A liberal journalist's complaint about a flight attendant's "blessed night" wish has ignited a firestorm on social media, with conservatives and even some liberals condemning her overreaction as an example of anti-Christian bias.
The controversy erupted after Mother Jones editor-in-chief Clara Jeffery took to Twitter to ridicule an Alaska Airlines flight attendant who wished passengers a "blessed" night at the end of a recent flight. Jeffery characterized the sendoff as "creeping Christian nationalism" and suggested that the attendant should have used more "secular" adjectives like "great" or "awesome" instead.
Her post quickly went viral, garnering over three million views on Twitter and sparking a deluge of comments from prominent users. Many conservatives and some liberals expressed outrage at Jeffery's apparent offense to a simple expression of politeness.
Flight Attendant's 'Blessed Night' Wish Sparks Outrage, Mocking from Media
Washington Post columnist Marc Thiessen responded to Jeffery's post with a blunt message: "How sad and impoverished is your life that you're offended by someone blessing you? Get a grip."
Kamala Harris campaign fundraiser Armand Domalewski also criticized Jeffery, writing, "Respectfully, I'm a pretty left-leaning guy and I wish folks a blessed day fairly often. It's just a nice thing to say."
Flight Attendant's 'Blessed Night' Wish Sparks Outrage, Mocking from Media
However, Jeffery defended her position, asserting that using religious language in public spaces shows a lack of respect for those who may not share the same beliefs. She added that it goes against the brand of Alaska Airlines, which she claimed is less associated with religion.
Domalewski disputed Jeffery's claim, noting that as a practicing Catholic, he does not feel like being publicly Christian is dominant in San Francisco.
Flight Attendant's 'Blessed Night' Wish Sparks Outrage, Mocking from Media
The Blaze's Jessica O'Donnell slammed Jeffery, posting, "You have issues greater than a flight attendant's well wishes."
Canadian conservative activist Billboard Chris shared old posts of Jeffery's in which she herself used "God bless" or praised others for using similar language.
Jonah Goldberg, the editor-in-chief of The Dispatch and a columnist for the L.A. Times, ripped Jeffery, writing, "This is a bizarre and pretty indefensible overreaction, imo."
Pollster Frank Luntz asked Jeffery, "Do you get alarmed if people say ‘bless you’ after you sneeze?"
Washington Examiner contributor Kimberly Ross denounced Jeffery's post, stating, "This is not ‘creeping Christian nationalism.’ This is someone showing kindness to others. It's not offensive. It's not a demand for religious conversion. The issue here is you processed it as a problem that requires a public complaint while tagging the airline. Time to grow up."
The controversy highlighted the growing divide in American society between those who view religious expression in public spaces as acceptable and those who perceive it as a threat to secularism. It also exposed the hypocrisy of some liberal commentators who claim to be tolerant of all religions but are intolerant of Christian beliefs and practices.
