I am personally not inclined to partake in public displays of affection — there are various Jewish laws that make it inappropriate and, moreover, it is a kind of intimacy that I would only wish to share with my wife and not just random passersby. However, I do not hold it against other people — certainly would not complain to them or about them — it is up to them to share their affection in the manner that they see fit.
I found it extremely bizarre, therefore, when I read an article recently about an actress being escorted off of a plane for kissing — and reading a little bit further, I was just a little bit upset.
Hailey, who starred in Showtime series The L Word, says Southwest Airlines escorted her off a plane after she was affectionate with her girlfriend Camila Grey. The smooching happened in the air while the plane was traveling from Baltimore to St. Louis. A flight attendant told them other passengers had complained after witnessing the kissing. And once on the ground, Hailey was walked off the plane with Southwest crew as the conversation got heated.
What got me a bit upset was not the fact that she was removed from the plane for kissing — because that was not, in my opinion, the determining factor that got people to complain about her that led to her being removed. The determining factor was actually whom she was kissing — specifically, that she was kissing a woman. I have flown many places in the country and different parts of the world, and I have seen many kisses over the years and not a single one of them got anyone removed from the plane.
We are living in an era in which it is legal to marry your first cousin in more states than it is legal to marry someone of the same gender — a bit unbelievable, really. I can understand if you don’t like to see people kissing, or if you don’t like to see two people of the same gender kissing — you can choose not to look. Don’t ruin someone’s travel plans because you have such a hatred for public displays of affection. That is an astonishing way to be a petty, hateful person.