Chances are, by now, you have heard about Stephen Slater… you know, that Jet Blue guy who is all over the news (and the internet) after he pretty much cursed out a plane full of passengers, grabbed a few beers, deployed the emergency evacuation chute, and then left the plane … to start his new life as a … um … celebrity?
Excuse me?
When I first saw him on the evening news, the anchor actually compared him too Howard Beale – that character from The Network who opens up the window and screams “I’m Mad as hell and I am not going to take it anymore!” … even going as far as to say this guy was his hero. (Talk about your professional journalism…)
Over the past few days, I’ve seen a lot of stuff on the internet (websites, Facebook pages and posts, you name it) and nearly all of it supporting this guy. And I just can’t understand this.
My first thought was that this guy acted like a complete and total [jerk] … and I wondered what really happened. Something told me there had to be more to the story than what was reporting … it really didn’t make sense. The news was reporting that a female passenger hit him with a bag she was pulling from the overhead compartment causing him to go off over the PA System before grabbing some beer and fleeing. Ya know, accidents happen all the time … nobody was saying she deliberately hit the guy … so … he just gets hit on his head and bam! Instant [jerk]?
To me, it sounded like his interaction with the customer was the straw that broke the camel’s back. So my question … what else would I see on that proverbial camel’s back?
It bothered me a little bit that nobody seems to be saying much against the guy. In fact, the only thing I’ve heard so far was that he could have hurt someone when he deployed the emergency chute. Really? Is that the best you could come up with?
Everyone appears to be saying that his actions are no big deal. (And yet, it’s all over the news and he’s being hailed as a hero.) People keep saying he didn’t really hurt anybody. (I’m not so sure about that – I’ll comment on this in a minute.) They’re saying he didn’t do anything illegal. (Other than … stealing beer? … causing a disturbance? … and sure, I’m no expert, but I’m sure he’s broken some post 9/11 Federal laws involving air-traffic-safety or something?) They’re saying he shouldn’t go to jail … and he deserves his job back. (Really? If you violated that many company policies, do you honestly think you’d be allowed in the building again?)
I’m surprised not more people have a problem with this kind of behavior.
Let’s face at least one certain truth here. If you work in certain environments, there are going to be some things you just need to learn to deal with. That’s just the way things work. It’s like my Aunt Irma says, “Work is the worst, most vile 4-Letter Word there is.”
If you hate doing math, then don’t become an accountant. If you can’t cook, then don’t become a chef. If you can type only 3 words per minute, then don’t take a job where you have to sit behind a computer.
If you have one of those jobs or careers where you have to deal with people … no matter if you’re a bank teller, a teacher, a customer service rep, a waiter or waitress, or … I dunnow … a flight attendant? … One of the things you’ll have to learn to accept is that some people have the social interaction skills of a hamster … and you really can’t let those people bother you.
That was one of the first things I had to learn when I started working in the social work field. If I let every [jerk] get to me … if I got discouraged after dealing with those who were obviously abusing the system or acting like they were entitled to everything they ever wanted – then I would be completely ineffective too help everyone else. Eventually, I learned to stop taking things personally … and learned how to channel that energy into something a bit more productive.
So, about this Jet Blue thing… here’s my beef.
What if it was one of the passengers who stood up and cussed out everyone on the plane? If you don’t think this kind of behavior is bad … would you feel the same way if Mr. Slater were a passenger and not a flight attendant? Hey – airline passengers get frustrated too … from dealing with the kid behind them who keeps kicking the back of their seats … to having to spend five dollars for a small bag of peanuts (or however much for luggage) … and then there are all the delayed flights and claustrophobic bathrooms and what about the guy sitting next to you that poured an entire bottle of cologne on himself five minutes before boarding the plane. Would a frustrated passenger become a hero, too?
What if someone else who worked with the public did something like this? What would you think if you went to a restaurant and saw a waiter cussing out a room full of lousy tippers (or rude customers)? And what if you saw him put something into the food going to someone else’s table. How comfortable would you be eating your own food?
What if a teacher went off on a bunch of unruly students? We all know how frustrating some kids can be … would we call that teacher a hero?
How about bus drivers? What would you think if a bus driver drove his bus into a light pole because of unruly passengers?
Believe it or not – but all these examples are things I just read on some of the Stephen Slater Fan Sites or Pages that have popped up on the net. And people are cheering them on.
Even the guy who suggested on Facebook that unruly passengers should be killed (forced off the plane in mid-air with no parachute) had quite a few people “Like” his comment.
What? Come on.
Look … there are appropriate ways of handing people … be they rude, or obnoxious, or annoying … if they swear at you … refuse to follow the rules … or even hit you with their luggage as they’re pulling it from the overhead bins … and there are many reasons why those ways are considered appropriate. Maybe it’s just because that’s what the guy who signs your paycheck wants. Maybe it has something to do with creating a safe environment for everyone. Maybe it’s a legal issue. Whatever.
There’s no excuse for bad behavior … doesn’t matter if it’s customer or employee. It doesn’t matter who throws the first punch (insult, curse word, luggage, or …???) … bad behavior shouldn’t be awarded, and it shouldn’t make anybody a hero.
It’s like my Aunt Irma says. “Two wrongs don’t make a right. But, three rights do make a left.”
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