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On Friday, September 2, 2022, a white man, later identified as Zachary Easterly by TMZ, was asked to disembark from a flight from Philadelphia due to a blatantly racist and homophobic tirade directed at a fellow passenger.
In videos taken by fellow passengers, the chemical engineer is seen harassing the flight attendants while he is being shown the way out of the plane. Zachary Easterly, who claimed to be 'intoxicated,' had no qualms about using racist slurs, specifically the N-word, in front of black airline employees.
Trigger warning: The following video is graphic in nature. Viewer's discretion is advised.
Other witnesses' videos show Zachary Easterly getting into fights with bystanders who confront him about his disruptive behavior. At one point, the two men can be seen attempting to pin Easterly to the ground in what appears to be a citizen's arrest.
It is unclear whether he was arrested for his actions. According to TMZ, the Philadelphia Police Department is looking into whether a case was opened regarding this matter or not.
Easterly faces consequences for his actions
Zachary Easterly's obscenity-laced tirade cost him his job at GlaxoSmithKline, a job he values, as evidenced by his bravado in the videos.
Hours after the videos of Easterly went viral online, GlaxoSmithKline posted a statement claiming that the man in question was no longer a part of the organization. They said:
"We immediately conducted an investigation and as of Thursday, he is no longer employed at GSK. The person’s behavior was reprehensible and does not reflect our company culture."
Among the slurs, Zachary Easterley also stated that he hoped their plane crashed and then went on to state his job position and employer, a move he must surely be regretting by now.
Zachary Easterly: a grim example of America's unabashed and rampant racism
People of colour and immigrants frequently believe that racism, whether casual or intentional, is an unavoidable part of life in the United States of America. rom being told to 'go back to their country' to being on the receiving end of racist slurs, the list is endless.
According to the Pew Research Center, a large majority of Black Americans believe that increased national attention on racial inequality has not resulted in improvements to their lives. The research center mentioned:
"At the same time, many Black Americans are concerned about racial discrimination and its impact. Roughly eight-in-ten say they have personally experienced discrimination because of their race or ethnicity (79%), and most also say discrimination is the main reason many Black people cannot get ahead (68%)."
Immigrants, too, find racism to be a major roadblock in the path to success. On Wednesday, August 24, 2022, four Indian-American women were racially attacked and smacked by a Mexican-American woman in Texas who hurled racist slurs at them and blamed them for "ruining" America. She asked them to "go back to India". The woman, identified as Esmeralda Upton, said:
"I hate you Indian. All these Indians come to America because they want a better life."
While Zachary Easterly faced the consequences of his racist actions, the majority of people almost always get off lightly.
