Here's what I find hysterical about the irate flight attendant story

[skygazer]

So apparently this guy has become something of a folk hero to people, presumably because he had the nerve to speak up and defend himself and essentially "stick it to the man," in the parlance of our times.

Except most of these people who are cheering for him are probably the assholes who made him go off the deep end to begin with - the same ones who like to harass the flight attendant, or the grocery store clerk, or the bank teller. The thing about those people is, they never recognize themselves. I know - I see them all the time in my job. And they do cheer if I tell a customer they're being rude and they need to get out of my line but it doesn't mean they don't pull the same crap.

Just my observations on the news of the day (slightly late). :P

[Ilsa]

1. Good observations. I feel bad for the guy because they are

throwing the book at him. Unfortunately, the public safety issues have to be addressed. I hope he gets a medical/psych exam and they determine there were some unusual stressors and give him some sort of break so he doesn't do prison time, which seems like a waste to me.

[MajorChode]

2. That's not why he's a folk hero, IMO

He's a folk hero because like many people who have to deal with the public, he was forced to put on a happy face when dealing with dickheads. He finally reached his breaking point and told everyone off on his way out the door (which a great many people would love to do, but don't have the nerve). Believe it or not, everyone has their breaking point, including you and me. This guy put up with this type of crap for 20 years without breaking. That alone should tell you something. There may have been a lot of things going on in his life both on and off the job that led up to it.

I don't approve of what he did and personally I wouldn't consider him a folk hero, but I don't have to deal with the public as part of my job. I can see why some people might think differently.

[skygazer]

3. But that's my point

So many of the people hailing him have never worked with the public either. And so many of them are probably the same people who drove him to that point. I dream of being able to do what he did. I have a store of snappy remarks to make to customers on my (dreamed-about) last day. I want so badly to tell people who insist that they need something that I just don't have, "Oh, well, in that case wait her while I pull one out of my ass." So I can completely relate to his feelings. I just find it funny that so many of the people cheering him on are people who have never been in his position.

[MajorChode]

4. Perhaps many are

However, I don't think you need to have necessarily been there without at least having some idea. The biggest reason why people fuck with flight attendants and the like is because they know they can't get back in their face. So it gives them a sense of empowerment they enjoy, even if they know it's false. It's pretty sick if you think about it much. Not everyone is that way, though.