By Scott Tibbs, March 17, 2017
Is United Airlines trying to go out of business? From their actions and the brutal physical abuse of passengers, one would think that is their goal. I am not sure what they were thinking or how they think thuggery helps their public image.
To be fair, United Airlines does not bear all of the blame. Nonetheless, I am astonished at some of the criticism directed at the passenger who refused to leave his seat. Pundit Matt Walsh said the victim "behaved like an absolute maniac" and referred to him as "a grown man behaving like a hysterical child" and "a grown man kicking and screaming like a toddler."
All of this makes me wonder if Walsh actually watched the video he was Tweeting about. The passenger only started screaming when United Airlines' thugs grabbed him and forcibly dragged him off the plane. To say that he was acting like a toddler, because he screamed while being assaulted, is either incredibly myopic or shamefully dishonest.
I agree that, as much as the situation is unfair, the man should have got up and left the plane willingly and peacefully. Sometimes these things happen, and it stinks. I would be furious if I was told I had to leave a flight after I had paid for my plane ticket. And even if I initially refused to leave, my reaction upon seeing the police arrive would be "yes, sir."
However, it is a perfectly normal reaction to scream in panic when United Airlines sends thugs attack you and physically drag you away. And let's be brutally honest here: The police behaved like thugs. There was no reason to forcibly drag him from the seat, and drag the bloodied man off the airplane. That was ridiculous excessive force.
This situation could have been handled better by both sides. The customer could have been more cooperative. The bulk of the blame, though, is with United Airlines, who sent thugs to bloody and then physically drag a paying customer from a seat he had paid for and was peacefully refusing to leave. There needs to be criminal prosecution for this excessive force.
