Protesting is so good for the soul.....

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Originally Posted by oldhat

Someone is going to have to explain to me--anti-corporatist socialist that I am--why everyone is in such a lather over this. I'm not up on every detail of what happened, but isn't it true that this guy refused a lawful order to leave the plane? If he felt he was being wronged, he could have hired a lawyer and sued the airline--indeed, I would have applauded him for doing so. It's also true that United's PR people screwed the pooch in a big way, and that Chicago cops are mostly thugs (I have personally witnessed their thuggery). But other than that, why all the fuss?

I'm guessing that this has more to do with air travel having become such a nightmare of psychological stress and physical discomfort. The incident itself was less important than its acting as a trigger for an outpouring of public rage.

Meanwhile, there are currently about a dozen major scandals brewing in Trumpland, any one of which would under Obama have kept the media in hysterics for weeks. And Orange Hitler has discovered that the quickest way to boost your popularity ratings is to bomb some furriners, giving cable news a nice supply of war porn.

I'm afraid the media is reverting to form.

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I have a little trouble buying your assertion that the media is kinder to Trump than it was to Obama.

I think your theory of why the United incident has resonated so broadly is absolutely correct. Especially with the imagery that makes it so meme-able.

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Originally Posted by gimmethesimplelife

Au contraire. I will never forget and for the remainder of my life will tell the truth about United Airlines when the opportunity presents itself, hopefully impacting their balance sheet even if in a very small way. I will also be active against the United Airlines brand the remainder of my life via social media. Human rights and human dignity are worth that. Rob

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So, there is no redemption possible in Rob's World?

The problem is that people are constantly overreacting to everything that happens to them. It is a good thing it was filmed so there is evidence of what happened. People were yelling at the cops to stop but to physically intervene would have meant to be hurt too. The victim behaved badly too. United provides lots of jobs so it would be bad if they went under. Also it was one of their small partners that did this so they need some training too.

What happened to the other 3?

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Originally Posted by gimmethesimplelife

Please accept my assurance that there is no humour in this situation in the 85006, there is no humour here for Dr. Dao, and there is currently no humour for the United Airlines brand given the PR nightmare they face that will not go away, and given the huge multi-million dollar lawsuit settlement they will have to pay out given their basic lack of concern for basic human rights and basic human dignity.

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Your beginning to sound Trump like (HUGE). I didn't realize it was a human right to fly.>8)

Better go talk to your deity about that, and tell those people at the airport, that they need to donate their time, as it is a human right, so they shouldn't be making money off of it, either.:treadmill:

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Originally Posted by oldhat

Someone is going to have to explain to me--anti-corporatist socialist that I am--why everyone is in such a lather over this. I'm not up on every detail of what happened, but isn't it true that this guy refused a lawful order to leave the plane? If he felt he was being wronged, he could have hired a lawyer and sued the airline--

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He refused an order, now whether it was lawful or not, to be honest should be up to a court to decide. It was a mistake to tell the cops no, as they have the right to use force for their safety and to get the job done. Lawful gets decided after the fact in a court. (law part, verses enforcement parts) Besides the lawsuit against the airlines, I expect he has a criminal court appearance now for failure to comply, which could end up placing him on the government no fly list.

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Originally Posted by dmc

What happened to the other 3?

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Good question. If they know the airlines may need x number of seats, then why don't they reserve some seats on the plane.

Just heard on the news tonight that United now will reserve seats for crew in this situation at least one hour before a flight.

Many airlines around the world have a policy of overbooking flights, hoping that no-shows and offers of cash/hotels will ensure the problem disappears! I know most British airlines do it.

Iceland Air has bumped me every single leg of this trip so far. To First Class. It's very odd- they have called me up to the counter after I am checked at in, usually just a few minutes before boarding. My only theory is that they had an empty 1st class seat, and throw it at me because they are nice people. I performed an emergency in-air medical intervention on one of their flights in Feb, perhaps they flagged me? Anyways, they are now my favorite airline.

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Originally Posted by bae

Iceland Air has bumped me every single leg of this trip so far. To First Class. It's very odd- they have called me up to the counter after I am checked at in, usually just a few minutes before boarding. My only theory is that they had an empty 1st class seat, and throw it at me because they are nice people. I performed an emergency in-air medical intervention on one of their flights in Feb, perhaps they flagged me? Anyways, they are now my favorite airline.

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You can sometimes improve the odds of that happening by treating gate personnel like human beings.

I used to occasionally get moved to first class when I traveled in uniform; which felt odd after getting spat at in college ROTC. Once, in an airport lounge a guy bought a round so he could tell me all about how the Air Force kept dropping bombs on him in Vietnam. I said we must have had our reasons, but bought him a drink by way of compensation, and we parted on friendly terms.

Here's a great article about the "between the lines" of this incident written by a pilot's wife

https://thepilotwifelife.wordpress.c...t-flight-3411/

While the action of the security team (who were NOT United employees BTW) seem extreme, the article does help explain what led to it.

I admit to being a bit of an apologist for United. I just received my million mile card from them. Rob, I understand the anger and the whole "evil corporation" thing, but I just don't see United as evil. They completely botched the PR in this incidence, but to be honest, if I were to protest a corporation for wrong-doing, there would be several other companies in line before United.

(But, in line with the topic, I signed up for the Climate March on Washington on April 29 and I'm looking forward to it, and I'm glad they won't be checking my credentials for my in-flight carbon footprint because I might get hung from the Washington monument.)