Twitter user @hibiscuslacroix shares a handwritten note that a passenger handed to a flight attendant upon deplaning. This was allegedly because the flight attendant asked the passenger to wear a mask over their nose.
This is just so beyond decent that I almost feel sorry for the person who wrote this, because I can’t imagine the amount of hate they must have in their heart. This without a doubt reflects the person who wrote the note, rather than the person it was given to. What could go on in someone’s mind that they think this is a way to communicate with another human being?
None of that even begins to consider the tough situation that airline employees are in right now, with tens of thousands of them facing imminent layoffs.
Here’s the note (which was written on an air sickness bag labeled with the word “WASTE”):
You mean sh*t in life.
You are nothing but a glorified MAID who needs to jump down off her high horse and learn how to speak to ppl. Nobody cares about your stupid seat policies or your nose issues. We pay your salary and your attitude is unnecessary.
The very fact that we have to listen & kow tow to a nobody who does sh*t except collect our trash and serve crappy food makes me absolutely ill. You are a mask nazi and a 4 eyed c*nt, and if it wasn’t for this job, you would be cleaning motel rooms for $2 tips and meth.
I made sure to write this on a bag labeled as to what I think your life actually is… A WASTE.
Warm Regards
A person who hates your guts
Obviously we don’t know what the flight attendant’s tone was like or what exactly escalated, but it doesn’t actually matter, because there’s no excuse for talking to a fellow human this way.
I hope that the flight attendant reports this to her airline, and that they’re able to ban this passenger.
The next time you fly, please be the opposite of this person. Airline employees are going through a very tough time, so even if they aren’t chipper and delightful, show them some gratitude. Please.
Update: It has now been confirmed that this happened on an American Airlines flight, and that the passenger’s travel on American has been suspended, as the incident is being investigated.
Kudos to the flight attendant for passing this on to her managers, and for American Airlines taking such swift action.
Not only that, but American’s SVP of Flight Service, Jill Surdek wrote the following note to flight attendants:
We won’t tolerate mistreatment of our crew members
You may have heard about an incident involving a customer passing an offensive and derogatory note to one of our flight attendants after she enforced the face covering policy. I want to let everyone know that we will not tolerate mistreatment of our flight attendants or any other team members. This customer’s travel on American has been suspended, and we are fully investigating the incident.
Over the last few months, we have been adding more and more customers to our face covering refusal list. I appreciate the time you are taking to complete CERS reports when there’s an issue with face covering compliance. Please continue providing as many details as possible so that Corporate Security can follow up.
It’s important to point out, most customers overwhelmingly support our face covering policy. By asking people to put their masks on, you are helping keep everyone safe. I appreciate everything you are doing and want you to know we fully support you.
I was a flight attendant and supervisor of flight attendants for 39 years, and recently retired. I was beyond fortunate to receive my initial training at TWA. I loved my profession, celebrated my coworkers, endured heartbreaking mergers and acquisitions and did my upmost to professionally spread love on every flight I ever worked. No one outside our industry can truly understand what it takes to show up for what are often 18 hour days, and...
I was a flight attendant and supervisor of flight attendants for 39 years, and recently retired. I was beyond fortunate to receive my initial training at TWA. I loved my profession, celebrated my coworkers, endured heartbreaking mergers and acquisitions and did my upmost to professionally spread love on every flight I ever worked. No one outside our industry can truly understand what it takes to show up for what are often 18 hour days, and 5 hours of sleep, and still smile, handle unexpected challenges and stay healthy, both emotionally and physically. One of the most important things I always did on those "challenging " flights, was to do my upmost to enlist my guests in my goal of a peaceful flight. I always gave the disruptors the opportunity to choose a new behavior. If they did, we could proceed on without further incident, but sometimes they did not make the choice to adopt the peaceful behavior and that is TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE on a crowded tube filled with human beings. It has gotten SO much worse now. Airlines would be so wise to actually teach high level conflict resolution. I am striving to become a secular chaplain serving front line airline professionals. They deserve that sort of support!
It's great that airlines are banning these idiots, but I hope there is sharing of that info, so they are not just banned from one airline, but all US carriers.
Thanks @ben for posting this in general for people to see, because oftentimes, it's impossible to fully empathize if you do not know what people actually experience in their roles in life. This isn't giving that hateful person a platform, because, like you said, they are not called out by name, they remain just an anonymous jerk that we now know exists. We can watch out for them and wonder about the path in their...
Thanks @ben for posting this in general for people to see, because oftentimes, it's impossible to fully empathize if you do not know what people actually experience in their roles in life. This isn't giving that hateful person a platform, because, like you said, they are not called out by name, they remain just an anonymous jerk that we now know exists. We can watch out for them and wonder about the path in their life that lead to such hatefulness over someone just doing their job. I've seen and heard terrible stories of people treating both crew and other passengers horribly, and whatever is in that person's brain that makes them feel it's acceptable to say something like this means they are out in the world probably doing equally ugly things in other situations where they also feel entitled and treat others poorly.
I guess I'm old. I was born mid seventies and remember (name your brand) for me pan am, varig,and also klm flights, long haul where as a a child I could go to the cockpit and the crew would happily entertain me. As an adult I've been flown a lot. I've never ever had a bad experience with any particular flight attendant. Any of the crew. Or any airline. (Although I do think southwest has...
I guess I'm old. I was born mid seventies and remember (name your brand) for me pan am, varig,and also klm flights, long haul where as a a child I could go to the cockpit and the crew would happily entertain me. As an adult I've been flown a lot. I've never ever had a bad experience with any particular flight attendant. Any of the crew. Or any airline. (Although I do think southwest has terrible very bad humor) even in the late nineteen nineties you could cross the Atlantic smoking and drinking. Normally at the galley. With the crew. Being friendly and treating people properly well it's a lost art. As a kid I was exploring, and talking with the captain, co pilot the whole crew. As an adult, I'm even more friendly, and fear The trombosis. So.iwalk exercise and The crew is always friendly. The crew is there to take care of us, and yes even serve us food and drink (at least outside the US) we should have more respect for flight crews. The entitlement here...
It should be common sense that a person should not be rude to others. On top we're talking about a flight crew I think most negativity in this comment section is coming from people who never fly and no. It's not racist to say the people who leave passive aggressive messages like that note are most likely first world white people who make problems out of nothing. It's got nothing to do with Trump. I agree. But if you ever fly international.... You know it's very 'merikun
I usually fly business or first and I expect that the flight attendants would at least be a little classier but not wit AA. They simple work as if they hate their jobs and their "clients". I don't know what happened to this lady who whore this note, I am assuming it's a lady, looks like it, but flying a lot like I do, I totally understand her frustration.
1) Not sure what this post accomplished except to piss people off.
2) There are racist posts here that don't belong in the feed.
3) In fact, if I want politics I know where to find it; here, I'd hope for miles and points and travel info.
If this blog is going to post 1) useless 2) racist 3) political material, then there's no reason for any of us to be here.
This is very tiring. I really wish I could read literally any article and peruse comments without seeing either some TDS or LDS. Listen folks, this article is about A NASTY NOTE WRITTEN BY A RUDE DUDE. Which isn't inherently wrong, because we only have like half the story. How'd the flight attendant treat the guy? Nobody seems to care about that. Okay, I can bare that slant, that's fine. What bothers me is that...
This is very tiring. I really wish I could read literally any article and peruse comments without seeing either some TDS or LDS. Listen folks, this article is about A NASTY NOTE WRITTEN BY A RUDE DUDE. Which isn't inherently wrong, because we only have like half the story. How'd the flight attendant treat the guy? Nobody seems to care about that. Okay, I can bare that slant, that's fine. What bothers me is that people act as if individuals can't just be having a bad day. It's immediately gotta be a "Trump's America" problem just like it's always gotta be a race problem with other subjects. It's immediately gotta be a "Liberal Agenda" (which I see being pointed out markedly less here I'd like to note for the "Trump's America" haters) when someone calls out someone for not being civil with another person. It's just funny because most of what I read in the comment sections of articles now is just a bunch of people unwilling to take a step back and think about how much information we actually were given before we make a judgement call. We know how nasty humans can be in general but get so caught up in our politics that we attribute bad qualities to our opposition exclusively these days, and those that try to point it out are silenced by the wails of the mob on EITHER SIDE screaming over our attempts at reason and stifling any attempts at compromisation. It's completely backwards and wrong, and I really hope we can just talk about stuff without attaching some sort of political agenda, propaganda, or messaging to it.
Besides I'm running out of stuff I can talk about at work with all the stuff that's being seen as political lately. Can barely talk about current events anymore for fear of upsetting people.
Only a fool would be rude to someone who serves them food and drink.
Willing to bet a month’s pay this is a die hard Trump supporter (big giveaway is use of words “mask nazi”). And this “letter” really exposes the darkness of those who idolize him as he is a reflection of their character. Most of them are nasty humans.
You people blaming this on Trump are just as pathetic as the person that wrote this note.
No sane, normal person writes a note like this. We all have impulses of anger, but to go through the anger, write a fairly long note, keep it until the plane lands and you disembark, really shows some instability or lack of impulse control, not to mention a total lack common decency.
You must also take into consideration the short length of this flight. The passenger had perhaps 5 minutes of actual interaction with...
No sane, normal person writes a note like this. We all have impulses of anger, but to go through the anger, write a fairly long note, keep it until the plane lands and you disembark, really shows some instability or lack of impulse control, not to mention a total lack common decency.
You must also take into consideration the short length of this flight. The passenger had perhaps 5 minutes of actual interaction with the flight attendant. To "hate someone's guts" and go through with a note like this after such a short time speaks volumes about the author of the note. They must have a truly horrible life.
Thanks for the kind words @UA-NYC - trying to inject some reason and common sense here. Sadly the next post after yours takes us right back to the gutter. “This blog is just a front for Trump-hating liberal weenies when it should be about services and amenities that don’t exist anymore.” People, if you want to get into mudslinging and complaining that it should stay a travel blog why not just fight about which of...
Thanks for the kind words @UA-NYC - trying to inject some reason and common sense here. Sadly the next post after yours takes us right back to the gutter. “This blog is just a front for Trump-hating liberal weenies when it should be about services and amenities that don’t exist anymore.” People, if you want to get into mudslinging and complaining that it should stay a travel blog why not just fight about which of the legacy carriers folks hate the most this month? LOLOL
Am I the only one sad to read that Trump is banned from commercial flights in future just for this one note?
Read the article. Searched "Trump". 30 matches. LOL.
@Mark K - excellent post...many say "politics are the new sports"...they are also intertwined with travel.
The next 59 days (and probably 59 more after that) are going to be hell in the US...people will have to deal with that.
There’s no way to completely ignore politics in a travel blog and it’s often an inescapable subtext, though I believe that Ben doesn’t set out to provoke a political discussion.
Just off the top of my head, politics is inseparable from so many travel-related issues, such as:
- the battle by the legacy US carriers against the ME3
- the antitrust rulings that left us with just 3 legacy carriers
-...
There’s no way to completely ignore politics in a travel blog and it’s often an inescapable subtext, though I believe that Ben doesn’t set out to provoke a political discussion.
Just off the top of my head, politics is inseparable from so many travel-related issues, such as:
- the battle by the legacy US carriers against the ME3
- the antitrust rulings that left us with just 3 legacy carriers
- ownership structures and international political calculations that determine the membership of the three airline alliances
- the issue of a passenger bill of rights
- the decisions about which countries will allow Americans in right now, and which ones the US will admit (these are partly driven by COVID numbers but also by realpolitik and tit for tat maneuvers)
- internal quarantining, e.g. the NY tristate restrictions on travelers from 30+ states and the earlier quarantine in Florida on travelers from NY
- the CARES Act corporate welfare handouts to the airlines to keep them flying and the corresponding mandate not to lay off FAs until October
- whether small businesses Including boutique hotels will be subsidized to the point of remaining open; and whether their staff can make enough money with government supplements to keep working reduced hours and tips;
- the decisions by the carriers about what routes to preserve from month to month, including last week’s flip-flopping by AA on what minor domestic airports to drop;
- the brand new agreement between Israel and the UAE that will one day allow pax to fly to TLV via DXB or AUH
- changes in overseas visa requirements, such as the introduction of required E-clearance for Americans to enter the Schengen zone and the end in 2022 of completely visa-free travel to Europe for Americans and Canadians
- Immigration rules that determine whether sterile transit is allowed (as in most of the world) or the enormous pain of having to clear Customs and Immigration and praying to get through TSA without Global Entry or TSA Pre prior to connecting flights in the US (making connections in MIA from Latin America to other US points is hell on earth)...
I could go on, but I think I’ve made my point. Should the government save the airlines or let the market take down the weak ones? Should the ME3 be allowed to compete freely on routes from the US to Asia or should the US carriers be protected from them?
These are all politicized issues and where you stand on each is also often likely to follow party lines.
So for gods sake stop complaining that politics “taint” Ben’s blog. Besides which, what the heck is he supposed to write about now? He’s talked about the point devaluations and program changes in *A and is still reviewing credit cards and perks. He just took a trip to one of the few destinations Americans can travel to right now (Turkey) on one of the few airlines that has preserved its front-of-plane service more or less intact (LH) and reported on it.
But as for travel blogging generally, what is there? Half-open resorts with skeleton staffing? Aircraft being retired? The sad demise of the A380? Airlines clinging to life? Route systems contracting? Cabin upgrade programs being halted? Aircraft orders being cancelled? Boeing trying to sneak the 737 Max 8 back into service labeled as just a 737-800? Front of plane service that now amounts to being handed a bottle of water and a paper bag lunch on boarding, minimal lounge availability, and no blankets or pillows? The University of Hawaii just released a study showing that it will take until 2029 for Hawaii, with its one-industry economy, to return to pre-Covid tourism levels.
Ben has written about what he can but there’s really nowhere for him to go to write about the champagne and china and high-end amenities and elaborate menus; and besides, like all of us, he is allowed to make choices about where he feels safe going right now.
So Just grow up and accept it; it’s Ben’s blog anyhow: start your own if you have such strong feelings about people’s reactions. You can also either stay out of the comments if they bother you (I rarely read them because they so often get hijacked from the actual topic by the critics and bile-venters, and I was always more interested in Ben’s concrete observations) or - sad to say - find yourself other indulgent reading material, because it will be years - if EVER - before the luxury travel/points-and-miles bloggers can return to writing about bedding and seat innovations and dedicated first class lounges and canapés and caviar and China and chocolates ... it’s all over for a long time, people. And the politics of Covid management will underline everything - so just let it go and stop attacking Ben, who I have always found goes out of his way to be inoffensive and tread delicately on tricky topics.
Ben,
Why are you allowing your travel blog to become a biased political forum? You are supposed to be covering travel, not providing a place for deranged people to vent their hatred of Republicans/Democrats. If that is what floats your boat you are going to lose most of your serious readers. Leff is already losing readers. You, apparently, are next.
People are SERIOUSLY tired of reading ignorant screeds from people of both parties that want...
Ben,
Why are you allowing your travel blog to become a biased political forum? You are supposed to be covering travel, not providing a place for deranged people to vent their hatred of Republicans/Democrats. If that is what floats your boat you are going to lose most of your serious readers. Leff is already losing readers. You, apparently, are next.
People are SERIOUSLY tired of reading ignorant screeds from people of both parties that want to blame to other side for every imaginable thing with which they disagree. They sound like fools and you are enabling them. Keep it up and you will lose most of your readership.
Plenty of angry little Biden voters out here. Pathetic!
By the way: Read the article properly! This note was written by a woman.
Now go back to your basement or burn down a city of your choice, then prepare yourselves for another meltdown coming NOV 3.
@Shawn Except no, on all counts. We FAs are required to attend recurrent training yearly. We are never “rusty”. And what you may perceive as a power trip is most likely a cabin crew of skilled professionals who simply want everyone on board to arrive home and safely. We train with Air Marshals, secret service agents and green berets on how to take down threats. We are trained in first aid, crowd management and de-escalation...
@Shawn Except no, on all counts. We FAs are required to attend recurrent training yearly. We are never “rusty”. And what you may perceive as a power trip is most likely a cabin crew of skilled professionals who simply want everyone on board to arrive home and safely. We train with Air Marshals, secret service agents and green berets on how to take down threats. We are trained in first aid, crowd management and de-escalation techniques, and we know how to evacuate 400 people from a plane in a minute. Not to mention the (literally) hundreds of FAA regulations that cover air travel. We are there to protect you. So the next time you start thinking that a flight attendant is power hungry, maybe you should instead think about what dipshit thing you did that made us correct your behavior. When you fly, you enter into a contract. Our side is to get you there safely. Your side is to follow OUR policies. If you don’t, then you broke the contract. Not us. Now calm you man boobs and follow the rules.
I have worked in Nuclear Medicine and I am now a pharmacist. I only need a portion of that knowledge “Shawn.” When the need arises for me to know when and what to do when a physician writes a prescription that might be in question then I better have the knowledge to discuss a questionable medication with them. Let’s hope the day does not come that you think a FA will only needs to know...
I have worked in Nuclear Medicine and I am now a pharmacist. I only need a portion of that knowledge “Shawn.” When the need arises for me to know when and what to do when a physician writes a prescription that might be in question then I better have the knowledge to discuss a questionable medication with them. Let’s hope the day does not come that you think a FA will only needs to know a tenth of what they’ve learned. It is my understanding that is why they have CQ training. It’s so that they can stay current on what to do if and when the unexpected happens!
@ Grzegorz
A glorified maid you say. Well if that’s what you want to call me fine. The vitriol towards the FA profession is truly unmatched but It says more about you than me. I’m content over here making 75k a year, free travel benefits, and getting paid while on shopping trips in London. Oh and enjoying 15 days off month. I truly hope your job satisfies you, but in my experience the people...
@ Grzegorz
A glorified maid you say. Well if that’s what you want to call me fine. The vitriol towards the FA profession is truly unmatched but It says more about you than me. I’m content over here making 75k a year, free travel benefits, and getting paid while on shopping trips in London. Oh and enjoying 15 days off month. I truly hope your job satisfies you, but in my experience the people that belittle my job are usually the ones unhappy with their own life.
@Shawn
FA’s have to re certify every year. We can’t afford the luxury of being “rusty”
@BC1212 - I think you’re being slightly exaggeratory. The fact even a tenth of FAs will need those skills is excessive and when they do will be rusty. But they can pour Diet Coke and hand over a baracrdi shooter with the best of em.
This guy was absolutely a douche but FAs have no one to blame but themselves as most are on power trips. It’s usually they who are the Karen’s. They want respect? Start giving it.
While there is certainly no excuse for this kind of an outburst directed specifically at an FA, I feel like this points out the psychological stress a lot of people are under, resulting in a lot of bizarre and inappropriate behavior. If the person who wrote this felt strongly enough about the FA’s tone and/or behavior, there are appropriate measures to address his concerns. Flying can be stressful enough under “normal” circumstances and of course,...
While there is certainly no excuse for this kind of an outburst directed specifically at an FA, I feel like this points out the psychological stress a lot of people are under, resulting in a lot of bizarre and inappropriate behavior. If the person who wrote this felt strongly enough about the FA’s tone and/or behavior, there are appropriate measures to address his concerns. Flying can be stressful enough under “normal” circumstances and of course, we all know these are not “normal” times. Many people are stressed beyond the breaking point, as was obvious by way of this note. If ever there was an example of someone screaming for help, the author of that note is at the end of his rope.
What everyone else said about this person. Glad they're not my friend. Feel absolutely sorry for the hell they must live in each day of their lives to be such a very nasty, mean person.
I remember getting something similar one time for having had the temerity to place my bag above a seat that wasn't mine. Also, was on AA. As anyone who flies often knows, overhead space is shared space. You put your...
What everyone else said about this person. Glad they're not my friend. Feel absolutely sorry for the hell they must live in each day of their lives to be such a very nasty, mean person.
I remember getting something similar one time for having had the temerity to place my bag above a seat that wasn't mine. Also, was on AA. As anyone who flies often knows, overhead space is shared space. You put your bag where you find a place for it.
These two people who were in the A and B seats must have taken most of the flight to write their piece of nastiness berating me for having used "their" space. They also mentioned I must not fly often, or I'd know better. At the time I had about 2 million miles. I was sorry they hadn't stuck around to communicate with me in person.
Bottom line, nasties have been with us for a long time, but seem to be more justified these days as so many people are following the president's lead of acting out.
@Terry I concur. I had a nice chat with the reconsideration rep with Chase the other day. I think people in service positions have to receive a lot of negativity from unhappy customers, so I try to make the transaction more pleasant, if only to break it up for them. (And, of course, that often means they're disposed to be nicer to me, too.) I mean I do get that some FA's or other service...
@Terry I concur. I had a nice chat with the reconsideration rep with Chase the other day. I think people in service positions have to receive a lot of negativity from unhappy customers, so I try to make the transaction more pleasant, if only to break it up for them. (And, of course, that often means they're disposed to be nicer to me, too.) I mean I do get that some FA's or other service professionals are unpleasant to customers themselves, but I find that to be the minority of the time, and I still try to be polite because it's the right thing to do. Once in a rare while someone really angers me enough to say something about why I'm upset, but I would never resort to personal, abusive language, and I don't think it's right that anyone does.
I do not see reasons for being rude / nasty in either writing that note to FA or posting in the blog. At the same time I have seen several examples when an employee at fault would file an official complain with HR full of false allegations that have nothing to do with the incident. Before jumping to conclusions, I will ask if this FA going to be furloughed or has any other actions pending?...
I do not see reasons for being rude / nasty in either writing that note to FA or posting in the blog. At the same time I have seen several examples when an employee at fault would file an official complain with HR full of false allegations that have nothing to do with the incident. Before jumping to conclusions, I will ask if this FA going to be furloughed or has any other actions pending? What is the other side of the story?
Marriott is already collecting files on customers that complain about service they receive. Would AA do the same using readily available technology?
The B@#$%^d should be banned from all US Airlines..... Period.
This is an idiot, simply put!! My partner is a FA. He is also a registered Architect that graduated from Georgia Tech with his masters. He chose to be a FA because he wanted a different life and was fed up with working 12-14 days, plus weekends, to meet deadlines. There are lot of FA that are registered nurses, degreed professionals, and second career individuals. Assuming all FA have only high school diplomas and are...
This is an idiot, simply put!! My partner is a FA. He is also a registered Architect that graduated from Georgia Tech with his masters. He chose to be a FA because he wanted a different life and was fed up with working 12-14 days, plus weekends, to meet deadlines. There are lot of FA that are registered nurses, degreed professionals, and second career individuals. Assuming all FA have only high school diplomas and are low skilled is just an idiot! Also, many that are only high school graduates that are FA do a great job. By virtue of their job, FA do serve drinks and food but that is not their primary role. That’s only what the public gets to see. In the event of an emergency they are the main candidates to lead each individual off that aircraft to save lives. They need to know how to work a defibrillator, check for a pulse, perform CPR on the spot, and make sure the patient is breathing and has a pulse. They must attempt to rescue and save that passenger’s life until the aircraft is on the ground in case somebody has a myocardial infarction inflight. There are many safety checks that must be adhered to before the plane can even depart and that is not performed by the flight crew. FA have to arrive early to perform each safety check, including all regulated door pressure, and document these checks before any passengers board the aircraft. Btw, those hours are unpaid by the airline because FA are only paid when that aircraft is wheels up. It amazes me how some people have such a predilection of vitriol when asked to do something to save their life and the people sitting around them. This fool needs to grow the F—k up you degenerate single celled amoeba.
@James, well the bag had it correctly. Lucky transcribed it incorrectly.
It’s not “tow tow.”
It’s ‘kow tow.’
Surprised none of these comments addressed this yet.
Kow tow: to kneel and touch the ground with the forehead in worship or submission as part of Chinese custom.
Instead of some of the shallow, idiotic posts above, I offer something constructive. I was on with AAVacations yesterday, & the agent was having some difficulties with the complexities of the ticketing. She asked if I minded waiting. "No problem, I'm just working on something else", I said. After, she thanked me for being so nice. She said she had had a terrible day, many callers being short with her, & the last caller being...
Instead of some of the shallow, idiotic posts above, I offer something constructive. I was on with AAVacations yesterday, & the agent was having some difficulties with the complexities of the ticketing. She asked if I minded waiting. "No problem, I'm just working on something else", I said. After, she thanked me for being so nice. She said she had had a terrible day, many callers being short with her, & the last caller being almost abusive. Shouldn't "nice" & "courteous" be our default behavior?
Be kind to flight attendants. Also DO NOT drink bleach.
This shouldn't be a political thing. Hatred has no place anywhere. This shouldn't be tolerated regardless of who someone supports politically or otherwise. Good on American for banning this person and maybe other airlines should follow. Teaching a lesson to be nice for crying out loud.
„ Airline employees are going through a very tough time, so even if they aren’t chipper and delightful, show them some gratitude. Please.”
Why? Everyone is going through a tough time and they are literally paid to be chipper and delightful.
Furthermore, this person was somehow right - flight attendants are glorified maid. They work a very low skill job, they do not have to have any preparation at all, except reading some manuals and being physically fit.
What a vile thing to write. I am so glad American has suspended this passenger, but hopefully they will announce something even firmer like a lifetime ban. There Is not an excuse for talking to anyone that way.
I think it’s very sad that Americans feel free to talk this way to each other, and to others, seemingly more and more.
He will be invited for the next RNC .
Everyone be at peace. This is most likely a very unhappy person not only while flying but with all of life. I believe it would be nearly impossible for someone to write such a horrible note for another human being unless they're one of the most miserable people on the face of the Earth. I was hoping that there would be many comments addressing the flight attendant directly and giving her great support. If you...
Everyone be at peace. This is most likely a very unhappy person not only while flying but with all of life. I believe it would be nearly impossible for someone to write such a horrible note for another human being unless they're one of the most miserable people on the face of the Earth. I was hoping that there would be many comments addressing the flight attendant directly and giving her great support. If you are reading this, I want you to know that I stand behind you and have much appreciation for the service you provide for people not only in America but probably all across the world. I don't know what exactly took place and maybe you were polite with this person or maybe you were short with him. It doesn't matter to me because we live in such extraordinary circumstances and it has to be extremely stressful not only to deal with people in such a confined space without a pandemic but so much more stressful during a pandemic and so all the grace to you. Listen to those who support you and forget these words that are born out of somebody who lives in a hell on Earth. I don't know what is wrong with them but I pray they will find their way out of this horrible position they live in right now. I hope they will find out how to enjoy life and to love people instead of showing hate.
Of course there will always be narcissistic a-holes who don't like being lectured to do something they don't want to do...we see them everywhere. However, this is about somebody who believes their rights supersede the rights of the community by not wanting to wear a mask in a confined space with strangers and Trump seems to encourage this..he dog whistles personal rights over social responsibility and always has... and yet he claims to be the...
Of course there will always be narcissistic a-holes who don't like being lectured to do something they don't want to do...we see them everywhere. However, this is about somebody who believes their rights supersede the rights of the community by not wanting to wear a mask in a confined space with strangers and Trump seems to encourage this..he dog whistles personal rights over social responsibility and always has... and yet he claims to be the poster boy for law and order, and that sends Americans a very confused message. Politeness, respect and civility are the first casualties when this sort of example is being set by the highest office.
I vote we clone @vbscript2. A bit of intelligence and human decency goes a long way. This isn't a political issue. It is a humans behaving badly issue. Trump isn't a doctor and last I looked we still have free will. All of us have the ability to figure things out and do what is in the best interests of ourselves, our families, our communities and our country. The problem is that today it's every...
I vote we clone @vbscript2. A bit of intelligence and human decency goes a long way. This isn't a political issue. It is a humans behaving badly issue. Trump isn't a doctor and last I looked we still have free will. All of us have the ability to figure things out and do what is in the best interests of ourselves, our families, our communities and our country. The problem is that today it's every man for themselves. Anyone who isn't wearing a mask in an enclosed public place is a self absorbed idiot be they republican or democrat.
I was once on a plane from Boston direct to San Francisco on business and the clip that holds the tray in the closed position was broken and when I was told to put my trade in the upright position I couldn’t and I repeatedly called the stewardess got my trailer is broken and she said that if I spoke up one more time she was going to notify the captain. I asked if I...
I was once on a plane from Boston direct to San Francisco on business and the clip that holds the tray in the closed position was broken and when I was told to put my trade in the upright position I couldn’t and I repeatedly called the stewardess got my trailer is broken and she said that if I spoke up one more time she was going to notify the captain. I asked if I could be moved she said no it wasn’t even a fully booked flight I will never ever forget this experience. So my take on this is that she was rude to him because most of them are. I would never go as far as to what this person did but again no one knows how she treated this customer no one knows and they’re condemning him. People should get all the facts for us before they said talking shit about people
Why not ban them for life. These people are just ticking time bombs.
Just awful how these folks are treated sometimes.
I really do think that air travel should be made to be more expensive so people would treat it like the privilege that it is.
(Different Joe here) What Joe said. Manners, respect, empathy are traits that have lost their importance. They start at the top. Trickle down social pathological indifference has become the new normal. Sad.
Politics aside, it's good to see an employer standing up for their employees. No one should be subjected to treatment like this.
I hope this vile person lives in Dallas thus limiting his/her airline options! ;)
Wow. What a note. It's interesting to see the divide in society between people that refuse to change and love the status quo - no matter at what cost - and those who are able to adapt and grow.
The only hatred I see here are the arrogant liberals hating Trump and those who support him.
You know, the "deplorables."
Some people should take a look in the mirror.
Very hateful note. Karma is a bitch!
Here is my SARCASTIC reply to this post... I don’t see what the problem is here. If anyone says anything we don’t like, we should insult them in any way that we can. That’s what we are supposed to do. We shouldn’t treat anyone with even an ounce of dignity, we should tear them up. There is no room for class. If we disagree with anything anyone believes, they are our enemy. This is the tone that the President of the United States is setting.
Having manners in public is a lost art.
This type of attitude and behavior should be called out and strongly condemned. Ben should include this in his blog to help point out that this is not ok and should not be tolerated.
I hope I am not wasting my breath here but I do not understand why the comments involving race (White) and the term “Karen” are not being censored/erased...??? If that extremely sharp double edged sword was turned in the other direction, I am sure the posts would be deleted, no...???
And to anyone equating this to a specific Political affiliation/Race/Geographic region/whatever, you are not at all in touch with what is going on in this...
I hope I am not wasting my breath here but I do not understand why the comments involving race (White) and the term “Karen” are not being censored/erased...??? If that extremely sharp double edged sword was turned in the other direction, I am sure the posts would be deleted, no...???
And to anyone equating this to a specific Political affiliation/Race/Geographic region/whatever, you are not at all in touch with what is going on in this country, in the major cities, and certainly not on airplanes ...
Rich: When you got a messed up president who has no respect for anyone
What Rich said. In spades.
@Rich – Agree.
@Rich cannot agree more, complete moral bankruptcy at highest visible levels definitely promoting such behavior
$100 says the person who wrote it is white
Typical Trump touring far -righter. A whole bunch of bullies and it all starts at the top.
Ladies and gentlemen, this is indeed Donald Trump’s America!
Sounds like something...
Rich: When you got a messed up president who has no respect for anyone
What Rich said. In spades.
@Rich – Agree.
@Rich cannot agree more, complete moral bankruptcy at highest visible levels definitely promoting such behavior
$100 says the person who wrote it is white
Typical Trump touring far -righter. A whole bunch of bullies and it all starts at the top.
Ladies and gentlemen, this is indeed Donald Trump’s America!
Sounds like something trump would do.
This is trump’s America. He positively encourages hatred and division.
But we’d be in a different place if they didn’t constantly see someone in charge of the country having no sense of decency whatsoever.
I believe the American Empire has started to crumble thanks to Donald Trump, his unintelligent supporters, and his corrupt accomplices. Considering all the harm and suffering Americans caused in the world through greed and wars, it is probably a good thing
trump’s America produces this kind of vitriol for certain
the president and far-right media are actively encouraging people to fight back against mask mandates
There is a name for this type of awful human being who wrote this note-it’s called a “Trump voter” (note, this is an insult to @48% of American voters ! And Rasmussen just reported that 27 % of Black voters in Pennsylvania plan on voting for Trump this year, which makes it racist as well ;)
But if we are going to play that game here, (and I wish we wouldn't), but since Ben will not enforce his own "guideline" policy:
As disgusting as I find that note, and bearing in mind that the writer is some unknown jerk with no power to effect anything other than to upset a FA...
I find it insignificant compared to Nancy Pelosi, who is the Speaker of the House with immense political and propaganda power, calling Federal Police "Stormtroopers". (For those who don't know, yes, that is a definite Nazi reference).
If you only watch CNN and MSNBC, you probably didn't hear about it. Just google 'DHS chief slams Pelosi for calling federal law enforcement ‘stormtroopers’
Recent models generated from super-computer analysis of tons of data seem to support that the covid19 virus enters the body through ACE receptors in the nose. Thus your own protection depends on masking the nose. I see many walking about with masks but pulled below the nose. I guess the fittest survive and when it comes to behaviour I hope it is doubly so!
I feel like many of you are missing the key issue here.
The passenger wrote an unbelievably mean and vicious note and deserves the ban he/she got from AA for FA abuse. I see this as a totally appropriate travel-related warning from Ben. If I’ve ever had a serious issue with a FA I’ve simply escalated it to the purser or cabin service supervisor. A letter like this is simply a rage vent.
...I feel like many of you are missing the key issue here.
The passenger wrote an unbelievably mean and vicious note and deserves the ban he/she got from AA for FA abuse. I see this as a totally appropriate travel-related warning from Ben. If I’ve ever had a serious issue with a FA I’ve simply escalated it to the purser or cabin service supervisor. A letter like this is simply a rage vent.
But the key point is that said pax was in such a rage over *being asked to wear a mask*. This is the airline rule, this is the public health guidance. We are in the midst of a health crisis beyond anything we have ever known in the country with the worst rate of infections and deaths in the whole world. Masks will be a key part of saving air travel at all; and refusing to wear one is tantamount to a physical assault on one’s fellow passengers, possibly exposing them to asymptomatic COVID-19 and infecting them.
There is no interpretation under which this is not a selfish and hateful act from the get-go. The FA was trying to enforce a rule that was meant to protect all other pax and crew, not to make a power statement. As for politicizing the blog, Ben himself just pointed out the multiple layers of bad behavior by this person, so don’t blame him for people making nasty and political follow-up comments.
However there is also no question that Trump has poisoned the atmosphere around a value-neutral, civic-minded, potentially lifesaving behavior by encouraging people NOT to wear masks and to feel free to make it a political issue. I’m sorry - Personal freedom ENDS where the public good BEGINS - this is a cardinal principle of American jurisprudence that’s been forgotten by too many entitled people who don’t give a damn. Do you have freedom of speech? Yes! Does it extend to falsely yelling “fire!” In a crowded room? No!
Delta has opted not to deal with this crap - you wear a mask. If you claim a medical exemption, you get examined by their doctor in the terminal. If the doctor sees no medical issue, you wear the mask - or you don’t fly. WestJet in Canada has gone one further and declared that if a passenger with no medical evidence refuses to put a mask on, the plane will even circle back to the gate and disembark the passenger and ban them with no refund.
There is no other way to deal with this kind of antisocial behavior in an enclosed social setting that lasts for hours.
Wish this passenger would stop beating around the bush and tell us what she really thinks!
Lucky, ignore the people who continue to complain about certain content on your blog. Plenty of us (including me) find it interesting and at the end of the day this is your blog, if they don’t like it they know the way out, instead of whinging and whinging. STAN YOU!
Ben spent thousands of dollars to go to Bodrum and reviewed one of the Aman properties there. That post has 27 comments. On the other hand this post about a note written on a waste bag has 70+ comments. It is obvious where Y’all’s priorities are. What’s Ben’s incentive to travel around the world to write reviews and make a living? He can just post controversial stuff and enjoy the clicks.
I can’t believe there are people on here really trying to justify this letter by saying “we don’t know the whole story” “FA’s are often on a high horse” or my favorite “they are just trolly dollies after all”
One wrong does not justify another people! Even if the FA was abhorrent to this passenger, that pax is still responsible for their own behavior. FULL STOP.
Who raised you people?
Ben - Thank you for bringing this incident to light. Please keep finding these type of things for the blog. I appreciate the wide range of topics you bring to your site. It lets the traveling public know what to expect in these interesting times.
As Chris said further up the comments :
'The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing."
This is a great customer service approach - just ban anyone who complains, and soon enough you won't have any complaints! Is this note rude, tacky, and in poor taste? Yes, clearly. But these flight attendants are supposed to be customer service professionals and should be able to manage a rude customer. If only I had the ability to permanently ban any flight attendant who had ever been rude to me...
Only AA management can mistreat their employees and at the same pay themselves a high salary. Can we also talk about how the geniuses (management) at AA bought billions of shares back at $40 cost avg. Only motivate behind that was to increase EPS which directly effect bonuses. This company would be better off reorganizing in bankruptcy with a new board and management.
@Erick
"clearly visible, indecent and schocking in the US the last 4 years since the country had been spared from that gangrene until then"
You must have a very short memory or else not have been in the U.S. more than 4 years. Entitled people who don't think the rules apply to them have been around for a long time and know no political bounds. Several years ago, Arianna Huffington was removed from a flight...
@Erick
"clearly visible, indecent and schocking in the US the last 4 years since the country had been spared from that gangrene until then"
You must have a very short memory or else not have been in the U.S. more than 4 years. Entitled people who don't think the rules apply to them have been around for a long time and know no political bounds. Several years ago, Arianna Huffington was removed from a flight for refusing to follow crew orders (which were just trying to enforce federal law in that particular case.) Multiple jerks from both sides of the political aisle decided to go on completely unprovoked political rants to fellow passengers (and sometimes crew) that got them kicked off and banned from several different airlines in and in the aftermath of the last Presidential election season.
At any rate, glad to see this jerk got a ban from AA. Behavior like that shouldn't be tolerated and FAs shouldn't have to deal with harassment. People need to learn to treat each other with respect regardless of what disagreements they may have. People also need to learn that, if they don't like a rule, simply trying to defy it in the passenger cabin isn't the right way or proper place to express their displeasure. The FAs don't make the rules. It is their job to enforce them. And, if you obstruct them in the performance of that job, you are violating at least federal aviation regulations and, depending on the circumstances, perhaps also federal criminal law. And you're also being a jerk. Don't be a jerk and both your own life and those of the people around you will be happier.
If you‘re one of those who politicize this then you’re what is wrong with this country. There’s no argument about that either. Just fact, and best thing you can do for all and yourself is to accept you’re shitty — but good news it doesn’t have to remain that way. Instead of being apathetic towards the fact both sides of the political spectrum have becoming deeply radicalized and have dehumanized one another as well as...
If you‘re one of those who politicize this then you’re what is wrong with this country. There’s no argument about that either. Just fact, and best thing you can do for all and yourself is to accept you’re shitty — but good news it doesn’t have to remain that way. Instead of being apathetic towards the fact both sides of the political spectrum have becoming deeply radicalized and have dehumanized one another as well as continuing to point the finger and make this world a worse place than what it was yesterday. what you can be doing is seeing that 99% of people, regardless of who they vote for, find this behavior absolutely unacceptable. It’s just human decency and nothing more. If you’re to selfish to do it for others then at very least be better for yourself and you’ll find that your quality of life improves tremendously.
There is a name for this type of awful human being who wrote this note-it's called a "Trump voter".
I’m not defending the guy who wrote the letter, but with a lot of flight attendants knowing they are getting laid off, some of them have become unbearably rude. I know they’re going through a tough time, so I’ve been taking it in stride. But to be fair to this guy, you don’t know what he was subjected to by this flight attendant.
On my last flight home from Vegas, I couldn’t believe the...
I’m not defending the guy who wrote the letter, but with a lot of flight attendants knowing they are getting laid off, some of them have become unbearably rude. I know they’re going through a tough time, so I’ve been taking it in stride. But to be fair to this guy, you don’t know what he was subjected to by this flight attendant.
On my last flight home from Vegas, I couldn’t believe the FA making announcements. She was actually degrading and publicly embarrassing passengers, even calling them out in certain rows over the PA system. It was really horribly mean and rude.
If I were writing the "ban" letter, it would go something like this:
Dear Sir,
We do not want passengers on our flights who are sick. Consequently, since flying with us makes you ill, we must respectfully ask that you no longer do business with us.
Sincerely,
AA Customer Care
Hope it’s a lifetime ban. This goes way beyond the mask.
hah people like @Peter are absolute morons. 100% a racist Karen.
Glad to see there are consequences for (bad) actions.
Some people apparently never learned this lesson as a child.
Are these bans permanent? Hope so!
this is why i buy flight attendants candy on every flight over 3 hours i take
The passenger has been banned from American but this is what’s happening on flights now. People want to say “don’t bring politics into this” but the president and far-right media are actively encouraging people to fight back against mask mandates and any COVID related policies. It’s making everyone’s lives so much harder with this attitude. Airline employees are protected with a no nonsense FAA rule that if you don’t comply you will immediately be removed....
The passenger has been banned from American but this is what’s happening on flights now. People want to say “don’t bring politics into this” but the president and far-right media are actively encouraging people to fight back against mask mandates and any COVID related policies. It’s making everyone’s lives so much harder with this attitude. Airline employees are protected with a no nonsense FAA rule that if you don’t comply you will immediately be removed. My heart goes out to grocery store, department store, and other customer service jobs that are berated and verbally/physically abused by these people and have no recourse.
Look there are jerks everywhere and this isn't the first or even worse "passengers behaving badly" story. The FA needs to provide their corporate security with the note. Corporate Security needs to determine who the passenger is, close their AAdvantage Account if they have one and ban them from flying AA again.
There are enough folks out there reporting every hateful thing that happens in the world. We got that more than covered.
can't say im surprised. wonder who hes voting for
@Rich (September 3, 2020 at 8:10 pm)
cannot agree more, complete moral bankruptcy at highest visible levels definitely promoting such behavior
... clearly visible, indecent and schocking in the US the last 4 years since the country had been spared from that gangrene until then
Racism ?
Trump ?
This is just a testament to show what bad parenting gives you.
Even though I would put my vote on Trump if I was a registered voter in US and even the fact I am "white" would not make me write such childish note, if I did my mother or father would whoop my ass and bring me to the FAs house and make me apologize.
Its not society fault that bad parenting is happening.
Before Ben and Co, delete my post again!
Such pax should be identified and be reported openly for all to see. Shame this culprit openly. Ban such persons for life.
If you do not respect the rules and others, you need to penalised.
Everyone is angry about this virus. Everyone feels imprisoned by this virus. Still it does not give anyone the right to behave rudely to somebody. If you cannot handle the rules imposed...
Before Ben and Co, delete my post again!
Such pax should be identified and be reported openly for all to see. Shame this culprit openly. Ban such persons for life.
If you do not respect the rules and others, you need to penalised.
Everyone is angry about this virus. Everyone feels imprisoned by this virus. Still it does not give anyone the right to behave rudely to somebody. If you cannot handle the rules imposed for a safe travel than stay at home or take your car.
Stop ruining everyone's health and lives because of your ignorant vile attitude!
First Ben keep doing what you’re doing. I’m a follower for as long as I can remember and your way of writing is better than most of the other bloggers. Your reviews always seem honest and I enjoy reading them.
It’s not your fault the world is gone to hell. Why is it people always immediately cry color or politics? It’s is not an issue who is in the White House at the moment. This...
First Ben keep doing what you’re doing. I’m a follower for as long as I can remember and your way of writing is better than most of the other bloggers. Your reviews always seem honest and I enjoy reading them.
It’s not your fault the world is gone to hell. Why is it people always immediately cry color or politics? It’s is not an issue who is in the White House at the moment. This kind of behavior I witnessed many years ago. (meaning unfriendly and rude flight attendances AND asocial behaving PAXS) It has nothing to do with politics. The same applies to color. The color of you skin has no value in these discussions and should never be an issue. Maybe some people get easily offended?? I mean I experience discrimination or falsely accused situation also. Do I cry out loud and go destroy stuff? No, I don’t think so.
Countries give out false information because it’s politics and people want to be reelected. Organizations apply the wrong measures because they won’t want to lose the people buying their stuff. Would it be nice if we just could base our decisions on real facts and proven concepts somewhere in the world?
Having said this: Can we PLEASE go back to being normal and talk in this TRAVEL blog on travel stuff. Let me read some nice helpful travel things and start travel again. This will help the companies staying alive (airlines, hotels, restaurants and so on) and help the economy in general.
Just my 2 cents
trump's America produces this kind of vitriol for certain --
One thing I've found really helpful is that some airlines have safety videos that remind passengers that their flight attendants are highly trained safety officers on board with the authority to implement regulations as necessary. This is particularly needed in Asian airlines, where more "subservient" service is expected (e.g. pre-covid, even in economy, flight attendants on some airlines were expected to kneel down to eye level for every meal order and meal tray handed out),...
One thing I've found really helpful is that some airlines have safety videos that remind passengers that their flight attendants are highly trained safety officers on board with the authority to implement regulations as necessary. This is particularly needed in Asian airlines, where more "subservient" service is expected (e.g. pre-covid, even in economy, flight attendants on some airlines were expected to kneel down to eye level for every meal order and meal tray handed out), which meant that some passengers took an extremely entitled attitude towards demanding unreasonable and often degrading levels of servitude (e.g. assaulting a flight attendant for on-demand snacks not being prepared exactly to their preferences).
Ben, as a retired F/A from one of the US3, THANK YOU for posting this. It certainly is just one example of how F/A's are treated on a regular basis. Even though some readers do not find this posting news worthy, I myself could never experience upper class points flying around the world without the dedicated flight attendants.
Just vile - what normal self respecting person leaves this sort of garbage.
The anti- maskers need to be all put on an island together
Did not know Donald Trump took commercial Flights and His handwriting is not half Bad,But he writes like a woman.
A different perspective: Apart from the use of bad language that person is probably not wrong with his/ her statements. FA’s are called trolley-dollies for a reason after all. Besides we don’t know what happened before.
But thanks Lucky for this SJW post, which *really* helps me upping my points and miles game.
I believe the American Empire has started to crumble thanks to Donald Trump, his unintelligent supporters, and his corrupt accomplices. Considering all the harm and suffering Americans caused in the world through greed and wars, it is probably a good thing; but unfortunately, China, an authoritarian regime, will probably replace it.
@Frank @Ryan @KevinS @KeepingItReal @Jimmy thanks for bringing race and politics into it.
@Amos - "are Trump being blamed for this yet"?
Of course Trump can and should be blamed to some extent. Not because he wrote the note (he didn't) but because when he spews vile language, insults absolutely everybody without thinking twice about it (including respected leaders, war heroes, disabled people, you name it), spreads hate and displays unethical, selfish, greedy (and sometimes illegal) behavior just about every day, of the sort no other politician...
@Amos - "are Trump being blamed for this yet"?
Of course Trump can and should be blamed to some extent. Not because he wrote the note (he didn't) but because when he spews vile language, insults absolutely everybody without thinking twice about it (including respected leaders, war heroes, disabled people, you name it), spreads hate and displays unethical, selfish, greedy (and sometimes illegal) behavior just about every day, of the sort no other politician would get away with -- it rubs off on dumb people all around the country -- and the entire place descends into savagery. Which we see happening every day.
That doesn't absolve individuals for their actions, it's still their own fault if they behave like pigs. But we'd be in a different place if they didn't constantly see someone in charge of the country having no sense of decency whatsoever.
And maybe if Trump had told people to wear masks back in March (as he finally has come around to doing), almost everybody would have done it, and would be doing it now -- and perhaps around 100,000 people might be alive, that now are dead. But no - he only thought of the optics of wearing a mask himself, and the stock market, and not appearing weak, and re-election. We all know it.
that old chestnut “ we pay your salary “
This is trump’s America. He positively encourages hatred and division.
The attitude is, well he’s the president so if it’s ok for him ..
Then the comparison with nazis
You know the policy. If you don’t wear a mask , don’t fly , don’t enter the store.
In all honesty , I hope for karma and people like this do deserve something to happen to them , so they may learn the error of their ways
You sure this isn't fake? I wouldn't be surprised if someone wrote it themselves for a chance to go viral. If this is legit, I sure hope that FA took some well deserved minis off the liquor cart for their layover!
Are Trump being blamed for this yet? Oh I see, never mind. The Beijing Hiden troll army is already hard at work five posts in.
Ben, Thank you for posting this, you advocate for humans that work for airlines and that is nice from you, and don't stop posting things like this because a hater did not like it, God bless you.
Totally unnecessary.....wasted a barf bag too.
Well, if it makes anyone feel better, I 100% guarantee you the person who wrote that does not have a good life. Anyone who has a lot of things going right in their life is not going to waste their time writing that drivel.
Getting annoyed or mad silently to yourself is one thing, but to go out and write all that out? They must have a lot of issues going on and this...
Well, if it makes anyone feel better, I 100% guarantee you the person who wrote that does not have a good life. Anyone who has a lot of things going right in their life is not going to waste their time writing that drivel.
Getting annoyed or mad silently to yourself is one thing, but to go out and write all that out? They must have a lot of issues going on and this is a lame and unproductive way for them to vent and "escape" their problems for a few minutes by trash talking someone else and try to put the FA on a notch even lower than they are. When things are going wrong, trying to rationalize that many people are beneath you is a coping mechanism, unfortunately.
Remember when [insert any former President] was in office and nobody was ever an asshole? Trump derangement syndrome is real and it’s sad to witness. You’re just as bad as MAGA idiots. Sheep.
I can’t wait for Biden to get elected so everyone is all daisies and gumdrops and we never see these articles ever again.
Remember Obama’s America? https://laist.com/2014/09/29/modern_family_director_live-tweets.php
@Rich
"When you got a messed up president who has no respect for anyone, it enables people to behave like children."
Children don't behave like that......until they are taught!
James
@Rich - Agree. There’s an expression in the Army that goes, “Sh*t rolls downhill,” which pretty much covers the situation in America today.
Sounds like something trump would do. This is "strong" in the eyes of too many. 75% of the public believe in wearing masks to help keep people safe and hopefully return to normal quicker. That includes many trump supporters and republicans as well as Dems and independents. I would guess 99.999% of the country agrees this note is unacceptable but trump may not be in that group.
Sorry but we can all do better...
Sounds like something trump would do. This is "strong" in the eyes of too many. 75% of the public believe in wearing masks to help keep people safe and hopefully return to normal quicker. That includes many trump supporters and republicans as well as Dems and independents. I would guess 99.999% of the country agrees this note is unacceptable but trump may not be in that group.
Sorry but we can all do better and trump supporters could have forced him to "do the right things" by disagreeing/not accepting and it would have helped his re-election and his policies as well as the general decency in this country. Enabling has only hurt him along with the country.
I don't like masks but I wear it to protect others and to hopefully help end this suffering and help people get back to normalcy and a better, safer life.
No FA is perfect (or passenger) but everyone deserves to be treated with respect even when we disagree. It is a tough job made exponentially more difficult now. I just hope others learn from this and never repeat it.
This is absolutely horrible. My heart goes out to the FA who received this note. I've had my share of nice FA's and rude FA's over the years. I've had FA's on power trips. And I've had the kindest customer focused FA's.
Nothing excuses writing something vile like this. Whether you're anti-mask or pro-mask doesn't make a difference. Abusive behavior is abusive behavior. You simply should never speak to a human being this way....
This is absolutely horrible. My heart goes out to the FA who received this note. I've had my share of nice FA's and rude FA's over the years. I've had FA's on power trips. And I've had the kindest customer focused FA's.
Nothing excuses writing something vile like this. Whether you're anti-mask or pro-mask doesn't make a difference. Abusive behavior is abusive behavior. You simply should never speak to a human being this way. I hope this person gets banned by the airline.
Blame it on social media. It has given everyone a false sense of importance and made people angrier than in the past. Everyone thinks their voice matters now.
Two things...1) the jerk (less than that...but trying to keep it clean) who left this should be banned. The flight attendants who are enforcing the rules are just doing that...enforcing the rules.
2) People equating this to a specific political group. You are idiots. From what I have seen, being a jerk is not related to a political party. I have seen self obsessed jerks who think people should wait on them and kiss...
Two things...1) the jerk (less than that...but trying to keep it clean) who left this should be banned. The flight attendants who are enforcing the rules are just doing that...enforcing the rules.
2) People equating this to a specific political group. You are idiots. From what I have seen, being a jerk is not related to a political party. I have seen self obsessed jerks who think people should wait on them and kiss their #ss from both primary political parties. This is not a republican thing or a democrat thing....this is an entitled thing.
Ladies and gentlemen, this is indeed Donald Trump’s America!
Congratulations!
What Rich said. In spades.
Wonder who he is voting for?????
To Katie: this is directly from the commenting guidelines of this blog:
_______________
1) Don’t be a you-know-what
Fundamentally, we’d like everyone to feel comfortable participating in the comments, but like, business-casual comfortable, not walking-around-drunk-in-your-underwear comfortable.
There are some things that should just be kept to yourself in polite company.
As such, and in our sole discretion, we will edit or delete comments that we consider to be:
Abusive, harassing, threatening, antagonistic,...
To Katie: this is directly from the commenting guidelines of this blog:
_______________
1) Don’t be a you-know-what
Fundamentally, we’d like everyone to feel comfortable participating in the comments, but like, business-casual comfortable, not walking-around-drunk-in-your-underwear comfortable.
There are some things that should just be kept to yourself in polite company.
As such, and in our sole discretion, we will edit or delete comments that we consider to be:
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I've starred the one pertinent to you.
Don't be a you-know-what, Katie. You are part of the problem, not the solution.
Why does Ben get hate on like all of his posts? I know it’s the internet, but I’ve seen blog readers feel so entitled. If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything.
Katie: that's a very racist thing to say.
1, 2, 3, 4 and FIVE.
It only took five comments in.
Typical Trump touring far -righter. A whole bunch of bullies and it all starts at the top.
The guy probably asked for the crew's phone number. He got rejected. I see this happen all the time.
Disgusting behaviour and I hope the person is banned no one should face harassment like this in their place of work.
Also it appears the dicknose people are spreading.
Lucky,
Respectfully, I would not have posted this. What, as a reader, have I gained by this post? - Other than as you say - to encourage me "to be a little extra nice next time i fly". Ok, I got it.
This isn't' about travel this is about hate. I'll continue to read your blog, but I hope to see less of this here and in other outlets.
Ben, as great as it is to be able to engage with your readers, the comments have become filled with so much pettiness from everybody, from every “side,“ on every “issue.” Everybody is always outraged at something, whether it’s what you choose to post, or some sociopolitical grievance they like express in the comments. Unfortunately so many people cannot simply unclench their a**holes and enjoy a damn travel blog anymore. The childishness astounds me
@Peter - The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing.
@Ben - I appreciate these posts.
Chris
Please don't bring politics into the comments again.
@Katie why the racism?
@OMAAT do you allow racist comments to remain?
I do not care which colour or religion this useless hu.an being is. One thing is sure if somebody say or attack me like that he or she will be landing in hospital.
I hope dearly these kind of selfish and non complaint sickos are the first to get sick and die.
Didn't take more than 4 comments for someone to link this with POTUS. They keep forgetting these kind of things happened during the nobel peace prize winning president as well.
Incidents like this where some customer leaves a nasty note or accusations of hate-crime typically ends up being a hoax started to raise $$$.
If this incident ends up true, I hope this person who wrote it gets help.
Lucky, thank you for highlighting this.
$100 says the person who wrote it is white.
Disgusting that he wrote that note and feel bad for all his hate. Now the part where he says FAs need to “jump down off her high horse and learn how to speak to ppl” is something that has happened very often. Many FAs just feel so empowered that if they just decide to make someone’s life miserable, they can do that. It is time for some of them to treat passengers as customers.
Sincerely, Karen
I've been so impressed by Alaska Airlines FA's lately. Hope the trend is there at AA & UA, but doubt it.
Very sad to see such idiocy. I’m sure the crew didn’t deserve this. With one lone exception, every United & American Airlines F/A I’ve encountered since March has been at a minimum good. Most have been exceptionally kind and attentive.
Even had a couple great Spirit Airlines F/A’s!
There is far too much hatred and division at the moment. It must be so frightening to be a flight attendant right now, the virus is running rampant in the US and surely there is a significant risk to flight attendants. The least passengers can do is wear their mask. I wore mine the whole way from SFO to Sydney and it really wasn't that bad. Everyone needs to do their part so we can get out of this mess!
Why even give this nasty person a platform? So we can all sit here and be outraged with you? It's also "kowtow" not "tow tow."
When you got a messed up president who has no respect for anyone, it enables people to behave like children.
It’s no irony that most of the things written in that note are probably true about the writer rather than the FA they are writing it about!
It never ceases to amaze me how entitled people get so entitled in the air that they literally feel that only they count.
Unlike @Peter I find a great appreciation in your posting the vile behaviours of some people. It’s exemplifies what people working in customer service face on a daily basis regardless of industry. Articles such as these bring awareness and, hopefully, have people stop and reflect on their own behaviours in public and make changes accordingly. Those that respond as @Peter decided to generally are the same that need to check take corrective action on their...
Unlike @Peter I find a great appreciation in your posting the vile behaviours of some people. It’s exemplifies what people working in customer service face on a daily basis regardless of industry. Articles such as these bring awareness and, hopefully, have people stop and reflect on their own behaviours in public and make changes accordingly. Those that respond as @Peter decided to generally are the same that need to check take corrective action on their behaviour. Thank you, @Ben, for showing the struggles customer service based employees face.
Wow! It seems more and more people think it is ok to post horrible things about other people and that includes writing on sick bags. There seems to be an epidemic of this sort of behaviour globally ranging from mean notes left on cars to quicky mean remarks on social media. I think it is a direct window on the inner character of many people today.
I didn't read finish reading it and have no desire to read hateful stuff on this blog. Really disappointed in you for giving this person and this type of behavior any attention.
@ Peter -- I see your perspective, though my take is that I'm not giving anyone attention here, since it wasn't signed, or anything. Rather it's meant to highlight just how horribly flight attendants are sometimes treated by passengers, in hopes of maybe encouraging people to be extra nice the next time they fly.