“Don’t be one of those People”
By: Scott-Ryan Abt
Tags: Travel, Public Shaming, Behaving Badly, Airlines

The Power of the Pre-Emptive Public Shaming

www.cnn.com

My dad used to say “Everything you do is a reflection on me. So don’t embarrass me”. He was one for straightforward messaging. He didn’t say this all the time, he didn’t have to. The message he was trying to impart on a young mind was clear. You are not alone here, so f******g behave yourself. He would remind me of this occasionally, but it was always imparted before going to the airport.

Kids behave the way they do on airplanes (and other places) because they are kids. I’d argue that their behaviours and those of their beleaguered parents in terms of guiding them have changed over the years but I’ll save that for another article.

But what is going on with the adults around them? Grown people behave badly in public when they think that they have righteous impunity (and even when they don’t) and that there won’t be any consequences for their idiocy. We don’t have to look all that hard for example, either online or by witnessing it ourselves. And let’s be honest, haven’t we all wanted to speak to the manager at some point and only barely kept ourselves together?

Yeah, people are stupid and yeah, many of them have been on airplanes in the past year since Covid restrictions lifted. My guess is that they have always been among us, but the camera eye has been a recent addition to the mix in the last decade. We all know it’s there and maybe it has helped keep us in line. And yet somehow, despite the almost certain guarantee of being filmed, instances of people completely losing it has not stopped or even lessened. In fact, one could argue that it has increased. And as we all know by now, there is indeed such a thing as bad publicity.

There are clearly plenty of people for whom making a scene so that they get their way or at least get their frustrations and anger out has worked well for them in the past. But what do we do with those people who are already so tightly wound and then snap when they are pushed, such that they won’t comply with restrictions and feel that it is their duty to stand up for their perceived rights and the rights of others, thereby creating delays, elevating tensions, causing discomfort and general mayhem and a generally toxic atmosphere for all on board?

American Airlines, at least, has decided not to shy away from the issue. A few days ago, I flew from Kingston, Jamaica to Miami and then from there to San Juan, Puerto Rico. On both flights, in the captain’s pre flight announcements, he made it a point to address the issue. “We are all aware from social media of examples of people behaving badly and not following cabin crew instructions. It makes things difficult for members of staff and your fellow travelers when this happens. Most likely, you will end up on social media. Please do not be one of those people.”

The bolding and italics are mine. He actually said those words. The problem exists, so let’s dispense with the niceties and get ahead of it before it happens.

As a non-American, the prospect of traveling through the US comes with no small amount of trepidation and anxiety, given the procedures, lengthy line ups and glaring border control agents one will have to endure. This announcement came as a relief. The flight was calm. There were still people who couldn’t seem to figure out how to find their seat or how to fit their giant luggage in the overhead bin. There will always be those people. But aside from that, there were no stupid people behaving stupidly.

A modern day pre-emptive public shaming. It could be the way forward for us all. A quick reminder that you are not alone, a notice that you are responsible as a grown adult for your actions and that your actions have consequences. My dad, if he had had any idea of social media, would have probably posted a photo of him clapping for this. Except that he wouldn’t have wanted to cause a scene.