In September a couple on Southwest Airlines caught some grief for kissing and hugging. In October Emily Gillette was removed from a Freedom Airlines flight for refusing a blanket while breast feeding. In November six imams were removed from a US Airways flight for allegedly making anti-Iraq-war comments. Did Carl Rove also orchestrate a take over of the airline crews by the far right?
A friend asked my opinion on the imams’ issue stating that he wants the airlines to be as cautious as they can be but at the same time people should be able to pray. While all these sentiments are understandable the problem, I fear, lays elsewhere. It may be time to rethink the conditions under which the flight crews should exercise their extensive powers. Authority, personal biases, fear, and old fashioned prejudices make for a potent brew. Power drunk on this cocktail some flight crews are starting to resemble bouncers. These powers should not become the rod to punish social behavior (or quell a dissenting opinion) that some flight attendants find objectionable for their own reasons. The person who is being prejudicial may at times not even see it or know that he is capable of it. Michael Richards’ rant is a case in point. He did not think he was racist and under most circumstances he may act perfectly nicely. Something that night agitated him enough to inflict painful insults on his audience.
In the meantime, the imams should join a sit in with the breast feeding mothers at an airport where they can all get together conveniently. The imams can pray the mothers can breast feed.
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2 comments:
Atif I doubt that you could get imams and breatfeeding moms in the same room, or was that your point.
Atleast one hopes we can get them on a plane. I was simply looking at the breadth of social prejudices. Whenever there is an interaction involving more than one person there is opportunity for some friction. The flight crews need to be better prepared and more adaptable. They need to have better conflict resolution skills and be tolerant of people who look different and think different. This my way or the highway approach was championed by the current administration and many others have taken their que from there.
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