Democrat Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee has been causing problems on U.S. flights for decades
December 27, 2017
Amanda Walker / CCL
In response to an accusation that she stole a passenger’s seat on a United Airlines flight last week, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Tx.) has raised a questionable defense: racism.
The congresswoman, who is noted for her abusive treatment of flight staff, said that she was accused of receiving preferential treatment because of racism. Jackson Lee is black.
According to a writer for the Washington Examiner, this isn’t out of the norm. Jackson Lee, who sits on the Committee on Homeland Security and is a ranking member of the subcommittee on transportation, may have developed an entitlement complex:
The Democrat has developed a reputation for making life hell for any clerk, stewardess, or pilot unwilling or unable to make her three-and-a-half-hour flight anything less than glamorous. She takes advantage of federal travel perks to book multiple flights (only to cancel at the last minute and at no charge). She demands an upgrade to premier seats. She expects, in her words, “to be treated like a queen.”
United Airlines incident
United Airlines was accused by passenger Jean-Marie Simon of giving her first-class seat to Jackson Lee. Simon purchased her ticket to travel from Houston to Washington on December 3.
When she attempted to board her flight, she was told by gate staff that her ticket was “not in the system”. She was given a $500 voucher and was then seated in the Economy Plus section.
After the flight was delayed, she noticed Rep. Jackson Lee boarding the plan before the other passengers, accompanied by a flight attendant. Simon boarded the plane and took a photo of Jackson Lee sitting in her first-class seat.
When Simon complained that Jackson Lee had received preferential treatment, she was asked by a flight attendant if she was “going to be a problem.”
In a statement, Jackson Lee denied any wrongdoing and said that she didn’t ask for anything “exceptional or out of the ordinary and received nothing exceptional or out of the ordinary.”
She ended her statement by somehow tying the incident to race and diversity:
“Since this was not any fault of mine, the way the individual continued to act appeared to be, upon reflection, because I was an African-American woman, seemingly an easy target along with the African-American flight attendant who was very, very nice,” the congresswoman said.
“I hope one day, we will accept our collective diversity,” she added.
United Airlines denied giving Jackson Lee preferential treatment and claims that Simon canceled her flight using the United mobile app. Simon denied canceling her flight and sent a screenshot to the Houston Chronicle of her United profile showing the flight as “inactive.”
United responded that because Simon eventually took her flight, it would not say “canceled” on her profile. Simon denied accusations of racism, saying that she had no idea who had been given her seat when she complained that her seat had been given up.
“There is no way you can see who is in a seat from inside the terminal,” she added.
Her Majesty?
According to the Washington Times, Jackson Lee has a reputation for being a difficult passenger. A lousy passenger is a lousy passenger, no matter their race.
In 1998, she allegedly berated a Continental Airlines flight attendant for failing to serve her seafood. “Don’t you know who I am?” she reportedly said. “I’m Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee. Where is my seafood meal? I know it was ordered!”
The incident prompted Continental’s head of government relations to tell Jackson Lee to either control herself or fly with a competitor.
The congresswoman apparently has a reputation for being a nightmare boss. Huffington Post and the Houston Chronicle reported that she went through 11 chiefs of staff in 11 years. Huffington Post notes that she regularly appears on the Washingtonian’s list of the “Best and Worst of Congress” as the “meanest” member of the House.
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A former staffer once told the Houston Press that Jackson Lee berated her, saying, “I am a queen, and I demand to be treated like a queen.”
This may not be a race problem; it could just be a Sheila problem.
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