Glenn Beck said treatment on American Airlines flight made him feel “subhuman”

Beck said he will never fly American again.

Jack White

Glenn Beck speaks at the American Airlines Center in July 2012.

DFW INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT — Political commentator and radio host Glenn Beck took a shot at an American Airlines flight attendant on his radio show Tuesday.

Beck, who lives in Westlake in Tarrant County, said he was treated like a "subhuman" on a flight home to D/FW Airport.

Said Beck: "On the way home I flew American Airlines, a Texas-based airline. I, unlike all of the other passengers, was not offered the option of courteous service.

"My flight attendant nearly -- merely barked the word 'breakfast' when he came to me. When others were politely asked if they cared for anything to eat and given the choices, I was just barked at. When he delivered a soda, he slammed it down so hard, I hesitated to even open the can for fear that it would spray all over other passengers in the cabin. By the way, the other passengers, nobody else had to open their can. He opened it and poured it for them. Never once did he look me in the eye. Never once did he offer a kind or even a neutral word to me. I had service unlike I have never had ever before in my life, and I have had rude service before. I lived in New York City. I have never had service that was specifically designed to make me feel subhuman. Oh, I had it. He put on quite a show as he fawned over the other passengers proudly and loudly performing his life story about being a former Israeli soldier and how he was so proud of the very liberal cities in America."

Beck said he will never fly American again.

American Airlines responded to Beck, via Twitter: "We’re sorry for your experience. We take these matters seriously and are investigating. We'll stay in contact with your staff."

Said Beck, describing more of his experience: "So as I was deplaning, as he was standing next to the pilot, I said to him, 'I want to sincerely thank you for not treating my children the way you treated me.' His response? 'It was my pleasure. You deserved it.' The pilot didn’t say anything, nor did the other passengers, but they probably didn’t know what was going on. I remembered yesterday, as I was driving home from the airport, the airlines used to make an announcement at the end of the flight that says, 'We know you have a choice in airlines and we’re glad that you chose us.' I wondered if American Airlines was happy that I chose them. Are they happy that other conservatives even fly in their planes? Are they glad to be based in Texas, or is this just an unfortunate stopover on the way to one of those many liberal cities their employees are so proud of? I know yesterday I did have a choice and I chose wrong. I chose to fly with American Airlines. I do have a choice. And my family will never choose American Airlines again. I and my family will choose another carrier. If this is the kind of people that American Airlines likes to hire in the service industry."

At 48, Beck has taken many career twists and turns, beginning with stints as a radio disc jockey that evolved into his delivering political commentary on CNN and the Fox News Channel.

Last summer, he moved into a big house in Westlake and now operates his radio program from a studio complex in Irving.

"I’ve lived in Texas in the last few months and I had forgotten why I needed my security detail," Beck said. "It’s funny because as I compared New York and Texas, there’s not everybody in Texas agrees with me. There’s a lot of liberals in Texas. It’s funny. We all have a neighbor here in Texas who is an Obama supporter. All of us do. But we’re neighbors first, Texans second, and Republicans and Democrats somewhere way down on the list."

Beck went on to opine more on the situation with the flight attendant:

"I watched him and I wondered: Does this make him feel better somehow? It’s sad because I think it did. As I sat there, I wondered how many things we would actually agree on, how many things did he actually believe about me that aren’t even true. I wondered if he was ever made to feel like a second class citizen before. I wondered if he had any friends and family in the dark years of Europe that made them feel less productive. I wonder if his friends and family ever felt like they were less than a welcome member of society because of their faith or who they were or what they believed.

"I had lots of time to ponder things. I wondered what I had done to this flight attendant from American Airlines that caused him this much pain that he as a grown man felt justified and uplifted by taking his pound of flesh. What had I done to him personally? Did I wrong him personally? Or was he just taking his pound of flesh and acting out for the collective? Would he tell stories later in the day about how he treated me? Would he revel in those stories as he told his friends? Would he laugh -- would they laugh and jeer with him and tell him how proud they were of his behavior? I wondered. I wondered if a guy like this flight attendant for American Airlines, if he were in a group of like‑minded people and that group of people were in power. I wonder if he and his friends would feel it rational to march me through the streets with a sign around my neck mocking and frightening anyone away who might want to stand with me. I wondered. Surely not. This somehow was different. This was just a small indignity."

"... You see, I grew up in a family-run business. 'The customer is always right' is what my father taught me. I wasn’t trying to make a point. I just wanted to be treated as a human. Apparently that’s not the way at American Airlines anymore, unless they vote the way you do, unless you vote the way they do. I lost my cool as I walked off the plane, as I was told I deserved to be treated worse than any airline attendant would have treated a dog. I shouldn’t have lost my temper."

mail, anonymous:

I doubt American Airlines has anything to do with this event, it is just one person acting out. I have had many mediocre experiences on AA, some bad, but many great ones as well. I think it just depends on the individuals involved and not necessarily the company as a whole. It may be a good idea to bring up someone's bad behavior to a supervisor immediately rather than let it brew. If you had done so, and not received any support, then maybe you could deduce that it was some type of collective effort.