Barbara Taylor #FBPA #FBPE 💙 🐝

Mancunian at heart. European in soul. Cat loving semi-hermit in Spain. Believer in democracy and kindness. No direct messages please.

[Dr. Sabreena Ghaffar-Siddiqui @sabreenaGS]

Unbelievable experience on our flight back from LGW yesterday on @airtransat.
As she was collecting trash from passengers, a flight attendant looked at the empty fruit cup that my hijab-wearing daughter handed to her and then said “what is this? Where did you get this?”.

Confused, my daughter turned to me. I said, “it was fruit we brought with us on the plane”. She then said, you took this from the back didn’t you! This was mine. You got it from the back of the plane. You took this”. Shocked and speechless, I said, “are you seriously accusing us of stealing your fruit cup? Is this some sort of joke?”. She insisted her fruit cup was taken by a passenger and she was looking for the person who took it. This was all done very publicly and loudly.

I immediately stood up and went to the front of the plane to speak with the crew director. As this incident was public and another flight attendant witnessed it, I was profusely apologised to by the other crew members and the director and encouraged to file an official complaint with Air Transat. They thanked me for my grace in not making a scene and addressing them privately. Shaken by it all but reassured by the crew’s response, I let the matter rest.

A few hours later, as we landed and the seatbelt sign was turned off, I immediately got up to stand next to my young children in the aisle one row ahead, so they are not alone. A white man who was sitting with his two daughters in the row in front of us started to hurl abuse at me for “cutting the line”. One of the things he said, aside from the ongoing foul swearing – “why don’t you go steal some fruit?”. He then told us to “go back where you came from”.

The reason why I am telling this story is to highlight the power and harmful impact of the actions of that flight attendant towards a Muslim woman. Even though she was wrong, and the entire crew apologized, 1. She demonised and criminalized a hijab-wearing young Muslim woman publicly and 2. This very public false accusation and disrespect emboldened the racist man sitting in front of us to insult and abuse us even further.

False public allegations, even if they are taken back or apologised for cause irreparable damage to those being targeted. Especially those who are racialised and marginalized in society.

Out of pure exhaustion from a very long and draining trip, I probably wouldn’t have filed a complaint with @airtransat. But the racist ripple effect of that awful interaction serves as a reminder of the far reaching impacts of public statements and interactions that demonize those from already stigmatized identities.

[Barbara Taylor #FBPA #FBPE 💙 🐝 @BarbaraRejoineu]

@drrpalestine 🇵🇸

[Barbara Taylor #FBPA #FBPE 💙 🐝 @BarbaraRejoineu]

@Palestinedaily1 🇵🇸

[Barbara Taylor #FBPA #FBPE 💙 🐝 @BarbaraRejoineu]

@AbujomaaGaza 🇵🇸

[Barbara Taylor #FBPA #FBPE 💙 🐝 @BarbaraRejoineu]

@Abdullah_Om3r03 🇵🇸

[Barbara Taylor #FBPA #FBPE 💙 🐝 @BarbaraRejoineu]

@drrpalestine 🇵🇸

[Barbara Taylor #FBPA #FBPE 💙 🐝 @BarbaraRejoineu]

@Palestinedaily1 🇵🇸

[Barbara Taylor #FBPA #FBPE 💙 🐝 @BarbaraRejoineu]

@AdameMedia 🍉

[Barbara Taylor #FBPA #FBPE 💙 🐝 @BarbaraRejoineu]

@YousefAlsweisi 🇵🇸

[Barbara Taylor #FBPA #FBPE 💙 🐝 @BarbaraRejoineu]

@mhdksafa 🇵🇸

[Tiberius @tiberiusfiles]

Fuck the Tories. Fuck Labour. Fuck the entire neoliberal establishment, playing their games while people starve and die. Fuck a minimum wage that you can’t live on. Fuck croneyism. Fuck the political decision that is homelessness. Fuck illegal wars. Fuck sanctioned wars. Fuck the culture war, race war, sex war, gender war, sexuality war, ability war and every other war waged by silver-spoon capitalists and agents of oppression on people whose only hope is to exist. Fuck anti-immigration sentiment, and fuck the dogmatic bullshit of nation states. Fuck fossil fuel CEOs, chasing an extra digit while entire families die hungry. Fuck journalists, politicians, heads of industry, and every other fucker who has stood against social, economic and climate justice. Fuck shareholder value. Fuck financial markets. Double fuck time ever being equatable with money. Fuck the failed modern state, breathing its dying breaths. Fuck consumerism, and fuck materialism. Fuck our fake as fuck society and it’s veneer of order. Fuck the Joneses, and fuck ever trying to keep up with them. Fuck division, fuck borders, fuck fascism and fuck nationalism. Fuck the tyranny of Empire and fuck every single one of its soulless little foot soldiers. Fuck Zionism and fuck the settler-colonialism, apartheid, and military occupation it relies on. Fuck idolising celebrities while nurses can’t pay rent. Fuck cutting benefits while MPs sing and dance. Fuck having a society that alienates those who need help. Fuck ever letting children starve. From Thatcher to Blair, and from Reagan to Obama, one giant fuck for every piece of shit that architected this modern hellscape. Fuck apathy. Fuck indifference. Fuck subservience, obedience, and inaction. Fuck leaving this world without trying like fuck to make it a little bit better than these greedy fucks have it, and fuck everyone and anyone that stands in our fucking way.

[Barbara Taylor #FBPA #FBPE 💙 🐝 @BarbaraRejoineu]

@ElonMuskVines Yes

[Dr Julia Grace Patterson💙 @JujuliaGrace]

I am tweeting this to almost 300,000 people. We are about to reveal the private ambulance companies infiltrating the NHS.

Can we get #NHSPrivateAmbulances trending?🚨🚨🌟🌟🤞🤞

[Barbara Taylor #FBPA #FBPE 💙 🐝 @BarbaraRejoineu]

@sharrond62 @ragdollyanna2 Surely if a male identifies as a woman, then it wouldn't even enter his head to do something like this.

[Barbara Taylor #FBPA #FBPE 💙 🐝 @BarbaraRejoineu]

@ShoebMolvi 😃😃

[Barbara Taylor #FBPA #FBPE 💙 🐝 @BarbaraRejoineu]

@TollytB 🤣🤣

[Barbara Taylor #FBPA #FBPE 💙 🐝 @BarbaraRejoineu]

@ShoebMolvi 🤣🤣

[Barbara Taylor #FBPA #FBPE 💙 🐝 @BarbaraRejoineu]

I've just signed @DailyMirror's 38 Degrees petition calling on @bbc to re-instate @GaryLineker to #motd #BringBackGary #ImWithGary - please sign and RT https://t.co/7wxIuUNZWA via @38degrees

[Barbara Taylor #FBPA #FBPE 💙 🐝 @BarbaraRejoineu]

@ShoebMolvi 🤣🤣

[Barbara Taylor #FBPA #FBPE 💙 🐝 @BarbaraRejoineu]

@ShoebMolvi 🤣🤣