"Bachelor" producer in note-passing war on airplane on Thanksgiving

[Hollanda]

And yet I am not surprised.   

[Kari]

Now he's saying it was all a hoax:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2517314/Elan-Gale-Thanksgiving-note-battle-played-Twitter-hoax.html

You mean a reality show producer fabricated drama for attention? 

[Twik]

Ah, so, he just pretends to be outrageously rude (under the guise of being offended by other people who are rude), and lies about how brave he is to confront women with sexually offensive messages.

He must be so proud of himself.

[C0mputerGeek]

Now he's saying it was all a hoax:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2517314/Elan-Gale-Thanksgiving-note-battle-played-Twitter-hoax.html

Elan Gale has been accused before of making things up for attention. I wanted to include this in my post upthread, but I could not find a link to the article that mentioned this.

He is just...such an idiot.

[GlitterIsMyDrug]

The first few tweets about the woman freaking out because "It's Thanksgiving!" and "They need me to the stuffing!" and "Your thanksgiving isn't my problem!", made me laugh. Because I've dealt with those people, and I've had to bite my tongue to not say "It's a holiday?! Really!? I had no idea!", and instead say "Yes, I understand you want to be with family...blah, blah, blah, we'll fix it, please go have a drink at the bar on me", because you are just lowly employee who clearly does not have a family to be with nor do you deserve any form of respect when problems are out of your control (despite what many  seem to believe, I actually have zero control over the weather).

The note passing is where it got rude. Though, I would've been tempted to send a glass of wine with a note that just said "You seem very stressed, enjoy this glass on me and have a better Thanksgiving then you're having", because sometimes I think we need to be shown we are behaving badly. We're so freaked out, stressed out, by our own lives that we forget we are actually interacting with other humans who are also freaked out and stressed out by their lives. And hey if someone sends me a glass of wine (or a couple bottles of vodka), they're my new best friend.

Of course this all moot because it's a hoax, but I could see how people get behind Elan. Especially when you've been on the receiving end of a "Diane".

[Twik]

And a lot of people can get behind "Diane," because his notes were far ruder than anything else in the story.

It reminds me of a story I read once, by a man who had gone to Japan to study martial arts. One day, on the streetcar, he was confronted with a belligerent drunk, who was being incredibly offensive to his fellow travellers. Just as the man decided he could put his skills to use, and put the bully in his place, an elderly man started talking to the drunk, ignoring his rudeness, and just treating him as a fellow human being.

By the end of the ride, the drunk was sitting quietly, telling the man about how his life had recently gone to pieces, and he'd sought refuge in alcohol, but after having his feelings heard, he was starting to think maybe he could make a go of it now.

The writer of the story was properly chastened by the *true* use of the philosophy he'd been studying.

I think that (assuming Elan's original story has a basis in fact) this was a perfect situation where such tactics could be put to use. A sick traveller was stressed out, and was taking it out on others. Confronting her did nothing but escalate things - a little human kindness from a stranger might have made everyone's trip a better experience.

[hobish]

Maybe I'm a bad person. I first saw this on Happy Place and thought it was pretty darn funny.

[C0mputerGeek]

I think that (assuming Elan's original story has a basis in fact) this was a perfect situation where such tactics could be put to use. A sick traveller was stressed out, and was taking it out on others. Confronting her did nothing but escalate things - a little human kindness from a stranger might have made everyone's trip a better experience.

I agree.

I don't believe this story is true. However, if it were, Elan would have been much better off either: (1) Sending the glass of wine and ending the note with the sentence, "Please accept this glass of wine." or (2) Doing nothing at all.

Having said that, I can't get behind Diane either. It's not even the slap I have the biggest issue with. It's the harassing of the flight crew.

[baglady]

And a lot of people can get behind "Diane," because his notes were far ruder than anything else in the story.

It reminds me of a story I read once, by a man who had gone to Japan to study martial arts. One day, on the streetcar, he was confronted with a belligerent drunk, who was being incredibly offensive to his fellow travellers. Just as the man decided he could put his skills to use, and put the bully in his place, an elderly man started talking to the drunk, ignoring his rudeness, and just treating him as a fellow human being.

By the end of the ride, the drunk was sitting quietly, telling the man about how his life had recently gone to pieces, and he'd sought refuge in alcohol, but after having his feelings heard, he was starting to think maybe he could make a go of it now.

The writer of the story was properly chastened by the *true* use of the philosophy he'd been studying.

I think that (assuming Elan's original story has a basis in fact) this was a perfect situation where such tactics could be put to use. A sick traveller was stressed out, and was taking it out on others. Confronting her did nothing but escalate things - a little human kindness from a stranger might have made everyone's trip a better experience.

Twik, are you me? I thought of that story, too. And I found a link: http://www.wanttoknow.info/inspiration/aikido_surprise

[PastryGoddess]

Now he's backtracking and saying it was a hoax.  People like this really tick me off

[Twik]

And a lot of people can get behind "Diane," because his notes were far ruder than anything else in the story.

It reminds me of a story I read once, by a man who had gone to Japan to study martial arts. One day, on the streetcar, he was confronted with a belligerent drunk, who was being incredibly offensive to his fellow travellers. Just as the man decided he could put his skills to use, and put the bully in his place, an elderly man started talking to the drunk, ignoring his rudeness, and just treating him as a fellow human being.

By the end of the ride, the drunk was sitting quietly, telling the man about how his life had recently gone to pieces, and he'd sought refuge in alcohol, but after having his feelings heard, he was starting to think maybe he could make a go of it now.

The writer of the story was properly chastened by the *true* use of the philosophy he'd been studying.

I think that (assuming Elan's original story has a basis in fact) this was a perfect situation where such tactics could be put to use. A sick traveller was stressed out, and was taking it out on others. Confronting her did nothing but escalate things - a little human kindness from a stranger might have made everyone's trip a better experience.

Twik, are you me? I thought of that story, too. And I found a link: http://www.wanttoknow.info/inspiration/aikido_surprise

I think it's a story I have to keep in mind, because I have a tendency to go white-knight sometimes, and it's rarely helpful.

In this case, I think Elan was just being Neutral-Chaotic for the heck of it.

[Peppergirl]

I work in the travel industry via the phone, and my co-workers and I are treated to a 'Diane' at least once per shift. 

[katycoo]

Hypothetically speaking - I don't think the note and wine is a bad idea in theory.  The content of the notes could have been improved.

[Peppergirl]

^^ This.  I also applaud anyone who attempts to politely stand up to customers who are being horrible to an employee who cannot defend themselves for fear of being fired.

In this (albeit, fake) scenario, he was far from polite.