4 thoughts on “Air Tran and the Kulezsas: ‘Whatever Happened to Love and Understanding?’ – Tikun Olam תיקון עולם إصلاح العالم
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  1. i don’t know why but i really like to visit your weblog. maybe its because of what you and i have in common. i really hope we become closer friends. and the world be a better place for all brothers.

  2. I agree with so many of your posts, and while I agree that too often the commentary about this incident has been over-the-top nasty, I also think that Air Tran did a good thing in drawing the line with child misbehavior. A delayed flight screws up queuing at the departing airport, screws up gate usage at the arrival airport, can cause missed connections, and so on.

    Kids often misbehave on planes and at the airport. They dump drinks on the people near them, they kick and pull at seatbacks, they clamber over strangers, and the parents do nothing (or worse, they exacerbate the behavior by filling the kids up with caffeine and sugar [soft drinks]). Children scream all night on red-eyes and they play on the baggage carousels when people are trying to pick up their luggage. I think you’re asking a lot when you ask other travellers to tolerate this.

  3. Melinda: Let me first congratulate you on the fact that you are exactly the 2nd person out of perhaps 10+ in the comment threads of the 2 posts I’ve written about this incident who’s disagreed with me civilly. It may sound strange to have to thank someone for being civil. But I do.

    I think you’re asking a lot when you ask other travellers to tolerate this.

    I should make clear that I’m trying not to be an absolutist about this. I’m fully aware that children are sometimes over the top on airline flights & that some parents don’t have a clue how to act in such situations. I’ve been there myself on various flights watching stuff like that.

    My only concern is that perhaps on this particular flight, this particular child wasn’t in that category. Sure, she was crying and perhaps out of control. But we parents know that there’s a thin blue line separating a peaceful child fr. an out of control one. Sometimes it only takes one magic gesture or act to shake such a child out of their funk. I’ve witnessed this many times w. my children & others. I’m not saying that you can perform such magic every time there’s a meltdown. But you’ve got to try & you’ve got to give parents time to try. You can’t work miracles in a moment. Well, sometimes you can, but sometimes it takes longer. Did Air Tran work w. the parents on this? Or did they not give a crap about their problems? I’m not sure. But I bet they could’ve done better. And perhaps the parents could’ve done better too. I don’t know. But casting blame one way alone is perhaps satisfying to the “child monster” crowd. But it’s prob. nowhere near what the reality was here.

  4. I wasn’t there so I can’t be sure of what happened. I realize the little girl had to be in her seat but I think Air Trans could have done a little more to help. From what I read, Air Trans apologized to the parents and offered restitution.

    Anyhow, that’s not what we’re talking about really. We’re talking about hostility cloaked in anonymity or I think we are.

    The net can bring out the very best in people. It can also bring out the worst. Lately, with this incident, the one you experienced not too long ago, and most recently the appearance of blogger Melissa Summers on the Today Show, I’ve seen the worst. (If you don’t know about Melissa, let me know – I have some links).

    Several of my blogging friends have closed down their blogs or gone to password protection (which doesn’t usually work) because of the hostility they’ve encountered. One was even threatened in person. I’m not closing up shop but I can tell you blogging isn’t as much fun as it once was and I find myself holding my tongue sometimes instead of saying what I think and opening the floodgates.

    I don’t have a solution.

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