Unfriendly Skies

   It doesn't take much to spark a firestorm of criticism flaring against a corporation, thanks to the proliferation of hand held, pocket size video devices and their ability to post violent incidents on the Internet.
   In addition to local police being caught mistreating jaywalkers and drivers over routine traffic stops, major corporations are also caught when those connected to the firm's operations mistreat customers.
   Now United Airlines faces worldwide criticism over an incident in which three airport security men, falsely wearing jackets with "Police" imprinted on the back, dragged a passenger off an airplane after he refused to yield his paid seat so an airline crew member could take it.
   Some now say the passenger deserved the rough treatment of being hauled off the airplane, because "He had it coming. He should have done what he was told."
   This was after early reports that the passenger, a doctor, had a past record of a drug offense in his home state of Kentucky. But that episode was several years earlier, and the wannabe cops could not have known that when they beat up on the doctor and dragged him off the aircraft.
   They also could not have known that he was in fact a doctor who was concerned about keeping appointments with his patients the following day. And when the passenger told them he was a doctor, they likely ignored his claim. Moreover, since the passenger was Asian, one glance at his face could well have fueled potential racist tendencies that many power-hungry police wannabes have.
   Nor could they have known that the doctor had fled Saigon in his youth as the Vietnam War was ending. He is now 69.
   No matter.
   No passenger, regardless of ethnicity or past behavior -- known or unknown -- should be a target for self-appointed racist enforcers.
   Meanwhile, these questions remain:
   Where was the captain in all this? Did he stay in the cockpit, unaware of what was going on aboard his ship?
   Did other crew members speak up to stop the violence, even as they heard numerous other passengers cry out in horror over the episode?
   Overbooking flights is a common practice for airlines, as they hope to maximize revenue, hoping they can persuade some passengers to give up their seats in exchange for some other benefit. This particular flight was fully booked, but the extra seats were needed so four United crew members to travel to another airport where they were needed for another flight. Why not send them by bus or another aircraft?
   In short, violently beating up an elderly doctor who happened to be Asian for refusing to yield his seat for the convenience of the airline created one of the biggest corporate PR disasters in years.
   And what of the trauma caused to the doctor's wife, who was sitting next to him on the plane, watching as thuggish quasi-cops beat up and dragged away her husband of many years?
   Not to mention the trauma to the other passengers, who can now only wonder how they would be treated if they insisted on their rights as paying passengers.
   Meanwhile, the doctor has hired a lawyer, a lawsuit is planned, and there will likely be federal regulations about the practice of deliberately overbooking flights as a way to increase revenue.