Viva’s Thoughts on Alcohol, Religious Bigotry and the Sense of Entitlement

I’m sure you have all seen the story about the flight attendant Charee Stanley who was suspended for refusing to serve alcohol to in-flight passengers? If you haven’t heard about this, then yes, that’s what happened. She has lawyered up as they are quick to do in America and is keen to tell her story; she is pedalling her tale of woe from one TV station to the next newspaper.

She was on The View with Whoopi Goldberg and her cronies recently, and although the short clip made me nauseous, I watched it to the end. For you. Cos that’s the kinda girl I am. Ooooooh, I have COMMENTS!!! Read below…

Ms Stanley claims that her primary job role is for the safety of the passengers. She has never attended one course about making Bloody Marys

Yes, every transport employee is charged with an initial role of safety critical duties. We live in unsafe times, and the crew must be able to deal with every eventuality. But you absolutely DO have a secondary role to be courteous, to serve drinks, to give an extra blanket, to dispense comfort with a smile, to offer exemplary service. This is related to, but not exclusive to …make the damn drink, some people are nervous fliers!

Oh, and he reason why you have never attended a course on making Bloody Marys is because you ain’t Tom Cruise, this ain’t Cocktail, and you ain’t a bar manager. It probably just comes pre-packaged  in a can anyway. But it is absolutely part of your job.

“I always thought that I just didn’t have to drink alcohol; I didn’t realise that I couldn’t serve it either. Now I am”

How exactly is your initial inability to fully grasp your new faith your employer’s problem?

“To start with, I was allowed to make an arrangement with the other flight attendants that they would serve alcohol instead of me”

That an employer goes out of their way to make you comfortable in your role does not mean they owe it to you, nor does that make it a contractual obligation that they have towards you. Your arrogant decision to inconvenience your entire team of colleagues and management speaks of your character. I’m sure the Qur’an speaks about humility and team spirit. Is it in the spirit of Islam to give your colleagues double work? That they have to serve all the other passengers in the plane because you feel a way about it? Are you doubling up in your service of food distribution? Or taking the crappy break slot nobody wants as appreciation of their help? Or are you simply entitled because hijab? Gimme all the perks! Gimme, gimme, gimme!

“This is a business decision. They took away my livelihood”

No, sweet pea, YOU did that. The second you stopped abiding by your contract, the second you started cherry picking which jobs you would and wouldn’t do, you became dispensable. And let me state that airlines are always loathe to fire staff, good staff because the training is intensive and costly. It’s not beans to teach someone how to resuscitate someone who is having a cardiac arrest a gazillion feet in the air, or stay calm in terrorist situations. So your breach must be seen as jeopardising the entire passenger experience in order for the management to take such an action.

Her lawyer, Ms Lena Masri states that this is different from the Kim Davis story (the Rowan County, US clerk who repeatedly refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples as it stood against her Christian faith) because Kim Davis is a sworn government official who took an oath to uphold and serve the law whereas her client, Ms Ashley didn’t take an oath and indeed went to the airline to ask that while she wants to be able to accommodate the passengers, was there a way they could set up an arrangement where my religious beliefs are protected?

Christ. Once again, not the airline’s job!

“I love what I am doing right now and I should be able to do that if I want to. I shouldn’t have to choose between earning a living and practising my religion”

Nope. Nada. No way. No how. Not at the expense of other people’s business infrastructure.

In other news, I heard that high class strippers earn a mint. But because Jesus (and cellulite), I can’t be offing cloth anyhow. So could someone please just continue to give me the money while I sit here in my turtleneck and jeans? Please and thank ya!