To Slater or Not to Slater, That is the Question...

Every so often a fluff story comes along that captures everyone's attention for a few weeks and then fades into obscurity.  (Remember the sneezing baby panda on YouTube?)  This week, we have someone who has rapidly become a hero to anyone who's ever reached the breaking point from dealing with difficult people.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Mr. Steven Slater, public hero.

For those who haven't heard the story - both of you out there - Slater is the JetBlue attendant who reportedly snapped after dealing with one unruly passenger too many.  After telling the passenger to sit down because the plane hadn't stopped at the gate, Slater was reportedly cursed and ignored by the offending passenger.  (Granted, we've all wondered about the stifling rules regarding this or that on a plane, but hey, a rule's a rule and hardly worth snapping out over in most cases.)  When he rose to confront the passenger, the passenger - again, reportedly here - yanked his luggage from the overhead compartment and conked Slater on the head.

That was the last straw. 

Slater reportedly went to the intercom, swore at the passenger, and resigned on the spot.  He deployed the plane's emergency chute to make good his escape but not before stopping on the way out to grab a couple of beers.  Ta-da!

Why has this story captured the public's attention?  Simply put, everyone identifies with Slater.  Who hasn't dealt with a jerk on the job and gritted his (or her) teeth in frustration?  Dealt with an unruly boss who chewed them out over something completely beyond their control?  Handled one obnoxious customer too many on a given day and felt the end of the rope slipping past? 

But there's something about air travel - perhaps the tension associated with sitting inside a pressurized metal tube tens of thousands of feet in the air in confined and cramped spaces - that seems to bring out the worst in people.  In my own case just last week on a flight, I watched some jerk open the overhead bin and cram his too-big-to-fit-but-by-God-I'm-going-to-MAKE-it-fit suitcase into the overhead compartment.  That wasn't enough for Mr. Self Important, however; he also had a second leather bag that he decided was simply too big to fit beneath the seat in front of him, so he decided to jam that in as well.  When my duffel bag got in his way, he simply pounded and punched it without any regard until he could sandwich his obviously-much-more-important leather suitcase into place.  (Thankfully, I had only clothes and small unbreakables in the bag, but God forbid anyone else's luggage should have gotten in Mr. Important's way.)  Afterward, he took off his blazer and smoothed it over the top of everyone else's bags and closed the compartment. How nice he was to share his personal storage space with the rest of us.

But anyone who has ever flown - attendant or passenger - has dealt with this sort of rude, obnoxious behavior.  Who hasn't cringed watching the overweight passenger heading toward them with a couple of double-bean burritos from Taco Bell crammed under his arm and thought, "Oh, boy, this is going to be a looong flight...I wonder, can they deploy the air masks in non-emergency situations?"  Had to listen the crying baby for hours on end and found your sympathy for the obviously-trying parent slipping away despite your best intentions to be "understanding?"  Endured the body odor and bad breath of someone beside you and thought, "You know, there's a reason why God gave man knowledge about personal hygiene, buddy..."

And it applies to every workplace.  How many HP employees will likely now have to be made to sit through another mandatory workplace seminar on sexual harassment because of what may-or-may-not have happened between Mark Hurd and Jodie Fisher?  (Side note:  It's nothing short of hilarious that Ms. Fisher now claims she didn't want Hurd to lose his job.  I mean, that makes perfect sense when you consider she hired professional spotlight-chaser Gloria Allred to be her attorney.  Obviously, maximizing the potential for damaging publicity in order to secure a large settlement was the last thing on her mind...)  Told they have to shoulder still more responsibilities because of layoffs?  Been given the thankless task of organizing another "Take Our Child to Work" day series of activities nobody wants to do because it interferes with what they're actually being paid to do? 

Everybody feels for Steven Slater.  Simply put, he did what everyone has probably at one time or another wanted to do; but rather than resort to violence, he went out in what can only be considered a hilarious style.  Kudos.