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September 29, 2021
Another contagion currently infecting the country is the scourge of bad behavior, from yelling at restaurant staff and librarians to violence on airplanes. Here, too, remote Hawaii was not spared.
While we focus on Covid-19 and the damage it does, a secondary or tertiary impact of the pandemic is the emergence of ugly, sometimes abusive behavior related to measures taken to contain the spread of the coronavirus.
Public health experts are discussing how and when the Covid-19 pandemic will end, but will there ever be an end to the display of loud complaints escalating into physical assault? Once social norms fall, they are seldom, if ever, restored.
If the coronavirus threat subsides, will the risk of a fight on a plane or in line in front of a restaurant subside? Or is this a chronic condition now that we will live with for the rest of our days?
You’d think that the proliferation of surveillance cameras and eyewitness cellphone videos documenting every confrontation would serve to contain these incidents, but no. The potential for greater visibility of such outbreaks seems like fuel to the fire, like a ticket to internet notoriety, as if it were an honor to go viral as an angry, complacent idiot.
Additionally, videos of air rage incidents seem revealing that inspire others who may not previously have considered acting wild on an airplane to take up the sport and offer almost guidance on how to do such a display of the sport Depravity is carried out.
Is Crazy Action Contagious? In a way, maybe it is. If enough evidence is circulated on social media that getting angry and slamming a plane is a trendy thing to do, that “emotional contagion” could become ingrained in people’s minds to be cool. In 2021, if you aren’t offended, you just are nobody.
There was a time when it was extremely rare to behave on an airplane. Now it almost seems likely on any given flight.
You can sit there in your seat while the plane is being boarded and try to find out who it will be. “Oh, sure. Oh, the other one already looks drunk. Oops, that one over there is already banging into the overhead locker to stow your overcrowded luggage.
When friends come back who took their child to college in another state, one of the first questions asked is, “How were the flights?” This means “Has someone acted stupid?” and not “any delays?” or “a lot of turbulence?”
Flight attendants across the industry are trained to deal with offensive behavior. They learn to handcuff passengers to their seats. The famous United Airlines slogan “Fly the friendly skies†looks like an artifact from a hopelessly outdated era.
Air travel used to be a luxury. The flight to a destination was part of the experience, not an uncomfortable but a compelling step that had to be endured. The idea of ​​air travel was different. Your journey started at the airport and ended with disembarking your return flight. The hours in the air were part of the excitement of going on a journey, not a tolerable (or not tolerable) endurance performance until the real adventure began.
Until the 1970s and 80s, people dressed up to get on a plane as if they were going to an event. A free bag of pretzels seemed like a gift. The guava juice was a treat. When the passengers were reminded to buckle up, they did so without fretting about their individual right to do whatever they wanted with their bodies.
Who would have thought that the wonder of air travel, the elegance of flying anywhere in the world, and the absolute privilege of getting on a plane to or from Hawaii would ever be tainted by bad behavior?
Who could ever have imagined someone yelling at a librarian or the house manager of a live theater reminding viewers to wear their masks during the show? This could be the most daunting long-term impact of the pandemic and current political era.
Since we may have to live with Covid-19 in our midst, protected by immunity from vaccines or boosters, we may also need to learn to live with the rampant outbursts of anger and hostility of people in places that used to appear low risk. But, on the other hand, young children in school practice what to do in an “active shooter” situation, so dealing with the possibility of a fight on a flight should probably not be as shocking.
Honolulu Civil Beat is committed to building an informed community who all strive to make Hawaii a better place to live. We achieve this through investigative journalism and watchdog journalism, detailed corporate reporting, analysis and commentary that give readers a broad overview of topics that are important to our community.
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