Reply #161: I am on the side of the flight attendant

[Nikki Stone1]

Since 9/11, these poor people have lost income, union protections, and decent schedules. Since 9/11, they are now responsible for making sure someone doesn't take a boxcutter to your throat or pack a Gatorade with a liquid explosive.

If you can't gently quiet your child so the flight attendant can get through the security lecture, that is required by law and that passengers like me listen to, then don't fly. Drive your SUV or take a nice scenic train ride, where you can make some stops along the way, and take the kids to the dining car.

Planes are pressure cookers as it is. A toddler repeating "Bye bye plane" endlessly will doubtless annoy some passengers, and if the kid talks through the security lecture, he might interfere with some important information. And a parent who refuses to comply with multiple requests from a flight attendant is opening herself and her child up to some kind of censure. In my opinion, the attitude of this mother was off base. She basically told the flight attendant that the entire plane had to put up with her kid, and that she wasn't going to do anything about it. A more apologetic attitude, even WITH the "bye bye plane" might have kept that mother and her kid on board.