A part-time conductor at a famous Tennessee railway has been fired after a viral video captured him spreading an Independence Day message to passengers.  Jack Peterson, the now-fired conductor for Chattanooga’s Inclined Railway, can be heard in the viral TikTok video wishing the easily-offended passengers a “Happy Independence Day.” “To the very, very few Americans in here, Happy Independence Day,” Peterson said in the video, while one of the passengers told him to “shut up.” “To the rest of you. Welcome to the greatest country on the face of the planet, and if you disagree, you can leave,” Peterson said. The video was taken and uploaded by Nathan Scherer, who traveled with his family from Florida to Chattanooga for July 4. @natescherer Had an interesting train operator on The Incline in TN today #lookoutmountain #racism #xenophobia #theincline #tennessee ♬ original sound – Nathan Scherer Scherer used hashtags such as “racism” and “xenophobia” on TikTok, where the video has been viewed over 600,000 times. “It just really upset me, the whole time riding down,” Charles Scherer, Nathan’s father, told Katie Glanton with 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.” Scherer reported the incident to the Chattanooga Area Regional Transportation Authority (CARTA), and Peterson was fired immediately, according to the New York Post.  “He will not work for CARTA or the Incline Railway again,” CARTA said in a statement reported by News Channel 9. “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,” said CARTA Chief of Staff Scott Wilson in an emailed statement. “We have zero tolerance for language that demeans or excludes anyone who rides with us.” “For 131 years, the Incline Railway has welcomed visitors from Chattanooga and from around the world,” Wilson said. “Every passenger who boards our railway deserves to feel respected and welcome, and we are committed to making sure that is always the case.” Peterson responded with his own statement and backed up his remarks, Fox 17 reported.  “I’m very patriotic, it was the USA’s Independence Day. I was celebrating with my fellow Americans (native or non-native). 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 ISA that many other countries do not have. 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?”