We could do nothing but posts about the crazy, violent deranged left and have enough material to fill this blog every day. But there are other stories in the news.

Pop Quiz:
Supposed you’re an airline. A passenger on a Transatlantic flight about to take-off notices that fuel is gushing out the wing faster than anti-Trump leaks out of the Deep State; possibly imperiling the lives of everyone on board. The passenger alerts the crew, who refuse to believe them at first, but when they finally do, the flight is aborted.

As an airline, do you:
A. Thank them for their vigilance and make sure they are promptly rebooked and accommodated; or

B. Tell them to STFD and STFU, then buy them a drink and ask them not to mention the incident on social media, make it difficult for them to secure passage on another flight, and finally force them to sleep on the floor of baggage claim because you’re too cheap to compensate them with a hotel after canceling their fuel-spewing death flight.

If you are United Airlines customer service, apparently you choose B.

Because this is so right on, I tell you what. Airlines have basically become part of the Government. Federal law gives airline personnel essentially the powers of law enforcement; disrespect a flight attendant, and she’ll make sure you leave the plane in handcuffs.  So naturally, airline employees behave with the same arrogance and contempt for the public as Government employees.

Airlines, private companies, have been told they are “essential,” and are treated as such. They get government subsidies, they get government powers (you have to do what they say or risk legal action), and low and behold, they have started to act like government employees.

They do not act like they are beholden to the public. They do not act like they are providing a service. They act like they are beholden to their bosses, and the public are these annoying sheep they have to heard, and it is perfectly alright for them to push the sheep around if they aren’t cooperating.
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You want to talk about abuse of power? Give a service person the power to have anyone who pisses them off arrested, and make it so broad, that the absurd result of you being arrested for arguing is no longer hyperbole, but what can actually happen.

This isn’t just a reaction to the man being bloodied, this is a reaction to the entire rotting industry that has taken its power, the power as government pets and too little competition, and run with it to run roughshod over the customers. This is a reaction to the people in charge telling us little people to sit down, shut up, take what we’re given, and go quietly to the back of the bus when someone more important comes along.

On a tangentially related not, there’s a new European budget airline called “Level.” Don’t you think their planes look like tubes of toothpaste? Doesn’t “Level” sound like it could be the name of a mouthwash?

At least United Airlines Terrible, No Good, Very Bad Customer Service has produced some hilarious memes. I am kind of eager to see how the tactic of bringing up the victim’s past bad behavior (swapping prescription drugs for gay sex) works as a PR strategy.

I have been a bit gob-smacked by people in web forums and on social media defending United Airlines violent removal of a passenger from a flight from Chicago to Louisville. Some say, “That’s the policy. When an authority figure tells you to get off a plane, you must do as you are told.” One person even said the passenger was “trespassing on private property,” so removal by force was warranted.

Contractually, United was within their legal rights since every ticket they issue contains a provision allowing them to kick a passenger off any flight for any reason. Legally, United was within their rights to use local law enforcement to strong-arm a passenger off of its aircraft. (Their right to leave said passenger bloodied is a bit more of a gray area.)

But this is a question of business practices, not rights. A restaurant can theoretically use force to remove me from a table in the middle of a meal if a higher-paying customer demands my table. If they do, then I can decide never to eat there again, and to publicize the incident so that others may decide not to eat there as well.

United overbooked the flight, then boarded it anyway. (Screw up). After the plane was full, they discovered they needed more seats to move a flight crew to Louisville. (Screw up) They did not offer passengers sufficient compensation to entice enough of them to give up seats. (Bad decision). They did not look for other ways of getting their crew to Louisville; such as another airline, or a flight to a nearby city. (Bad decision). They resorted to the use of an arbtirary system (bad policy) to choose a passenger to be forcibly removed. They then dispatched law enforcement personnel (bad decision/bad policy) who ended up physically assaulting a passenger who did not want to give up the seat he had paid for. Then, facing a PR backlash, they weaseled and attacked the passenger … again (bad decision).

United maybe didn’t violate any laws, but their handling of this episode was wretchedly bad. And they fully deserve the backlash they are getting. The flying public is now aware that if they buy a ticket on United, they have no guarantee of keeping their seat, and they can be bloodied and dragged out of the plane by armed guards if they object. They can make their purchasing decisions accordingly.

Incidents like this are why I avoid United Airlines as much as possible.

United overbooked the flight. United decided at the last minute to kick people off the flight to make way for their employees. And then they take out their incompetence on the passenger.

Spirit and Allegiant are reputably sh1tt1er airlines, but at least they achieve horrible service effortlessly. United seems to put a lot of work and thought into treating passengers like crap.