A progressive journalist has been mocked online after making a public post criticizing a flight attendant who wished her and other passengers a “blessed night.”
Mother Jones editor-in-chief Clara Jeffery wrote to X that she found the Alaska Air flight attendant’s language akin to “creeping Christian nationalism” after landing in San Francisco.
Jeffrey wrote that substitute words like “great” or “fantastic” would have worked just as well, adding that someone in her line said, “This isn’t Montgomery, honey.” That was an apparent reference to the Alabama city often associated with anti-Black racism.
But her post prompted many to hit back and stand up for what they described as “kindness.”
Mother Jones editor-in-chief Clara Jeffery received backlash after posting on X about a flight attendant telling her she was having a “blessed day”
The post caught the attention of all users, liberal or Republican, who called her complaint “petty” and “miserable,” while some took the opportunity to dig up old posts where she herself had used the word “blessed.”
Washington Post columnist Marc Thiessen wrote, “How sad and impoverished is your life that you are offended by someone who blesses you? Get a grip.”
One user, J Valentine, replied, “The editor of Mother Jones provides another great example of why morals hate progressives.
‘Being ‘progressive’ is often just an excuse to be an insufferable jerk.”
‘With all due respect, I am quite left-oriented and I often wish people a blessed day. It’s just a nice thing to say,” Armand Domalewski wrote.
Jeffery criticized the Alaska Air flight attendant’s language, likening it to “creeping Christian nationalism”
Jeffery responded saying, “Um. It’s a matter of respecting the audience in front of you.
‘With respect for their space and standards and wishes. Dominant cultures always feel entitled to enforce their norms and intentions. And…a far cry from the @AlaskaAir brand.”
Domalewski further refuted her point by saying, “As a practicing Catholic, I don’t feel like publicly being Christian is really the dominant culture here in SF lol.”
Jeffrey didn’t respond.
Canadian conservative activist Billboard Chris even went so far as to link old posts in which Jeffrey used phrases like “God Bless” and other similar language.
American political consultant Frank Luntz wondered if she would worry if people said “bless you” when she sneezed.
One user turned the tables and wished Jeffery “a very hellish, torturous evening.”
‘It’s not offensive. It is not a demand for religious conversion,” said Kimberly Ross of the Washington Examiner.
“The problem here is that you have treated it as an issue that requires a public complaint while tagging the airline. Time to grow up.’