Steven Slater - Retaliatory rudeness?

[MyFamily]

I do think that the passenger who caused him injury should be facing his/her own legal issues.

I have to agree with that - she was completely out of line.

ITA w/myfamily. That's a perfect summary.

Thank you (not for agreeing with me exactly, but saying that my summary was perfect - it has been a hard day and that just made me feel good).

[aventurine]

Thank you (not for agreeing with me exactly, but saying that my summary was perfect - it has been a hard day and that just made me feel good).

Well, MyFamily, if it helps, ITA as well.  I hope the passenger has some music of her own to face soon. 

I admit to feeling a strong sense of solidarity with the guy.  I think a great many people, whether they approve of his actions or not, do as well.

[kingsrings]

I bet this passenger would like to go hide under a rock at this point!!

[Hushabye]

From what has been released so far, it's really not possible to tell whether he was hit in the head deliberately -- I know that there are news articles that say she slammed the overhead bin on his head, but there are also articles that say that he got hit with luggage.  If she did hit him deliberately, she should be facing charges as well.  But either way, he should have maintained some sort of professionalism and arranged to have air marshalls waiting instead of engaging in some juvenile stunt that might have felt good at the time but could have killed somebody.

[pierrotlunaire0]

From what has been released so far, it's really not possible to tell whether he was hit in the head deliberately -- I know that there are news articles that say she slammed the overhead bin on his head, but there are also articles that say that he got hit with luggage.  If she did hit him deliberately, she should be facing charges as well.  But either way, he should have maintained some sort of professionalism and arranged to have air marshalls waiting instead of engaging in some juvenile stunt that might have felt good at the time but could have killed somebody.

That is what bothers me so much about Slater's actions.  Yes, there are times when I went to strike back, and we always are griping to each other that the Powers That Be do not have our back.  But if I had to, there are things I could do that would cause a world of trouble for the customer.  For example, I could file a form which flags a person as potentially incompetent to drive.  Or, I could file that a customer is committing fraud.  These measures may be totally appropriate when used correctly.

Mr. Slater did not avail himself of the appropriate way to handle the issue.  I really do feel for him, but I cannot approve.

[hannahmollysmom]

I'm sure the airline will be charging him for releasing the chute.

They have to be replaced after they are opened, meaning the passengers had to be rebooked or delayed until the chute could be replaced. If they don't have any in stock, then they have to be flown in which could take hours.

I learned this when one was accidently deployed at the airport I work at.

[PeasNCues]

From what has been released so far, it's really not possible to tell whether he was hit in the head deliberately -- I know that there are news articles that say she slammed the overhead bin on his head, but there are also articles that say that he got hit with luggage.  If she did hit him deliberately, she should be facing charges as well.  But either way, he should have maintained some sort of professionalism and arranged to have air marshalls waiting instead of engaging in some juvenile stunt that might have felt good at the time but could have killed somebody.

That is what bothers me so much about Slater's actions.  Yes, there are times when I went to strike back, and we always are griping to each other that the Powers That Be do not have our back.  But if I had to, there are things I could do that would cause a world of trouble for the customer.  For example, I could file a form which flags a person as potentially incompetent to drive.  Or, I could file that a customer is committing fraud.  These measures may be totally appropriate when used correctly.

Mr. Slater did not avail himself of the appropriate way to handle the issue.  I really do feel for him, but I cannot approve.

This really reflects my feelings on the matter. He had other recourses and instead had a hissy fit and disturbed, inconvinienced and probably frightened/insulted quite people on the plane who never did anything to harm him.

[afbluebelle]

I can't really fault the guy... Only because I've ALWAYS wanted to ride the emergency slide in a non-emergency situation.

He has officially lived my dream. For that, I muse applaud him.  The dang safety cards make those slides look so fun

[miranova]

We have all had moments where we wanted to scream at people and slide down a chute and leave.  But we don't.  That's what seperates mature adults from those who need serious help.  If it is true that the chute could have killed someone on the ground, then he must have known this with his training.  In that case, it is completely, 100% inexcusable.  I can not for a second sympathize with an action that he KNEW could kill someone because he was ticked off or even injured.  No excuse.  Sliding down a chute did not help his injury.  He did it because he was mad, plain and simple.  If he had hurt or killed an innocent bystander, he'd be facing much more consequences than he is now.  He should consider himself lucky that he didn't hurt anyone.

[guihong]

I can't really fault the guy... Only because I've ALWAYS wanted to ride the emergency slide in a non-emergency situation.

He has officially lived my dream. For that, I muse applaud him.  The dang safety cards make those slides look so fun

Oh good-now I don't feel so badly for always wanting to go down the slide, but without the emergency part!

[MyFamily]

I just read that JetBlue has given all the passengers aboard the flight $100 vouchers and that includes the passenger who allegedly hit him in the head.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/travel/sns-ap-us-flight-attendant-jetblue-statement,0,4720318.story

[PeasNCues]

I honestly don't see why he is an "American Hero."

All I see is a boor who took his feelings out on a bunch of innocent people.

The woman shouldn't have hit him, she should not have cursed at him, etc. I am not excusing that.

But, he did that and more. She is not the villian and he the hero.

She is a woman who did something wrong, he is a man who did something worse when there were many, many, many other recourses for him, including having the woman arrested.

Honestly, it kind of disappoints and embarasses me that he is being touted as a "hero." There are plenty of heroes in America. He is not one of them. He is a man who gave into primitive feeling and committed uncouth and selfish actions by lashing out at those around him. Sure we fantasize about telling our bosses off; we fantasize about quiting in a dramatic, theatrical fashion. But it is the person who does so with grace and decorum that is the hero. It is the person who does so without inflicting their aggressions on others that is the hero.

But, I'm in a bad mood, so that could be a reason this leaves a bad taste in my mouth. 

[kherbert05]

To me it wasn't really a case of rudeness as a response to rudeness - it was more of rudeness in response to rude AND abusive behavior.  The guy has scabs on his forehead.  Yeah, what he did was totally uncalled for, but someone needs to arrest the passenger too for not following instructions & injuring the flight attendant.

He should have kept his cool and had the cops waiting for the woman at the gate. That would be much more satsifying  than him facing jail time now.

I was on a flight with an obnoxious family once. The adults were drunk and their kid was allowed to run up and down the aisle - he hit me on the head with a metal tonka truck. They let him loose during landing (the crew was already strapped in and we were landing so they couldn't return him like htey had done repeatedly).

The crew came on board and asked everyone to stay in their seats and allow those with small children to exit first. The family smirked off the plane and into the the waiting arms of the cops. That crew looked very satsified.

[MayHug]

I honestly don't see why he is an "American Hero."

All I see is a boor who took his feelings out on a bunch of innocent people.

The woman shouldn't have hit him, she should not have cursed at him, etc. I am not excusing that.

But, he did that and more. She is not the villian and he the hero.

She is a woman who did something wrong, he is a man who did something worse when there were many, many, many other recourses for him, including having the woman arrested.

Honestly, it kind of disappoints and embarasses me that he is being touted as a "hero." There are plenty of heroes in America. He is not one of them. He is a man who gave into primitive feeling and committed uncouth and selfish actions by lashing out at those around him. Sure we fantasize about telling our bosses off; we fantasize about quiting in a dramatic, theatrical fashion. But it is the person who does so with grace and decorum that is the hero. It is the person who does so without inflicting their aggressions on others that is the hero.

But, I'm in a bad mood, so that could be a reason this leaves a bad taste in my mouth. 

I'm not in a bad mood and I feel the same way!

[Betelnut]

He absolutely did the wrong thing.  It was foolish and dangerous.  We all know that and I'm sure he does too.

But I kind of love that he took the time to snag a beer on the way out.  That was hilarious!