A Tennessee railway conductor has been fired after delivering a controversial Independence Day speech to passengers. Jack Peterson was one of the conductors who operated the famous 131-year-old Lookout Mountain Incline Railway in Chattanooga, but his short speech didn’t sit well with the passengers and people online due to what was labeled as “demeaning language.”
The clip, which was initially shared to TikTok, has since garnered a great deal of attention with people on both sides having strong opinions. In the original video, Peterson can be heard saying, “To the very, very few Americans in here, Happy Independence Day.” His opening line instantly elicits a few confused glances, headshakes, and eyerolls, with one person even telling him to “shut up.”
Peterson then continued, adding, “To the rest of you, welcome to the greatest country on the face of the planet, and if you disagree, you can leave.” The speech wasn’t exactly received well and commenters on TikTok tended to agree that what Peterson had said was “Unacceptable,” and “Completely uncalled for.”
Jack Peterson is fired by the Chattanooga Railway
Nathan Scherer, the individual who originally posted the clip to TikTok, labeled the speech as “racist” and “xenophobic” in the hashtags. His father, Charles Scherer, reportedly told management about Peterson’s speech after they disembarked according to the New York Post.
“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,” Charles said.
The Chattanooga Area Regional Transportation Authority (CARTA) revealed that Peterson had been immediately fired following the complaint. The Chief of Staff Scott Wilson apologized to customers and stated that “We have zero tolerance for language that demeans or excludes anyone who rides with us.”
Some people disagree
However, not everyone thinks that Peterson should have lost his job over the matter. In fact, some don’t think he said anything wrong at all. On X people claimed that the conductor was right, “Jack Peterson is 150% correct – we are the greatest. Bless him.” reads one post. And another person writes, “Apparently, now we can get fired for common sense.”
A GoFundMe was also set up in support of Peterson which has raised $2,000 of a $2,800 goal so far. Peterson himself has commented on the situation, stating that he did not intend his comments to be interpreted negatively but still defending his actions.
“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,” Peterson said, adding that he did not believe what he said was racist or xenophobic.
Published: Jul 8, 2026 03:20 pm