The Glenn Beck Program - Best of The Program | Guests: Bridget Phetasy, Steve Earnest, & Capt. Casey Murray | 10/28/21

Episode Date: October 28, 2021

Southwest Airlines Pilots Association president Capt. Casey Murray returns after a judge rejected pilots’ bid to block Southwest’s vaccine mandate. Theatre professor Steve Earnest joins to tell his story as a group of students demand that he be fired for not being outraged enough. Comedian Bridget Phetasy joins Glenn to talk life in authoritarian pandemic-era California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oh my gosh, Stu. Was this a great show or what for the podcast? Probably the greatest show of all time, Glenn. You don't sound like you actually mean that. I believe in this podcast, Glenn. It was a great show. We talked about global warming. We talked about suicide.

We talked with British. British, why do we keep saying that? We talked to Bridget Fetacey today. Right. Yeah. Podcaster, Extraordinary. Yeah, and we talked to her. about what it's like in California.

It's crazy town. And also her evolution as somebody who hadn't been around here in Texas since 2018. She's been in lockdown in California. We talked to her about that and what's happening with our kids in mental health, all on today's podcast. You're listening to the best of the Glenback program. All right. So the vaccine mandate for Southwest Airlines has been. held up, a federal judge has rejected the pilots challenge. We have Captain Casey Murray on. He's the

president of Southwest Airlines Pilots Association. He's been on with us before. Captain Casey, how are you, sir? I'm doing well, Glenn. How are you? Well, good. It was better, you know, until I heard that Southwest Airlines can continue, according to a federal judge, with their vaccine mandate. So what does this mean to you guys? It is well. But more so disappointed in Southwest. We, you know, we were forced to reach out to the federal court system to force Southwest to come and talk to us about numerous items. We had actually filed in August a status quo lawsuit over several issues that the company wasn't bargaining with us on, coming to the table and talk about the issues surrounding it.

And they still haven't done that. And they've also said now with this that the mandate is going forward, but they won't fire any of, they won't fire any of the pilots that refuse to get it. So what does that mean? It's from them that pilots could apply for exemptions. And if they were granted, some of them would be changing. And said, hey, we will pay the sick time. we will pay you for that has changed six times in writing and and and and and we have gary

kelly's word who by the said no one will be fired but but what happens in march and april well wait a minute wait a minute hang on just a second if you if you can't work because you haven't gotten the vaccine you know there's something that i find amazing that happens with the teachers unions in new york city if you are deemed a pedophile they can't fire you So they just put you in a room with other pedophile teachers and you just sit there and you do nothing every day, but you're getting paid. I mean, if you're a pedophile, I guess that's a pretty good gig for you. But if you're a pilot, nobody wants to sit around in a room and do nothing. What are they going to do?

Well, that's the question. And again, we haven't been able to sit down and have discussions with them. You know, we're, the judge ruled, and that is what it is, and we're looking at our steps now moving forward. But, but again, all we've asked for this whole time is for Southwest to stop these unilateral decisions, these unilateral, you know, policies without sitting down. They're marching all over our contract. And I'm really, you know, concerned with the ruling in how Southwest is, is really, you know, undermining what the RLA actually stands for, the Railroad Labor Act. Well, I would encourage anybody that, well, I mean, I don't know what you do.

I was going to say I encourage anybody who has the money. I mean, Southwest is a great deal, and a lot of people don't have the money to fly, especially some of the prices are outrageous now. But if you have the money, don't fly on Southwest because they, at least, I guess, haven't really made the decision officially yet. I have to tell you, Casey, I'm really concerned. This vaccine mandate goes into full effect across the nation on November 22nd. And we have 60% of DHS or what are the TSA that hasn't been vaccinated yet.

Now that number is a couple of weeks old, so it might be closer to 40% now. But you're running out of time. And when that goes into effect, three days. days before Thanksgiving. I think these airports are going to be nightmares. Yeah. You said don't fly Southwest. You know, we're definitely not there.

Southwest is relying on all of the frontline employees, and they're doing a great job, everybody. Our pilots, the most productive out there, our pilots will get our passengers to where they need to go. But I am disappointed in Southwest, and I do think that moving forward, a lot of what the lawsuit, not just on the mandate front, but the lawsuit was sure that a lot of the issues we're seeing with Southwest operationally, the entire summer doesn't occur again.

Yeah. Can you respond to the TSA thing? You have confidence that Thanksgiving's not going to be an absolute nightmare? It's a challenge. Mandates, we, this pronouncement that is affecting us. That's a big question. Southwest is preparing for in the holidays. And like I said, like this summer when we weren't really given the tools to do what we needed to do, came through admirably.

And we will again, all the employees of Southwest. You know, really disappointed in management. Casey, I think everybody knows the spirit of Southwest and the employees, and you guys do a great job. You really do. But people are really getting sick of this. I mean, our doctors are being fired. Our policemen are being fired. Our firefighters are being fired.

Now, you know, the people who make our lives, you know, really kind of easy, not the TSA, but the airlines being able to go and see our family and go travel. And now that's, you guys are being fired for it. America is right at the edge of saying enough is enough. And it would be certainly great to see somebody like Southwest Airlines stand up. up and say, hey, you know what? We are the airline of the little people, and we do care about the little people, and we don't look at our employees like little people, and we don't look down on our ticket buyers as little people either.

We're part of you. We serve the people. And I just, there's a huge market for that. If anybody has the freaking balls to do it, and I would hope that Southwest would, uh, I hope Southwest would get that message and hear it. Captain, thank you so much. Thank you. You bet. Captain Casey Murray from Southwest Airlines.

Pilots, we are behind you. You just have to let us know. Whose side are you on? Whose side are you on? And how can we help you? This is the best of the Glenn Beck program. All right. Get some duct tape right now.

I'll wait. I'll stall here for a bit. But you got to get some duct tape because you got to wrap it around your head because your head's going to explode. And when it does, the duct tape won't stop your head from explode. You just have to wrap your head tightly in it. And then at least you'll have all the pieces when you get to the emergency room. And they look at you and go, have you been vaccinated? And you're like, my head has exploded.

They're like, I know. but have you been vaccinated? Anyway, after that argument, they'll have all the pieces to put your head back together. So grab the duct tape because here we go. Last year, current students and alumni of the Coastal Carolina University Department of Theater gathered together to fight racial injustice

and they created a list of demands for the faculty and the administrators. I love that. I love people who have a list of demands. According to the student's website, and you can see it at ccutheater.com. Here are just a few of the things they demanded. Extensive and reoccurring diversity, equity,

and inclusion training for faculty and staff with disciplinary consequences if not upheld. I love you already as a student. Department wide ban on phrases like colorblind casting. Wait, what? Oh. A requirement to hire two. People of color faculty or staff members by 2025 and a public apology to all people of color students for all of the inequity and trauma that they have experienced.

Oh my gosh, who's got a boo-boo? Let me get a Band-Aid. Well, the faculty complied. Wrong answer. The students have now been running the show and now these same theater students are refusing to go to class until our next. next guest, Professor Steve Ernest, is fired. Now, why should he be fired? Dare I even tell the story. It boils down to this. Yes, and I'm going to say it, he wasn't outraged enough. Here's what happened. A guest artist at the university met with two students after a class. One student said she felt so isolated as a person of color and wanted to get to know more non-white students.

The guest artist suggested, well, you might want to make a group of non-white students that you can get together and you can talk about it. So they proceeded together to write down the names of non-white students in the theater department on the board while they brainstormed ideas. Well, they forgot to erase the board after they left and the next class of actors entered the room. Now, when I say actors, what I mean at primed revolutionaries, really. They saw the list and they were outraged. They staged a protest refusing to go to class to show their disgust. There is a list of all of the minorities, all of the people of color in the theater department on the board. Now, you may have noticed that our next guest hasn't even entered the story yet.

So when it comes to light that it was all a misunderstanding, the diversity, equity, and inclusion committee wrote to the theater department students to apologize to them for how they may have been affected by this incident. Again, the incident being that students' names had been written on a board. So now Mr. Steve Ernest comes in. And he replied to the email from the committee saying, sorry, but I don't think this is a big deal. I'm really sad that people get their feelings hurt so easily. And they're going into theater. Ha ha ha!

Yes, because you're going to get your feelings hurt all the time in theater. But he can't say that. For this, the students protested again, boycotted their classes, calling for him to be fired. On September 20th, the Dean of Humanities and Fine Arts Department told Mr. Ernest not to come to class to send her his syllabus. He was suspended from teaching. He joins us now, along with the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education and their Faculty Legal Defense Fund to push back against the university who seems to be working towards his termination. Steve, how are you, sir? I'm amazed at your storytelling ability.

That was kind of wonderful. I wanted to hear you more. Well, thank you. So, Steve, did I get that story right? Absolutely, spot on and well told. Yeah, unfortunately, everything that you said was true. And your email was not about, oh, who's got a boo-boo like my email would have been.

But your email was, you guys are going into theater. You can't be this raw, correct? Yes, absolutely. And, you know, I mean, no one is more supportive of students that I have been. And it was just, you know, guys, move on. Let's focus on what you need to be doing right now in your training and not all of these. You know, and this is not the first situation like this. And, you know, we all want diversity, equity, and inclusion.

But, you know, this has just been pushed too far. Can you tell me why they wanted a department-wide ban on phrases like colorblind casting? That one I didn't really understand. I mean, you know, we've been doing this for, we've been doing this for two decades now, you know. Colorblind casting and casting of people, you know, of color in, you know, non-traditional roles. and Shakespeare has just been, it's been very common in the theater. You know, I came from California to South Carolina, where at a school where I taught 30% white people.

You know, colorblind casting was just, we didn't really even factor that ever into the situation. Right. You know. I mean, and it is funny because, you know, we've been doing this for two decades. Orson Wells did it with Shakespeare in the 1920s or early 1930s, where it was an all black cast of Othello except for him.

And now he gets hammered because he put blackface on to play that. Oh my gosh. He did an all black cast except for one white cat. Yeah. Yeah. In the 1920s or 30s. I mean, just never anything is enough. It's just never enough.

So what's happening now? You're with fire, and they're representing you, right? Yes. And, you know, nothing's really happening. You know, there have been a few meetings that I was not in attendance of with lawyers. And I've been told that they want me to resign or they'll terminate me. But I don't really know the reason other than what we have in front of us here. So, yeah, it's just been just a time of me doing not very much, working on a few projects of my own and just waiting.

Wow. So let me ask you, the mob mentality on the university campus, have they just taken over our universities? Yeah, we're starting to see that. And it's not only at Coastal Carolina University. And this was a, you know, we don't have these kind of incidents there. I don't know of many ever, but we are seeing this, you know, and not only, I've been fortunate enough not only to meet fire, but also counterweight, which is another organization like this that protects free speech, go more on an international level. And this is happening in England. This is happening in France. This is happening in countries all around the world now at institutions of higher education, where the mob mentality is demonstrating against. this faculty member of that for whatever type of language that they've used and hurt feelings

and this kind of a thing. So, you know, it's something that I'm really intent on stepping out there and slowing down and getting people just to come back to reason. So, but if you can't do it there, I mean, I really believe, Steve, there has to be almost a parallel economy because things are going so quick. crazy now that I don't know where to send my kids to college. You know, I'd rather have them not go to college and just find different ways to teach them the things they need to know because it's all seemingly almost all indoctrination.

It has nothing to do with higher education. And having been in it for 30 years, I can say that there has certainly been a move in that direction, you know, and a lot of people feel just the same way that you do. that these are just, you know, liberal training boot camps now with very little to do with intense subject subject of the study matter or to learn discipline and other things like this that we learned, you know, back in the day. Steve, I can't tell you, my professor, I was in high school, and we had a doctor of theater who taught us.

I went to an art school. And he was amazing. Dr. Beath, he changed my life and opened me up to so many things. I happen to know one of your students because I just hired her. I think she's absolutely brilliant. And she raves about you. And I would love to know if you don't get this job back, you know, if there's anybody who's looking for a theater professor, I'd love to be able to pass it on because my daughter wants to be in theater.

And luckily, I happen to know some really good people that, you know, were very successful in that arena that are not part of this liberal cabal. And so she's learning from those people. But when she goes to college, I know what she's going to face, especially in theater. It's always been a little crazy. You have to be a little crazy to be in theater in the arts. And, you know, I think people like you who are willing to stand up and say, look, I'm not a racist. We all want to get along. We all want, you know, fairness, et cetera, et cetera, and equality.

But none of this nonsense is happening in the classroom. None of it. We're here to learn about this topic. And if you don't go back, I'd love to help you find a job. That would be, you know, and I think a lot of this may be. have to do with what I call pandemic frustration. Some people out in California have asked me if this is not part of that, who are in theater, who are professors of theater in California, because the world of theater

has been literally shut down for two years. You know, we've been hit hard as any industry, and so there's been a lot of frustration out there and just an unusual amount of hatred going on just because of what the future holds out there. It is, I would hate to be. a student at this time in the world because they're being told the lies that you'll never make it, that the world is going to, you know, burn itself out in 20 years. I mean, it is such a bleak picture that the, I think, the lies that are being told about America and the globe,

I would hate to be a student now. I don't know, I don't know how you would get up every morning and say, hey, I've got a bright future ahead of me. Steve, thank you so much. I really appreciate it. It's been wonderful talking to you. Thank you so much. A theater professor at Coastal Carolina University

facing termination over racism charges because he said, who's got a boo-boo? Except he said it better than that. This is the best of the Glenn Beck program. One of my favorite people, she kind of feels like a sister of mine. Bridget Fettysi, host of Walkins Welcome, the podcast, and she's a fantastic writer.

She used to be, you would consider yourself very, very liberal progressive in the past. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah, you would hate me, right? You probably did. Yeah, yeah. You didn't need to say it that way. It seemed like there was a change built into that either.

It was like, yes, yes, I do. I used to. What are you talking about? And you had an awakening. you haven't been in the studio for since 2018 because you've been in California lockdown. Yes. Yeah. How's I've been?

You're still in lockdown. No, it's still just, it's opening up, but it's still, it's weird. I didn't even realize until I was in Texas how much Stockholm syndrome sets in, even for someone like me who's pretty free and not, I never really, my husband was in, he worked in a grocery store through the whole pandemic. So he was coming and going and working and working. and never stopped working. And so we didn't get that weird being locked down.

We didn't have the luxury of not being, you know, interacting with other humans. And so it was pretty normal. And then we just kind of rolled with all of it. And then I came here and I was like, oh, I feel so free. I feel happy. I feel excited. I see a path forward in life. I don't feel like I'm living in a dying state that's on hospice.

It's so weird. Living in Texas, unless I'm going to Florida, I feel exactly the opposite. Every time I travel someplace, I'm like, good God, how do people live here? What is this? Yeah, it is. And I'm not the kind of person that I still have been living my life, but I guess just not being aware of how bad things look around me. I realize I don't really want to leave my house because I don't want to see how bad it looks. And it really is tragic what's happened in San Francisco, LA and it gets worse. I've heard that it is. It's tragic. I've heard that it is beyond your imagination bad. Yeah, it's not, it's really just, and it, and there's no, there's no stop to it. There doesn't seem to be any stopping the process. There's no, you know, you had that whistle stop. You had that.

It was called, uh, Larry Elder. That might have changed things. Yeah, that wasn't. I mean, the minute he got, he got the nomination, or the, he was the frontrunner. I think they, It became less of a referendum on Newsome and more of a referendum on Trump. So that was the best thing that ever happened to Newsom. Yeah. Because all of a sudden it was like, well, we don't want another Trump. And it was very easy for them to pivot. They're going to say that about any.

They said that about Mitt freaking Romney. Of course, of course. Who is the most milk toast oatmeal I've ever seen in my life. He was the devil. Yeah. Yeah. So Newsom, Newsom is a, and you know, people seem to be, they seem to be. be okay with all of it. And it's a lot of neuroticism. There's just so much fear. And there's just fear

everywhere in America, but it's not the same level as in a lot of these liberal cities that I've been in. There's fear here, but it is. Fear of Californians moving here. Yeah. It really is. I mean, we check you at the gates now. You know, Hawaii had just started using these robot dogs. Oh, yeah, I saw those. Yeah. I mean, you bring one of those robot dogs to Texas, and I think you would have a hard time keeping that robot dog walking. It's just target practice in Texas. Yeah, it would be.

Yeah. They would be. They put cans on top of it. It's a moving target. Yeah, and they're going to, you know, look for COVID-19 and these little robots are out. I mean, this is like a movie. I know. We live in, it's, I was thinking about the last time I was here and how it was weird.

It was already weird, but it's got, we're through the fully. through the looking glass that's in the looking glass. Yeah. You were, the last time you were here, it was weird because there were very few people like you. Yeah. That were waking up.

And you were really still at the very beginning. You're like, I'm kind of uncomfortable. I don't know exactly if I should be seen with you. You know, it wasn't even that. I just also had never done media. You know,

I think my first media was with Ben Shapiro in 2018. Oh, wow. In October of 2018, right before the, midterms, that was when I did my first media hit ever in my life. And I, so I did get kind of thrown into the space. And then not only am I thrown into the space, I'm thrown into the space with Nazis, in quotes. Yeah. Yeah. And it was very, you know, even as I look back, it's, it was very, and like you said, there wasn't, there weren't, we've seen a huge, large portion of

people who have been refugees from the left. Yeah, there is something happening. I mean, the let's go Brandon, the deal, the song, you know, now thwarting Adele for the top of the charts, Dave Chappelle. Yeah. I mean, I don't think anyone but Dave Chappelle could survive what he's, what he's doing. But it shows how ridiculous they are. You didn't watch the special.

If you think that's who he is, you didn't watch it. Yeah. Or they did watch it, but they still want him to be that. How, yeah. How, though? How do you make him, if you watch, did you watch it? I did, of course. You saw the ending?

Yeah, of course. How? How is this guy a hater? Yeah, I think people see what they want to see, though, in many instances in life. And I think that if you are committed to the idea of Dave Chappelle being a transphobe for a for example. So that whole story was a lie? I mean, you listen to it. You cry. You have to be dead inside not to cry. Yeah. I mean, I think the criticism that what that I've read and heard is that it was like saying, oh, this is, you know, I have a black friend. It was him saying like I have a trans friend.

Oh, shut up. I mean, it was good. I think it's good though to see Netflix backing him. That was really even more important than the... He backed them. He backed out a little bit. He did it. I was saying this. People are like, he caved. I'm like, no, he didn't.

If you read the actual statement, he basically said, I should have been led with humanity and then told them to go kick rocks. And I'm still telling them to go kick rocks and we're not taking it down. This is a multi-step process, though, Bridget. I mean, the Washington Redskins for years

said they would never change the name. And then they changed the name. Yeah, but they didn't. The Cleveland? I think, no, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. I think the, and now that it may be all wet on this, but I think the Washington football team was brilliantly selected because people still call them the Redskins.

Yes, I agree. They didn't change the name, and they have the ability, because the Washington football team is the worst thing ever. Right, no one can say it. And so they're just like, this is going to end soon. I mean, you know, Hitler was eventually exposed. it's going to go back to normal at some point. Keep the Red Sien stuff in a warehouse.

We'll sell it maybe 20 years down the road. I'm just saying that there's a long history of, I mean, I think Chappelle is the only guy I can think of that maybe is able to survive this. But we've seen so many people that it starts, that little ball starts rolling. And eventually they fail. I think it's different this time because you have average people standing up now. Yeah. You know, it's not just, you're not just standing.

standing out alone, you know, this thing that's happening in the school districts is so critically important. These parents standing up and saying, excuse me, no, these are my children. Yeah. A lot of people want to make it out like it's right-wing media that's brainwashing all these parents. And I think people underestimate that the pandemic in this instance was an opportunity to reveal. Yeah.

parents were seeing what was being taught and hearing it and they're like wait what? Yeah. What did your teacher just say? What are you learning? Yeah. Why aren't you learning math? Right. And it's crazy because I don't think like when Obama went on the campaign trail this last week and he was like, you know, just drummed up, you know, nonsense.

And you're like, shut up. The fake culture war's comment. Yeah, the fake culture war thing. What a, I mean, coming from him, that's rich. Right. Isn't it? Rich. Yeah.

How did you feel about Glenn's Obama impersonation there? It was pretty good. Yeah. No, I'm horrible at impression. Yeah. Anyway can do something moderately. So I'm impressed. Let me,

let me be a little harsh. Yes. About you. Okay. Here we go. During the pandemic, you were, I didn't know where you were on some of the authoritarian kind of stuff. You know what I mean?

So did you change? Is there what happened? I wrote a piece about this about just things that I got wrong in general in 2020. And I think at the beginning, I didn't, I heard everybody being like, they're not going to take this power away. And this is my kind of naivete, I guess, as coming from the left is I was like, yeah, two weeks to just like chill things out and let the hospitals catch up. I think, I have to tell you, I would.

there too. We didn't know. Everyone knows now. We didn't know. And it was bad. They were freaking welding people into houses in China. So I agree. I was very much like, all right. And I've come out and said, I mean, and I saw guys like Jesse Kelly who were like, you don't do this. This is insane. And it felt hyperbolic to me. And oh boy, that's really what's like traumatized me. I was thinking about this the other day, you know, and they're like, we're just going to do a vaccine passport. we're just going to do a mandate. I'm like, no, I don't trust you guys with anything anymore. Anything ever.

You lost all your credibility. And then shredding the credibility. I mean, being in L.A. during the protest slash riots. Oh, my gosh. That was crazy. Craziness. I mean. And so do your neighbors notice that?

It's, they really, they do. But most of, I think, I do think a lot of the people who left are generally center right and maybe Republicans who left these, you know, people worry that it's all people, liberals coming to these red states, but the numbers aren't really showing that. I would tell you right now, the California's that I met, some of them are more conservative than the Texans that have grown up here. Yeah. The, you know, I would say the same to you. Get the hell out. Oh, yeah. I mean, if you, if you don't agree with what the left is doing right now,

These are really bad guys. Yeah. You know, the people who are leading some of these charges, they do believe in they have a right to do whatever is good for the collective. Yeah. That's really dangerous. Yeah. So that was, I mean, I don't, I guess it was, I think in the early days, we were like, what's the problem? And then quickly it became, I became aware that this, the people who I believed were being hyperbolic and fear mongering were actually correct.

and then just seeing the fallout. And of course, as we learn more about the virus and what was actually going on. So I think his more knowledge came out, but really, I really think that just having everybody locked down, telling everybody they couldn't leave, then you had these kind of Patriot protests, and then watching everybody pivot and say,

oh, like you had epidemiologists coming out and saying that you can go protest in a pandemic because racism is the real virus and now you have thousands and thousands of people in the street. And that just, I think it broke me. How do you even explain the border? How do you explain the border? You're not even testing them for COVID. You're releasing them.

They don't have to wear a mask. They don't have to get double vaccinated. It makes no sense. I mean, it is so clearly a lie. Yeah, and it's almost, that's almost an invisible story. If you don't watch anything outside of MSNBC, CNN, unless they're not. they're forced to cover it. They're not really covering it.

So people don't even really know about what's happening. It's, yeah. So, I mean, fair, fair to push me on that. I definitely. Well, I don't think, I mean, because I was the same way. When it was 15 days to flatten the curve, I thought that was reasonable. I thought it was shocking. But I thought it was reasonable because we didn't know what we were dealing with yet.

But the minute we started to see and we were, okay, okay, wait a minute. those all that all should have gone away and you can't close the economy for three months you just can't and it was it was a mistake i mean the real way to handle it i think was the way sweden or the omish did many and many states were open when i was in texas a year ago yeah they were open so there are places that have been pretty open since that summer yeah and the one that leads the nation in the least amount of COVID new COVID cases is now Florida yeah I mean after they had the highest number of weeks that again goes that again goes to herd mentality kind of thinking I mean isn't it just because they have a lot of olds a lot of olds there's a lot of

olds there is what we're told yeah