Wow!\u00a0 Can you believe Steven Slater did what he did?\u00a0 Yes, of course you can, because you have thought of doing something similar yourself.\u00a0 Go on, admit it.<\/p>\n
I do not believe Slater was dissatisfied with his employer; I think he genuinely enjoyed his job and the company.\u00a0 He demonstrated this with his long work history as a career flight attendant with\u00a0his current\u00a0and other airlines.\u00a0 I think he was tired and fed up with the traveling public.\u00a0 Maybe the public in general.<\/p>\n
From an aviator\u2019s standpoint, I do not condone what he did.\u00a0 However, I can understand to a certain degree, why he reacted the way he did to a rude passenger.\u00a0 At some point, you just get tired of taking it and you snap.\u00a0 Many have in the past and I am sure it will continue into the future.<\/p>\n
Now Slater has become an instant celebrity.\u00a0 The media is chasing him down for comments as well as pursuing others even remotely associated with the airline industry for comments on the event.<\/p>\n
This is not good.\u00a0 Is this incident an indication of the direction our society is headed?\u00a0 One interesting comment by a \u201cbusiness psychologist\u201d suggested we are all suffering from an unusual amount of stress.\u00a0 Especially stress related to the current financial situation.\u00a0 Too many, he said, are fearful of losing their jobs.<\/p>\n
With the jobless rate at 9.5 percent by official count and greater than 17 percent if you include the unemployed who have given up looking for work, those left working are saying what many already realize.\u00a0 Employees remaining on the job are working harder for lower wages. \u00a0Management and business owners expect their employees to work harder and be thankful for their jobs, no matter how unbearable the position might be.\u00a0 Many in the service industry, sales positions, and other lower-paying jobs feel as if this is the new definition of \u201cindentured servitude.\u201d<\/p>\n
Joel Mausner, a business psychologist speaking on the Slater incident, says \u201cwe are at one of those times where people are super-stressed out.\u201d\u00a0 In the same Youtube video, Veda Shook of the Association of Flight Attendants supports Mausner\u2019s observation when she says flight attendants are working \u201cmore for less.\u201d (www.youtube.com<\/a>)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n According to Corey Caldwell, a spokesperson for the Association of Flight Attendants, the stress of flying is higher for both the traveling public and those charged with their safety during flight.\u00a0 She makes the very valid point a passenger disregarded Slater\u2019s instructions to sit down-also a chargeable federal offense.\u00a0 Not to support Slater\u2019s actions, but I have also witnessed passengers behaving badly and ignoring instructions from cabin attendants.\u00a0 I believe this is an area the FAA should look into.<\/p>\n What has caused all this stress in airline aviation?\u00a0 For one, cutbacks by the airlines in an effort to save money; 9\/11; Homeland Security; requirements to arrive unusually early to clear security; and generally, the lack of civility in many.<\/p>\n I say, let\u2019s go back to The Golden Rule and treat everyone as we would like to be treated.<\/p>\n -30-<\/p>\n \u00a9 2010 J. Clark<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Wow!\u00a0 Can you believe Steven Slater did what he did?\u00a0 Yes, of course you can, because you have thought of doing something similar yourself.\u00a0 Go on, admit it. I do not believe Slater was dissatisfied with his employer; I think … Continue reading