What Would You Do If a Passenger on a Plane Began to Act Strangely?

[The Cleaner]

NBC Today Show brought this question up this morning. My first thought was, "What's acting strangely?"

Are they fidgeting? Are they asking for too many martinis while muttering something about how they'd like to see their mother in law in a grave? Is the Arab guy across from you muttering under his breath something in Farsi while bobbing his head around? Is his friend laying a blanket down in the aisle for his daily prayer? And that white guy sure looks fishy, he keeps peeking into his briefcase and looking over his shoulder. Wait! There's a brother over there, he's reaching for his SHOE!!

What is "acting strangely?" And how can we really tell?

[Clark2008]

1. Why would an Arab guy be speaking Farsi?

Persians speak Farsi - unless, of course, the Arabic guy speaks another language.

[Demeter]

2. One Reason Why I'm Not Likely To Travel With My Autistic Daughter

in the near future. Why subject her to this? She's more normal than Bush, but still quite conspicuous, and we haven't any private, government-paid high tech airplane for her.

[Beausoir]

21. Wow. I had never thought about that. A really great point.

As you said...why subject her to this raging paranoia. And I have NO doubt that she is more normal than Bush. Isn't nearly everyone?

[xchrom]

3. EVERY flight i've ever been on

has somebody acting strangely.

you'd report somebody all the time if ''acting strangely'' was really an accurate criteria.

[POAS]

4. Wearing a pro-Bush button would be my clue.

for identifying stranfge behavior.

[ThomWV]

5. Every Plane I've Ever Been On Had At Least One Odd Asshole On It

For the most part I just tried to finish my corssword puzzle. So far its a ploy that has worked well for me. When in doubt, mind your own business.

[hlthe2b]

16. Like the Lesbian couple seated with me, who began to fight .....

(physically)--with me destined to catch any errant blows? Or, the drunk blowhard who is determined to make "friends" with me, getting ever closer with his toxic breath until he starts spewing his cookies?
Oh, the stories we could tell....

Crosswords never save me, unfortunately. Yet, none of these "strange" behaviors had me thinking anything other than "jerks."

[leveymg]

6. You mean like shedding his skin, hissing, spitting and slithering ?

[magellan]

7. Why doesn't it surprise me that they'd ask such an irresponsible question?

Actually the question is valid -- it just deserves to be more than a vague soundbyte. What indeed is "acting strangely"?? There's a line to be drawn and people need to be educated on it. (Not by this administration, however. They'd have you tackling the little old lady in 2C if a bit of powder fell out of her compact.)

I think most people have the common sense to know what's ODD and what isn't. Then there are the Kool-Aid drinkers who believe something insidious is going on because there are brown-skinned people in the local 7-11. They're exactly the paranoid nutcases this kind of question is meant to play to.

Welcome to DU! (Oh, and not to be unkind but for future reference: Farsi is a Persian language. There are arab Iranians, but most Iranians are not arab.)

[hlthe2b]

17. Yes... while Persians (Iranians) are largely Muslim and can read

the Koran in Arabic--few speak Arabic. They speak Farsi. Sort of like the formerly widespread use of Latin in Catholic services throughout the world. While few may have understood the Latin in conversant terms, repetition of its use in church, tends to get the general meaning across.

[angstlessk]

8. If I flew that would be me..I am EXTREMELY claustrophic AND

have suffered panic attacks in the past. The ony thing I could do during a panic attack was to leave the immediate area, not possible on an airplane. When I am in an enclosed space where I cannot leave I begin to FEAR having a panic attack and not having anyplace to go.

I did fly when I was young and before I ever experienced a panic attack and did not like flying even then. I would be looking up and down the aisle to see how other passengers seemed to be feeling in order to know if what was happening was normal or if I should be afraid, talking inssently to the passenger next to me..and I am sure I was pale as a ghost.

What would you do to me?

[Mr_Spock]

13. It's not unusual to sit near someone who has serious trepidations

about flying. I have calmly tried to relax the person next to me during a flight. I have had times when I was anxious and others have helped to calm me. I don't think anyone would "do" anything to you except try to remain calm as this helps. If you ran through the aisles screaming "we're all gonna die!!!!", I'd probably help to tackle you and put something over your mouth so the rest of the passengers don't panic. You do NOT want panic when trapped in a sardine can at 20,000 ft :D

[angstlessk]

14. If I did panic I would not run up and down the aisle-and unbalance

the airplane? NEVER. I would not move from my seat when I did fly, for fear of tilting the airplane, and I only weighed about 120 back then. If I flew now, I have no idea how a panic attack would display, I am shy and do not like attention, so screaming is unlikely...so I will just take a train or a boat, and save lots of people (including myself) from my stress.

[MoseyWalker]

9. look in the mirror

and ask "why me?"

[Mr_Spock]

10. I might get a bit nervous

I've flown quite a bit and it is unusual to have anything more than an occasional crying baby on a flight. When you are trapped on a plane with a bunch of strangers & one urinates on the floor (as the woman recently did), I'd tend to take notice. If someone were acting nervous & kept pacing, muttering & arguing with the stewardess, that would be a serious distraction as well. I probably wouldn't do anything unless they threatened me in some way; I surely think they overreacted in the most recent case. It's tough to know how you'd feel until you are there - trapped on a plane with someone acting in a way that is making the people around them nervous. If you don't have a little anxiety when you fly these days, then you are a very stoic person. It can be quite nerve-racking and this can lead to people overreacting at times. Flying is plenty nerve-racking to many people even without the added thoughts of "what if" you are the lucky one to have to deal with a nut-bag. It is in fact the added security that makes people even more anxious.

[Coyote_Bandit]

11. The person on a plane who most freaked me out

ever was a mid to late 50's white guy, slightly overweight, balding and very well dressed. Obviously had money. After the fligt took off he opened his briefcase and took out his Bible. After his obviously canned approach and lame attempt to convert me he spent most of th rest of the flight uttering gibberish and speaking in tongues. He was quiet and mostly muttered under his breath. But he was also very strange and very creepy. I could not wait to get off that plane.

[meisje]

12. It's the crazy lady pushing on the bulkhead and then peeing on the floor

If you see shit like that, it's safe to say they are acting strangely

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

15. Breathe

One of the first things that happens when I'm afraid is that I hold my breath. If I am in a fearful situation, I remind myself to breathe evenly and calmly, and my wits stay with me. I'm working on staying in the place of serenity, and living in the now, for this will also help-not only me but the entire situation.

[Truthiness Inspector]

18. Notify the flight attendants

if you see something "suspicious." If it turns out to be nothing, then big deal. On the other hand if there is something malicious going on, they know how to handle it.

[Moochy]

19. Do they have a mother f!@#!@# snake or not?

[Rosemary2205]

20. Geezle peats people!!!

Back in the days before I was wheelchair bound I used to take Greyhound often to go see my parents. Sounds to me like the Greyhound crowd is easier to deal with and more polite than the "rich" airline crowd!!

[mtnsnake]

22. There's only one sensible thing to do

Throw their ass off the plane. Isn't that what anyone would do?

[Jeanette in FL]

23. My mother-in-law never flew without holy water

And would sprinkle it as she was boarding the plane all the way til she got to her seat. Then she would sit there with her rosary beads, saying the rosary in Italian, until the plane was finally in the air.

I am sure they would have hauled in, trying to do that kind of act nowadays.

[AnnInLa]

24. Am flying to London on Sept 4th, so I can let you know

after I return. Actually, I think I will have a few drinks at O'Hare before overnight flight, take some Melatonin, and knock myself out. Some flaky passenger best not wake me up! BTW, when learning of my upcoming trip, people keep asking me, "Aren't you AFRAID?" I tell them no, that I am more afraid of my own government.

While perusing some RW sites yesterday, I noticed all the chatter about that woman passenger who apparently had the panic attack on the plane the other day. They identified her as a US citizen visiting Pakistan to be with a guy she met online and who wants to marry her, to attain US citizenship (according to wingers.) Wingers also identified her as a liberal journalist, LOL. By the time many comment on some of that crap, she will be a regular poster at DU too.