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American Airlines Does Good, Gets Ridiculed

a logo on a rainbow flag

Look, I know there’s still plenty of ignorance and bigotry in the world.  And yet, I’m still surprised from time to time.  This one actually doesn’t surprise me, but it is worth pointing out.

According to this Buzzfeed article, American Airlines changed their Twitter avatar to celebrate Pride month.  I hadn’t noticed yet, but I was in China most of the month, where Twitter is, you know, the devil.  I think the look is pretty snazzy:


American Airlines

Shockingly, a member of the evangelical community found it in poor taste:

American Airlines

Nathan Lorick is the Director of Evangelism for the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention.  So, it’s not terribly surprising for him to have that point of view.  I applaud American Airlines for two things here.

First, for changing the avatar in the first place here.  There was certainly no ground swell I know of to make this sort of effort by large corporations.  Lots of corporations are very specific about their logo, so there was likely some thought put into making this change for a month.  And, IMO, definitely a good decision.  Secondly, their reply was perfect:

American Airlines

 

No need to explain or justify their actions.  I’m sorry he’s disappointed, too.  The world is a different place than it was 20 years ago. Heck, with the way legislation related to marriage has changed like a wildfire spreading, the US is vastly different over the past 5 years as it relates to gay marriage, spousal benefits, etc.

Far be it from me to preach to a preacher, but methinks the ship may have sailed.  There’s probably a lot fewer people “disappointed” than you think.

Thanks to @clintphenderson on Twitter for pointing this out.


The post American Airlines Does Good, Gets Ridiculed was published first on Pizza In Motion.

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20 Comments

  1. How politically correct of them. Such an American thing to do. One group it will please is the flight attendants. Go AA. All the way.

    1. Yeah, I wouldn’t have thought to do it. And, their salute took a little imagination. That’s a good thing in my book.

  2. What ‘s with the hype? Don’t see the ridicule-only a question about avatar change, response from AA and then a message of disappointment, then another response from AA. Nothing here people-just a civil exchange between two differing opinions. PIM, you are making too much of this. Nothing ridiculous or shocking.

    1. Pmlago, reasonable minds can disagree, and it seems we do on this. Saying it’s a poor choice for AA to change their avatar doesn’t strike me as civil. Strikes me as narrow minded. We are an inclusive nation, not exclusive.

  3. Ooooh, poor thing, he was disappointed….hopefully he won’t fly American anymore.
    I have gay friends who are better sons, daughters, parents, employees, and human beings than half the morons who on the 21st century still believe in the invisible man in the sky who made a woman out a rib 5,000 years ago while talking to a snake. THAT’S #disappointing

  4. “June is pride month across the globe”??? A prime example of our US-centricism. Pride month IN THE US.* And, as a gay man in the US, it’s hard to see this as more than lip service. Perhaps if the US were more… socialist?

    1. Gwayrav, I’m sure there’s lots more many corporations can do in these areas. But, I see lots of companies that didn’t even make this much effort. I’m not gay, so maybe that doesn’t give me enough perspective to see this as lip service. To me, any step in the direction less ignorance is a good one.

    2. Actually, Gwayrav, while June Pride Parades in the United States commemorate Stonewall (a US event) – many global Pride celebrations have moved to or continue to be celebrated in June. From GayFest in Romania to Rainbow Parade Mauritius to Shanghai Pride and the Pride Parades in Italy (Milan and Rome), Israel, Columbia, Brazil, and India – to International Film festivals in Sweden (just to name a few!) – June really is Pride Month across the globe.

      Good for AA for making a clear, simple, inclusive stand. It shows you how far we have come in a very short amount of time. As a gay man living in the United States, I have to disagree with you Gwayrav – rather than lip service, AA continues to stand on the side of equality and stakes their brand on it.

  5. Really? Slow blog day so this was the best “news” you have? One tweet that does not agree with the gay lifestyle is worthy of a post? Amazing……

    1. Steve, the blog has always been about what I find interesting. Doesn’t mean every post is going to be a good fit for every reader. But, I found both AA’s decision and the Twitter conversation interesting.

  6. Frankly, I am tired of companies that jump on the bandwagon of socially controversial issues in order to make an extra nickel. Hey AA, here’s a novel marketing idea: why not try running your operation on time and improve on-board service?

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