American Airlines issued an apology to a Texas couple after an employee attached a note to their luggage referring to them as "deaf and dumb," ABC News reported.
The couple, James Moehle and Angela Huckaby, found the note on a receipt for their lost luggage when it was returned following a trip from Hawaii.
"Please text, deaf and dumb," the note said, offering instructions on how to get in contact with the couple, ABC News reported.
"I cannot describe how I felt," James Moehle said in a text message to ABC News. "I felt lost, angry, confused and mistreated."
Moehle followed up with a letter to the airline, calling for disciplinary action against the author of the note.
"I assure you that neither of us are 'Dumb!' Rather, we are both hard-working individuals and responsible parents. We certainly deserve to be treated with dignity and respect," Moehle wrote, ABC News reported.
The word "dumb" used to be reserved for people who cannot talk. It is now considered insulting.
"We apologize to Mr. Moehle and Ms. Huckaby," read the American Airlines apology obtained by ABC News.
"It was clearly a very poor choice of words. We're confident that there was no ill will, but we'll be looking into this further and will be following up with our team members at IAH and the contractor that provides our baggage delivery services."
But Moehle and his mother, Kaye Moehle, feel the apology is not enough and that the airline is sweeping the issue under the rug.
"So far their messages have been dismissive," Kaye Moehle told ABC News. "I want to hear something like 'we take this seriously, we are investigating, and we will get back to you.' "
James Moehle, an air conditioning and heating technician, lost his hearing after suffering from spinal meningitis when he was 17-months old. Huckaby is also deaf, ABC News reported.
James' mother said people don't understand what deaf people go through. Those who cannot hear do things like everyone else does.
"Hearing people aren't ever called 'hearing and dumb,' " the mother said.
