I may be tan on the outside but I'm furious on the inside. This past weekend boyfriend and I jetted to Kaua'i for a nice relaxing birthday weekend on the beach. An hour before our flight to paradise I get a text from my older brother saying he just got fired....and for no apparent reason. I am shocked that in Arizona an employer can fire you for any reason, including no reason at all. I console my brother and feel guilty that I'm taking a vacation while his dream just got flushed down the toilet.
You see, my brother has ALWAYS wanted to be a pilot, always, always, always. While I drifted through career dreams of supermodel, superstar and psychologist he stuck to the one dream of flying. Any memories of my brother (past or present) include aviation of some kind. He followed his dream all the way to this job of flight instructing foreign students and then boom, crash, splat...it's all over...for NO reason. My brother explained that in the aviation industry if you get fired from a job, that's it. No more jobs in the flight industry.
I am crushed for him.
One day later while enjoying a drink at a fancy-smancy place on the island I get another text from him. He heard through the grapevine someone complained about him being gay and that's likely what got him fired. I am irate. Twenty-seven years of work toward his dream of being a commercial pilot gone thanks to some flight school bigots who don't want to work with a gay. How in the world is it still lawfully OK to A. fire someone for no reason and B. to fire someone for being homosexual. I instantly shutter at what America truly is and I've been bitter about this country ever since that realization.
I decide that even though my brother relents and accepts that this is "OK" I am going to do something about it. Turns out, there's nothing I can do but hope and make a lot of phone calls. I'll admit I'm naive to the subject of laws and civil rights-- I thought it was all resolved in the 1960's like my teachers told me. Apparently we've still got a lot of work to do. Here's some fun revelations about our country for you: Did you know that in 29 states it's perfectly legal to fire an employee for no reason? Furthermore, no explanation is needed even if asked. Now, pinpointing the bigot state of Arizona here...and what the heck, let's include the good ol' U.S.A. I would also like to add that "sexual orientation" is not protected in any civil rights laws. Messed up right?
I don't care who you are or what you believe in....and by the way, your beliefs are protected by the law which is more than I can say for your sexual preference...denying someone the right to work (especially when they've trained for it, studied for it and paid a heck of a lot of tuition money to get a degree for it) because of their sexual preference is WRONG. And by the way, if you're sitting there all high and mighty thinking this rule won't impact your life...it can. Heterosexual preferences are not protected either.
What can we do about it? Speak your opinion. Contact your Congressional Representatives. If you don't want to give a voice to this cause, then at least open your eyes to it and do a little research.
I wonder if you'll feel the same bitterness and vulnerability as I do.
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