August 11th, 2010 // comments (0)

Steven Slater Isn’t A Folk Hero; He’s An Asshole

The latest on the JetBlue flight attendant who went apeshit:

Slater declined to talk about the confrontation a passenger that prompted his dramatic down-the-chute departure Monday.

He plans to hire a new lawyer and make some kind of announcement soon.

“A lot of my life is out of my hands right now,” he said as he got into a Jeep with his boyfriend. “There’s a lot to sort out in a fairly quick time frame.”

Slater, who lives in Queens, spent the night in an Upper East Side apartment after being bailed out of jail.

NBC legal eagle Dan Abrams says he won’t serve any jail time:

“ABRAMS: I think it’s unlikely. I think it’s almost certain they’ll reach a deal here. I mean, the prosecutors are saying this is serious and, as a legal matter, it is serious, but there’s also no way they want this case to go to trial.
VIEIRA: Because of all the public support that he’s got?
ABRAMS: Yeah, the public support. You know, can you imagine the jury selection on this case? ‘Have you ever been on an airplane where you’ve been frustrated and angry? Have you ever wanted to punch your boss?’ You can imagine what would happen.
VIEIRA: There’s not a jury that would convict him.
ABRAMS: That’s the point, isn’t it? That the law becomes almost secondary on a story like this.”

Abrams is dead right. But why should the law become secondary in any case? Steven Slater was a flight attendant; his job was to deal with passengers and grit his teeth while the inevitable douche bag whined about overhead bin space or a weak martini or whatever. If Slater was a passenger on that plane, he’d be hit with the book. Why should a flight attendant be treated any differently?

It seems the entire country is looking for this I’m-fed-up-and-I-fucking-quit character at the moment, and that’s fine. But, the man broke a whole boatload of laws and ‘having a bad day’ isn’t an excuse that should work in a court of law. Steven Slater curses out patrons, grabs a pair of beers, hits the emergency chute and runs off the tarmac and we’re debating which actor will play him in the inevitable box office version of this tale? Get real.

You think this guy will avoid jail time?

LOS ANGELES — A Florida man is under arrest for trying to open a cabin door on a Delta Air Lines jetliner that was en route from Los Angeles to Tampa, according to the FBI.

Stanley Dwayne Sheffield, 46, was taken into federal custody after Delta flight 2148 was diverted to Albuquerque, N.M., early Friday morning, said FBI Supervisory Special Agent Darrin Jones of the Albuquerque FBI office.

Passengers on the flight say Sheffield, who was seated in first class, started to cause a disturbance, made threats and became disruptive about an hour and a half into the flight.

How about this guy?:

Oregon (Reuters) – An unruly passenger aboard a Hawaii-bound airliner on Wednesday prompted the pilot to return the plane to Portland, Oregon, escorted by two military fighter jets, in the latest of several U.S. aviation security scares this week.

The Hawaiian Airlines jet en route to Maui’s Kahului Airport turned back because of “a suspicious passenger who made threatening remarks and refused to store his carry-on bag,” said Suzanne Trevino, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Transportation Security Administration.

No. They’ll both serve jail time. As will this guy, this gentleman and this nutcase. Why should Steven Slater’s fate be so different? They all lost their cool. They all went berserk. They should all suffer the consequences.

Look, I’ve bitched about the carry-on policies of airlines for the past 8 months non-stop, you know this. But if anyone had the right to go on a rant here, it was probably the guy who pissed off Slater in the first place. It’s the folks who purchase airline tickets only to be inconvenienced by poorly enforced, nonsensical baggage policies, not the airline employees who have a right to bitch here. Slater inconvenienced those folks even further by throwing a temper tantrum that sent a wave of chaos through that JetBlue aircraft.

So, enough with the fluff pieces. Enough with the hero-status bullshit. Steven Slater is no folk hero. He doesn’t represent some fantasy, long sought after by every working American, to flee work in a fit of rage. The man is clearly an asshole who lost his temper and his mind, however briefly, simultaneously.

As the TMZ cameras close in on a man clearly enjoying newfound fame, let’s try to be a bit more choosy when it comes to picking our folk heroes, OK?

August 10th, 2010 // comments (0)

Will Lebanon Give In To Bullying By Hezbollah?

Some trouble on the horizon as the al-Hariri case wraps up:

BEIRUT — The United Nations set up a tribunal to try suspects in the 2005 killing of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq al-Hariri in an effort to deter future violence in Lebanon. But many in the country now fear indictments in the case could trigger a new political crisis or even sectarian bloodshed.

It’s clear that Hezbollah expects the U.N. to point fingers at several figureheads and, in an attempt to both discredit the pending indictments and threaten Lebanon simultaneously, the pot stirring is in full view.

Hezbollah’s leaders have pressured the Lebanese government to end its cooperation with U.N. investigators and have threatened consequences if it doesn’t. Walid Jumblatt, the Lebanese Druze leader, said naming Hezbollah in the indictments would be enough to trigger a civil war like the one from 1975 to 1990.

Don’t think for a second that these threats aren’t working, either. Regional power brokers are attempting to delay release of findings or cancel it entirely. So, the citizens and politicians of Lebanon find themselves at a crossroads. Do you give in to the bullying of a terror obsessed outfit now proven to have been involved in the assassination of an popular former Prime Minister or risk another lengthy civil war sure to tear their fragile nation to threads? The trouble is, even if the Lebanese politicians (those not aligned with Hezbollah, of course) decided to make a move and reject Hezbollah’s demand that they distance themselves from this U.N. report wanted to do something, they couldn’t.

Two years ago, when the government tried to shut down Hezbollah’s vast telecommunications network, Hezbollah militiamen took over Beirut within 24 hours, embarrassing the Lebanese army and demonstrating Hezbollah’s ability to overpower Hariri and his pro-democracy supporters at will.

In response, Hariri agreed to give Hezbollah, considered a terrorist group by the United States and Israel, and its allies enough cabinet seats to block any major decision. Hezbollah now controls several major posts, including the foreign ministry.

This should be interesting to watch…

Exit Question: Did they already cave?