The Internet is buzzing with a story about a little girl’s interesting name. A mom named Traci Redford accused a Southwest Airlines employee of mocking her daughter’s name last month. Her daughter’s name is spelled Abcde (pronounced ab-city).
Traci and her daughter were preboarding at the John Wayne Airport in Orange County, California, due to Abcde’s epilepsy. The Southwest Airlines gate agent reportedly began pointing and laughing and making fun of Abcde’s name with other employees.
What Happened Next
Traci heard everything and asked them to stop because her daughter could clearly hear them making fun of her. Her daughter, who is only five years old, asked her mother why they were mocking her name. Traci said that she replied that not everyone is nice and it is unfortunate.
The incident didn’t end there. Apparently, one of the Southwest employees took a photo of the girl’s boarding pass and posted in on Facebook to make fun of her name further. Another social media user found it and sent it to Traci. She then issued a formal complaint to Southwest Airlines. The complaint went unanswered for weeks.
The Airline’s Statement And Apology
The airline has finally apologized to Traci and Abcde in a public statement after she took her complaint public. According to Yahoo!, the statement said:
“We extend our sincere apology to the family. We take great pride in extending our Southwest Hospitality to all of our Customers, which includes living by the Golden Rule and treating every individual with respect, in person or online. The post is not indicative of the care, respect, and civility we expect from all of our Employees. We have followed up with the Employee involved, and while we do not disclose personnel actions publicly, we are using this as an opportunity to reinforce our policies and emphasize our expectations for all Employees.”
Apparently, this employee has posted photos before making fun of people. There is no word on whether or not this employee has been fired or whether they have issued a direct apology themselves. It appears her social media accounts have been taken down.
Mom: Names her kid #Abcde
People: That's kind of a weird name
Mom: pic.twitter.com/1vgC0ZyFgk— Jesnic (@JesnicTV) November 29, 2018
Both the employee and Abcde’s mother have been getting negative comments directed towards them on social media. Many people are angry that someone would name their daughter such a strange name and while others are upset that someone would make fun of a child.
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john redman says
Whiner. Name a kid something goofy and then act all offended when normal people find it goofy. Attention sow.
Kurt says
Where in this article did the mother defend giving her child such a dumb name?
AmazedHuman says
I don’t care what the woman says, giving a kid a name like that is either ignorant or lazy. And to act all defensive and offended when someone calls her on it is sheer goofy.
Kristin Haskins says
A parent has a right to name a child whatever he or she wishes.
After THAT, the parents have the choice to accept the unpleasant remarks, deal with it, or change the name.
I cannot support any other thing such as a lawsuit; that would be simply ridiculous!
JJ says
The employe wasn’t mocking the child, but the parent for giving the poor kid such a dumb name. You should be able to name your child anything you want, but if it is something ridiculous then you need to grow a thick skin. Or better still name the child something unique/unusual that isn’t just a string of the alphabet with no genuine pronunciation attached to it.
Realistic Mom says
That is the exact attention the parent wanted when naming the child in the first place.
Tony Slater says
Better check funk&wagnels for the meaning of that name………its not a word let alone a name……
Rick says
naming your kid some retarded name nobody can say or spell is close to child abuse. the child has a life time of crap coming because mommy wanted to be retarded “creative”.
Vicci Gates says
A different spelling may have been wiser. It’s a pretty namy though. Unfortunately it’s a juvenile mindset that has nothing better to do than mock the decision of a parent on what they name their child.
Charles McKenna says
When I was a primary school teacher on Oahu Hawai’i I had a student named ABCDE, there was also another with that name at the school too. Among ourselves we shook our heads and shrugged why would anyone name their daughter that? HOWEVER no one ever mocked either of those children. We all had much more class than that.
KRISTINE ANN JOHNSON KREKELBERG says
Why do you need to make any type of comments. It is obviously NOT any of your business. Such talk is totally UNPROFESSIONAL and UNCALLED FOR. In the Christian community you would call it GOSSIP and IT IS SINFUL and disgusting.
KRISTINE ANN JOHNSON KREKELBERG says
I think that is absurd for someone to do that and shows total LACK of character and maturity