A patriotic Tennessee Incline Railway conductor was fired for his Independence Day message to passengers after an offended tourist reported his comments to the company.
Jack Peterson, the now-fired operator who worked at the 131-year-old attraction taking tourists up to Lookout Mountain in Chattanooga, told passengers: “To the very, very few Americans in here, Happy Independence Day. To the rest of you, welcome to the greatest country on the face of the planet, and if you disagree, you can leave.”
Passenger Nathan Scherer, who was vacationing with family, filmed Peterson and posted the video to TikTok with the hashtags “racism” and “xenophobia.” The video went viral and has been viewed more than half a million times, the New York Post reported.
@natescherer Had an interesting train operator on The Incline in TN today #lookoutmountain #racism #xenophobia #theincline #tennessee
♬ original sound – Nathan Scherer
Scherer also took it upon himself to report the part-time worker to the Chattanooga Area Regional Transportation Authority (CARTA), which operates the Incline.
“It just really upset me, the whole time riding down,” Nathan Scherer’s father, Charles Scherer, told WTVC. “And I kept thinking, ‘The company needs to know about this’ because he was the only one representing the company, and I just had a feeling that they don’t know that he is saying this.”
“I wanted to make sure that we didn’t have any problems with the Incline, we just really had a problem that you should be aware that he’s making comments like that,” Charles Scherer added.
Peterson told the outlet he stands by his message and did not mean any offense.
“I’m very patriotic; it was the USA’s Independence Day. I was celebrating with my fellow Americans (native or non-native),” Peterson told the outlet.
“I truly do believe we are the greatest country on earth. My statement about if you don’t like the country and don’t believe we are the best, then you can leave, is a freedom of the USA that many other countries do not have,” he said. “It is not a racist or xenophobic thing to say. If you don’t believe in making this country better, then why are you here?”
However, CARTA immediately fired Peterson after he was reported, the operator confirmed.
“I want to apologize directly to the passengers who experienced this, and to everyone who has seen the video and felt its sting. It should never have happened,” Scott Wilson, CARTA’s chief of staff, told the local outlet.
“We have zero tolerance for language that demeans or excludes anyone who rides with us,” Wilson added. “For 131 years, the Incline Railway has welcomed visitors from Chattanooga and from around the world. Every passenger who boards our railway deserves to feel respected and welcome, and we are committed to making sure that is always the case.”
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