought he was a second class citizen. He couldn’t believe it, but he didn’t want to draw any rash conclusions. He began to second guess himself. Perhaps the woman hadn’t meant to come across that way, but the more he mulled over her snide comment, the more incredulous he became. He gently explained that he’d been waiting in line first, and that he wasn’t going to move.
She would just have to wait like everyone else. Could it be that he was under dressed for the flight? He didn’t think so. And looking at the rude woman’s clothes, she didn’t look like she was particularly well dressed either. He didn’t want to reach the conclusion that he did, but couldn’t avoid the issue any longer.
And it was his response that had the full room. Clapping, Emmett turned back to the audacious woman and retorted, nope, too big to be in anybody’s military. In fact, it was because of emmett’s large stature that he had booked a first class ticket in the first place. A first class seat would give him the space he needed to fly comfortably. With his thoughts racing a mile a minute, Emmett knew even before the retort had left his mouth, that it wouldn’t be enough to put the woman in her place.
Who was she to challenge him about his right to be there? Besides, servicemen and women serving in the military aren’t given first class tickets for free either. Why was this sour woman trying to rationalize how he, an African American man, could afford to fly first class? And what business was it of hers, anyway? By now, bystanders were gathering around.
Some were rubber necking to see what the commotion was about, and others wanted a piece of the action. Emmett wouldn’t disappoint them. Something inside him snapped. Emmett turned back to the entitled woman, and what he said to her next had the entire crowd clapping. The woman needed to be taken down a peg, and he was going to be the one to do it.
Even though Emmett was non confrontational by nature, he needed to stand up for himself. He shot her a marketer, and she looked like she’d been struck in the face by his words. Her eyes widened in disbelief as she recoiled in horror. Emmett had told the audacious and judgmental woman that, no, he wasn’t in the military. He was just an African American man with money.
Only the words he chose to use contained a slur to really drive the point home. The crowd exploded with cheers and applause, delighted by Emma’s witty retort and loving the woman’s public comeuppance. But the story wasn’t over yet. What Emmett had done was commended by all who witnessed it. In their eyes, he’d taken a firm stand against intolerance.
The woman had clearly deserved it. He shared the story on Facebook, but he only expected his friends to see it. Little did he know the situation was about to be turned on its head. Soon he’d have to retract what he’d said. Within just two days, Emmett’s post had been shared over 2500 times.
Now it had been shared by over 3000 people. Hundreds of comments poured in praising Emmett’s response to the woman’s inappropriate behavior. Never judge a book by its cover, one admirer wrote. She’s so ignorant, it makes no sense that people like her still exist. Enjoy yourself.
You handled it well. But soon Emmett would regret everything. By the time Emmett had arrived at his destination, the post had gone viral. He couldn’t believe how many times it had been shared and how many people had commented on this story. So many people from all over the world commended his actions.
But instead of being thrilled about the publicity, Emmett was dismayed. Emmett believed that his post had gone viral for all the wrong reasons. This racist stuff is definitely an issue, but this is not the solution to that issue, he wrote. He had time to think carefully about what had happened while he was on the flight. But he knew just what he had to do about it.
It brings me no joy waking up in paradise, he wrote. On his 37th birthday, the day he was meant to be celebrating, he had found out that he had caused another person to go through hell. There were also some people who claimed that his original post had been a fake. It was time to address these people as well. The story was definitely real, just like this issue is definitely real.
But I now know that I myself should have handled it another way or left it how it was and not shared it publicly. Amit knew that instead of discouraging intolerance in the world, his post was only highlighting it. It was time to be the bigger person. When dealing with people, I always try to stay on the side of right? So to make sure I never do anything wrong, I try to always put myself in that person’s shoes and ask how I would feel if that person did this to me, Emmett wrote on Instagram.
And if I was here this morning, I would be a total wreck today. And that doesn’t help the situation or her. It only makes them more angry and brings more drama. Emmett decided to put things right. So I would like to apologize again to the woman I had this encounter with yesterday.
No matter how wrong your actions, you don’t deserve this, he wrote in all caps. I believe if you can’t help nobody, at the very least, you should never do anything to hurt him. Unfortunately, the woman hasn’t accepted his apology. But if Emmett had a chance to redo that day, he’d choose to be a force for good, even if the rude woman didn’t deserve it.