We’ve grown so accustomed to hearing horror stories involving airlines that we almost have a visceral reaction every time we come across a TikTok with an airline brand in the title. So, imagine our surprise when we stumbled upon a video by TikTok user Pervez Taufiq (@ptaufiqphotography), where the airline actually turned out to be the silver lining in the story.
The ordeal began when the photographer and his family landed in Los Angeles, and fate threw them a curveball during a seemingly routine airport transfer. While riding a United Airlines shuttle bus, Taufiq encountered a racist Karen. What should have been a peaceful family trip took a sharp turn when this woman began harassing his young son, repeatedly telling the child to shut up.
As the harassment escalated, Taufiq started recording the incident, later sharing the footage on TikTok. In the video, the woman can be seen relentlessly berating the family, spewing nonsensical, racially charged remarks, and frankly, she might as well be wearing a bright sign that screamed she’s intoxicated.
“Your family is from India; you have no issues, no respect, no roles. You think you can push everyone!” she rants. “You guys are f***ing crazy,” she continues while making obscene gestures —just the type of behavior that screams totally rational and sane (yes, that’s sarcasm).
“Indian people are crazy? You told me to have more curry, right?” asks Taufiq, to which the Karen responds by grabbing her phone to record him and refers to the photographer as “tandoori ass.” The altercation went on for a few more minutes until a United Airlines worker arrived and demanded the Karen be removed for her rude and racist behavior. Of course, as you might expect, she quickly retracted the accusation, claiming he was the one being racist toward her because “she’s American.” Ironically, Taufiq was born and raised in America, as he quickly points out in the video.
The situation continued to escalate until the Karen was finally removed. According to Taufiq, United Airlines called security officers, who considered removing her for her racist and violent antics, especially after her husband attempted to react violently toward Taufiq in front of his family and son.
Unsurprisingly, viewers flooded the comment section to show their support for Taufiq and his family. “She’s a drunk. Wow. People like that need to be silenced,” said one user. Many others expressed their shock that no one on the shuttle intervened in the face of such blatant racism and obscene behavior. “I’m sorry, but shame on every single person on that bus who did not say a word! I’m so sorry this happened,” another user commented. “I hope she’s held accountable for this,” said someone else.
As karma would have it, TikTok sleuths quickly got to work. TikTok user Savannah (@rx0rcist) stitched Taufiq’s video with details about the woman’s identity. While we’re not ones to encourage doxxing, the revelations that followed made the situation even more ironic. The woman, identified as Arlene Bunch, is — surprise, surprise — a real estate agent.
Savannah’s video also revealed another layer of irony: Arlene was involved in a severe house explosion in 2023. “Hey Arlene Bunch, is this you?” Savannah asked in the video. “I see you updated your profile picture 15 hours ago. I guess trying to run from accountability faster than that house that exploded last year with you inside it.” Harsh, but deserved. “It’s crazy to think that someone who looked like this just a year ago is now using their energy to spew racist, hateful vitriol toward a family and children.”
On top of this morally questionable behavior, Savannah brings up a critical point: Arlene Bunch is a real estate agent, and her discriminatory actions raise serious concerns about her ability to provide fair and unbiased service to her clients. “Your racism is also professionally questionable because fair housing laws strictly prohibit real estate agents from discriminating against anybody — yet, here you are, being openly racist while actively brokering deals with international markets. I wonder what the state of California would think about this, bestie,” Savannah pointed out.
Well, Savannah, we’ve got the answer. According to the State of California’s Civil Rights Department website, it is explicitly stated that it’s “illegal to discriminate against or harass someone because of a protected characteristic, such as their gender, race, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, or religion.” This law applies to “landlords, tenant screening companies, property management companies, real estate agents,” among others. It seems the future might be looking a little less rosy for Bunch.