I am sorry I was gone...But I AM BACK!

Dear Everyone,

I am so sorry for neglecting you as long as I have. It's challenging when you dedicate so much of your life to something you believe in and people denigrate your character and call you out of your name and you lose friends. It can really take a lot out of even the most resilient person.

So, I’d like to address a few people who, like Neeleman, accused people like me of speaking our minds for attention and fame. I actually turned down interviews as a result of some of those comments. But now, I’m going back on CNN for a third time, because this story is not dead. It’s very much alive and relevant.

I think that Neeleman and JetBlue hoped I would just vanish with the news cycle, but all this hate mail and the continual support mail reinvigorated my sense of purpose and I remembered again what it is that got me started on this blog. It was to give you, my readers, a place to get your message out.

I’d like to confront the whole “American’s are so whiny” or “stop complaining there are worse problems in the world” stance. You know what’s American? Fighting for something you believe in. Isn’t that American? Being able to say what you want and fight for your rights? Isn’t that American? So next time you send back your steak, because it’s not medium rare, or when you return those pants, because you washed them and they got all misshapen, remember, there’s a person in Africa with no steak and no clothes. And yes, you are just as ridiculous.

I feel sorry for every single one of you who was wronged and didn’t have the guts to stand up for what you believe in, against a barrage of hateful people. What I did and will continue to do, that’s integrity. You know who doesn’t have integrity, the person who belittles a person who is strong enough to stand up for themselves and other. If you want to oppose me, come with something other than name calling. Otherwise, leave that on the school ground.

I love that your friends tell friends and tell friends and tell friends. You are the reason why my site received over 10,000 hits that first week. You are the reason my name and my site is still being talked about.

JetBlueHostage.com and JetBlue, built off the power of word of mouth. AMEN.

Love,
Gen