Althouse: Flying on a commercial airline depends very much on suppressing all your natural bodily feelings so you can ultimately be somewhere else (and then get back home from there).

October 29, 2017

Flying on a commercial airline depends very much on suppressing all your natural bodily feelings so you can ultimately be somewhere else (and then get back home from there).

The analogy that springs to mind is submitting to sexual harassment so you can get a career advancement. But it's not a good analogy, because there's nothing that's like needing to make the return flight.

(I've already said this in a private thread on Facebook.)

74 comments:

chickelit said...: I’m reminded of Dorothy’s character in “The Wizard Of Oz.” She was harassed by both men and women.; 10/29/17, 9:28 AM
Diogenes of Sinope said...: Though sometimes I think the airlines have screwed me it's not the same.; 10/29/17, 9:29 AM
CStanley said...: Well I'd say in the case of the actresses, they didn't really know if it would be a "one way flight" or "round trip" or multiple trips with flights associated. I mean I did notice that he used that line with one girl about it only being five minutes, but if he would pull this once than I would have thought he'd have expectations of repeating it whenever he pleased.

So in that sense the analogy doesn't work the other way because that would have been like a situation where the flight crew could track you down at any time and force you to take a flight again.; 10/29/17, 9:30 AM
Sebastian said...: Just goes to show that subjecting oneself to "harassment" is a rational choice, not something to whine about in a phony culture-war move afterwards.; 10/29/17, 9:31 AM
rhhardin said...: I used to go to the rear smoking lounge, owing to the unrestricted view, on United DC-8's with map and slide rule and navigate.; 10/29/17, 9:32 AM
Rusty said...: It's labored because you openly choose to fly. You could always drive, or take a ship, or a train. Sexual harassment is imposed upon you.
I don't know about you but my biggest gripe about air travel is being enclosed in a pressurized tube at 30 thousand feet and the crushing boredom. I'm usually done with the in air crossword in the first hour. Then a book and if I'm fortunate sleep.; 10/29/17, 9:32 AM
rhhardin said...: Over water, the best you can do is a home-made bubble sextant and a copy of The Nautical Almanac. No need for a ground view.

The natural cyclic roll of autopilots is the enemy there.; 10/29/17, 9:34 AM
robother said...: I accumulated a lot of miles during my career, but I never joined the Mile High Club, so I can't really judge the aptness of this metaphor.; 10/29/17, 9:35 AM
rhhardin said...: The analogy loses the perceived sacredness of the vagina, itself derived from males being interested in it. It's not sacred when you're stuffing a tampon in it, for instance. Just a guess.

You may have other sacred body parts but it's your own thing then, not male derived.; 10/29/17, 9:39 AM
Laslo Spatula said...: "Flying on a commercial airline depends very much on suppressing all your natural bodily feelings..."

and

"The analogy that springs to mind is submitting to sexual harassment so you can get a career advancement..."

Are we back to talking about stewardesses again?

I am Laslo.; 10/29/17, 9:41 AM
rhhardin said...: The stewardess thing can be read as revealing a truth. There's pretty high resistance to this today.; 10/29/17, 9:42 AM
rhhardin said...: Subitting to sexual advances can be read as let's see where this goes.; 10/29/17, 9:43 AM
Ann Althouse said...: "Well I'd say in the case of the actresses, they didn't really know if it would be a "one way flight" or "round trip" or multiple trips with flights associated. I mean I did notice that he used that line with one girl about it only being five minutes, but if he would pull this once than I would have thought he'd have expectations of repeating it whenever he pleased. So in that sense the analogy doesn't work the other way because that would have been like a situation where the flight crew could track you down at any time and force you to take a flight again."

In the sexual harassment scenario, you think you're going to get to a better career position and so you never want to get back to the equivalent of home.

With flying (unless you are changing your residence), you know you are going away only to come back. You have to submit to the bodily intrusions just to get home, and you have the option of just saying home. Home is the preferred place that you always come back to. A low-level career is not like that.

Your plan to achieve career success through sexual harassment might not work out as planned, because the advancement might not happen or might not be as good as you want, but you're not in the situation where you want to go back to your original position and need to get re-harassed just to get there.; 10/29/17, 9:47 AM
Ann Althouse said...: "Sexual harassment is imposed upon you."

Not in the employment context we've been talking about. The person who doesn't want to do it can walk away. Don't work at The New Republic. Don't pursue and acting career. That's like airline travel. You can just stay home or stick to driving. You can just not have a career or you can start your own business.

In some of the sexual harassment scenarios there was an element of kidnapping or forcible restraint involved. I don't mean to refer to those extras.; 10/29/17, 9:50 AM
Ann Althouse said...: "In some of the sexual harassment scenarios there was an element of kidnapping or forcible restraint involved. I don't mean to refer to those extras."

And my statement of the analogy is clear: "submitting to sexual harassment so you can get a career advancement."

This is someone who is choosing to take on the sexual ordeal because she wants to get where she thinks she can go if she does it.

I'm not talking about the people who are forced to have sex and are saying no. That would be like people who are forced to fly, which might happen if you're arrested or drafted or unconscious.; 10/29/17, 9:54 AM
gg6 said...: A very interesting analogy.
Until I got to the comparison to "sexual harassment" at which point I climbed on the return-flight out of here....; 10/29/17, 10:08 AM
Laslo Spatula said...: Trailer for "The Stewardesses in 3D"

From Wiki: "In 2010-adjusted dollars, the domestic film rentals exceeded $141 million. Having taken in about 300 times its budget, it is, in relative terms, one of the all-time film financial successes."

I am Laslo.; 10/29/17, 10:09 AM
Ralph L said...: Round trip = Round the World; 10/29/17, 10:21 AM
Ralph L said...: I was never good looking or female, but I hope I'd have had the sense to be prepared to get the guy on tape if it was even rumored he was a sleazeball.

Sleazeball passes spellcheck.; 10/29/17, 10:25 AM
buwaya said...: Why bring sex into everything?
I consider the discomfort of flying in historical context.
At one time such trips as we take so casually involved hardships beyond modern comprehension.
Better being cramped for a number of hours than being imprisoned between wooden walls for months, while eating rats and losing teeth to scurvy.; 10/29/17, 10:34 AM
Rosalyn C. said...: I think you are missing the point that those who submitted to sexual harassment to get a career advancement believed at the time that they would, or could, return to normal. They expected to make the return trip to their personal sense of sanity and safety. They didn't necessarily calculate the personal cost of the trip and the loss.; 10/29/17, 10:42 AM
Oso Negro said...: Let's not forget, flying today MAY include sexual assault by the government! A TSA agent insisted on feeling my penis prior to flight a few months ago. Titus may go in for that sort of thing, but not me. I have been unable to find a single case of a man commandeering a commercial airliner with a weapon concealed behind his penis.; 10/29/17, 11:01 AM
Guildofcannonballs said...: "We’ll climb that hill no matter how steep
When we get up to it
Whoo-ee! Ride me high
Tomorrow’s the day
My bride’s gonna come
Oh, oh, are we gonna fly
Down in the easy chair!"

- credited to Dylan, B.; 10/29/17, 11:15 AM
Will Cate said...: Quite agree with that quote. I'm kind-of a big guy (6' 2", 200 lbs.) so I'm generally miserable in an airplane seat. I put the noise-cancelling headphones on and just be a still as possible, try to send my mind somewhere else.; 10/29/17, 11:42 AM
Nice said...: What bodily intrusions are you talking about? I missed the whole Althouse-Distaste-For-Flying memes. Will you bring me up to speed? If you fly enough, and are going through the same airport routinely, they know you and you can bypass Security. I know that there's a lot of horror stories out there. But, I still find it exciting to fly....I was on Jet Blue the other day, and I thought the Stewardesses were so professional, crisply dressed, the plane was brand new, it was a red-eye, and not a crying baby to be found, lots of free snacks and DirectTV, great wifi. Jet Blue is notorious for delays, especially on the LAX to Boston routes, but I didn't mind as Logan Airport has been remodeled and the Jet Blue terminal there is quite plush with great restaurants. NYC Jet Blue terminal is equally luxurious and don't mind lingering a bit there, either, if necessary. Nothing says going-on-a-trip....an Excursion!.... quite like the excitement of flying. Cornball, I know, but I've had nothing but great experiences.; 10/29/17, 11:52 AM
Michael K said...: TSA is an acronym for "Thousands Standing Around" and their security theater has been shown to be phony many times.

My FBI agent daughter flew home this morning after a visit. She is always armed and has to check in at the desk and then is preboarded.

My other daughter was with her and that makes me feel they are safer. The TSA is theater.

As for discomfort, my first trip to Europe was in a 707 which did not have to range to go nonstop and had seats smaller, as I recall, than today's micro version.

One flight that did feature adequate security was one to Vienna on Air Jordan, the only airline that had a nonstop to Vienna. The security guy checked everyone and searched carry on luggage then boarded the flight with us and flew to Vienna.

That was before suicide bombers and it felt pretty safe.; 10/29/17, 11:59 AM
Michael K said...: I asked my FBI daughter about the Uranium One thing and she said she had "never heard of it" so I guess mum's the word at the FBI these days,; 10/29/17, 12:01 PM
Earnest Prole said...: I’m willing to cut you some slack because I understand you have some kind of phobia about sitting next to another person and having your legs touch. But when I listen to others complain about flying, I have to agree with Louis C.K.: We live in an amazing, amazing world, and it’s wasted on the crappiest generation of spoiled idiots.

“People come back from flights and they tell you their story, and it's like a horror story. They act like their flight was a cattle car in the forties in Germany. They're like, ‘It was the worst day of my life! First of all we didn't board for 20 minutes, and then we get on the plane and they made us sit there on the runway for 40 minutes!’ Oh really, and what happened next? Did you fly through the air incredibly like a bird? Did you partake in the miracle of human flight, you non-contributing zero? You're flying! It's amazing! You're sitting in a chair in the sky! People talk about delays on flights. Delays, really? New York to California in 5 hours. That used to take 30 years, and a bunch of you would die on the way there, and have a baby, you'd be a whole different group of people by the time you got there. Now you watch a movie, take a dump and you're home."; 10/29/17, 12:08 PM
Hagar said...: Flying on a commercial airline depends very much on suppressing all your natural bodily feelings and functions so you can ultimately be somewhere else.; 10/29/17, 12:20 PM
rcocean said...: This sounds a little Kooky to me. Yes, airline travel is unpleasant. But I'd rather spend 3 hours on an airplane, then drive 500 miles to and from.

That's 1000 miles - round trip - 14 hours of straight driving. Not to mention your odds of getting in a road accident are much higher than dying in an airplane crash.; 10/29/17, 12:28 PM
The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...: "Blogger R.J. Chatt said...
I think you are missing the point that those who submitted to sexual harassment to get a career advancement believed at the time that they would, or could, return to normal. They expected to make the return trip to their personal sense of sanity and safety. They didn't necessarily calculate the personal cost of the trip and the loss."

That is a great observation. The same sloppy calculation figures in so many human actions, from war to street drugs.; 10/29/17, 12:31 PM
Daniel Jackson said...: "And my statement of the analogy is clear: "submitting to sexual harassment so you can get a career advancement."

"This is someone who is choosing to take on the sexual ordeal because she wants to get where she thinks she can go if she does it."

I have flown for a number of years between Israel and France, sometimes direct, sometimes budget via other countries. The non-direct flights are much cheaper; but they do expose one to not just security a la TSA, to anti-Semitic behavior. Once you are en route, you cannot change your plan and if you do not comply with the agent, you go to jail (aka you are fucked).

I have had to take off my pants in line (the rivets in the jeans set of alarms) in order to pass through the xray. I have seen Israeli women forced to remove their shirts, remove their bras, and lift their breasts (or the agent will do it for them). Resist? Protest? This is Hungry, or Istanbul, or another intermediate transfer point. You fly knowing that you are going to get groped or "fucked" and must submit. I was arrested by the private immigration dicks in Stansted, UK, held in detention overnight, and returned to Barcelona at my expense when Ryan Air billed at three times the airfare with my credit card without my authorization (because I had flown Ryan Air from Barcelona to UK and paid with my card).

There was no inquest, no hearing. I was put on the plane by armed security and there was no recourse possible. I was fingerprinted and placed on the Watch List for UK.

I must disagree with your view on air transport, Professor. I can understand your comment for domestic travel. I take the train when I come to the States. Elsewhere, if you want to go from point A to point B for travel, you must submit to groping or fucking to get where you want.

Personally, I felt totally fucked (and still do). Since I cannot afford adequate legal support, I have to grin and bear it.; 10/29/17, 12:35 PM
Just asking questions (Jaq) said...: I enjoy driving, visiting people along the way, so who needs to subject themselves to flying?; 10/29/17, 12:49 PM
exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...: buwaya is correct. Flying is unpleasant. I did not enjoy being stuck in the middle seat when I flew to Denver last spring. However, a few hours of discomfort pale compared to the discomfort a person setting out from Wisconsin to travel west would have experienced 150 years ago. Or even 90 years ago. The great era of train travel was not as fun and romantic as Joe Biden thinks it was.; 10/29/17, 12:49 PM
Just asking questions (Jaq) said...: I like seeing America up close, even 'flyover' country.; 10/29/17, 12:52 PM
rcocean said...: "The great era of train travel was not as fun and romantic as Joe Biden thinks it was."

Train travel isn't that bad, since many trains have snack/dining cars and you can get up and walk around. Some of the long distance trains have sleeping compartments and showers.; 10/29/17, 1:31 PM
Mark said...: The airlines have absolute power. And that thing about absolute power corrupting absolutely is certainly applicable here. The airlines both take advantage of it and passengers also take it and keep their mouth shut about it because they have few other practical alternatives.; 10/29/17, 1:33 PM
Mr. Groovington said...: It sounds like you wouldn’t enjoy the 23 hour YVR-HKG-RGN flight I have this week. Business class helps, as does an iPad loaded with movies, a KIndle and a large screen GPS so I can watch the flight precisely and post the track on my travel blog. Then mount it on my motorcycle (is on an earlier flight) and make a connecting track overland. Nothing better.; 10/29/17, 1:38 PM
Mark said...: I have been unable to find a single case of a man commandeering a commercial airliner with a weapon concealed behind his penis

No one hijacks anymore. They simply blow up the plane -- like the Underwear Bomber wanted to do.; 10/29/17, 1:43 PM
exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...: tim in vermont said...
I like seeing America up close, even 'flyover' country.

10/29/17, 12:52 PM

So do I. But when people have only a week or two of vacation time, they generally don't want to spend much time driving. My brother and his wife do it because with 3 kids, the cost of airline tickets would be prohibitive. And he likes to drive. Still, he's usually exhausted when he gets back from his vacations.; 10/29/17, 1:47 PM
Daniel Jackson said...: Train Travel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhauNDPHUWg&list=LLXCql5ymyRQCrfxW65ho4hQ&index=51&t=715s

Take all you want. Get a sleeper. Eat in the Dining Car. Watch the sites. Relax. And, most importantly, don't get groped.

Takes a bit longer but, REALLY, who's in such a rush.

Hey; GREAT photo ops.; 10/29/17, 2:01 PM
Just asking questions (Jaq) said...: When I was younger, I flew because I had to, but it's not necessarily better.; 10/29/17, 2:25 PM
Sprezzatura said...: "She is always armed and has to check in at the desk and then is preboarded."

"Let's see, a flaky, self-absorbed actress or gun-toting, badass FBI agent w/ years of pent-up sexual tension? No contest."; 10/29/17, 2:32 PM
southcentralpa said...: exiledonmainstreet: If you take the kids, it's not a vacation, it's just a trip.; 10/29/17, 2:34 PM
I Have Misplaced My Pants said...: If you fly enough, and are going through the same airport routinely, they know you and you can bypass Security.

Um, what? My husband sits on the board of directors at our airport and also has TSA Precheck (as do I) and flies weekly, and there is no way even he could bypass security.; 10/29/17, 3:05 PM
Ann Althouse said...: "However, a few hours of discomfort pale compared to the discomfort a person setting out from Wisconsin to travel west would have experienced 150 years ago."

But those people were not going on vacation. They did what they had to do. I never have a need to travel that is at the level for which they put up with that hardship.; 10/29/17, 3:23 PM
tcrosse said...: "However, a few hours of discomfort pale compared to the discomfort a person setting out from Wisconsin to travel west would have experienced 150 years ago."

A more apt comparison might be the two days of relative comfort on board Amtrak's Empire Builder from Wisconsin to Seattle or Portland.; 10/29/17, 4:17 PM
BudBrown said...: Maybe more like being told you've won a free trip to Atlantic City.; 10/29/17, 4:30 PM
Joe said...: Flying doesn't bother me in the slightest. I'd fly more often save for the expense.; 10/29/17, 4:56 PM
Michael K said...: Blogger anti-de Sitter space said...
"She is always armed and has to check in at the desk and then is preboarded."

"Let's see, a flaky, self-absorbed actress or gun-toting, badass FBI agent w/ years of pent-up sexual tension? No contest."

Is PB&J now into sliming people he has no idea of ?

What a creep.; 10/29/17, 5:11 PM
Sprezzatura said...: Althouse is really digging in w/ this POV.

Before all her comment fussiness I assumed this post was just her normal blog filler.

Anywho, if she really wants ta get all evolutionary pysh-y v today: Folks that can't handle commercial (and also can't pay fer private) will do some sorta land (boat) thing-y. Others who have lower level, but surmountable, concerns will still fly commercial. Sometimes w/ alchyhol or pills. The proof is in the puddin'. I'.e., these folks choose to fly sans gun-to-head, so they're making the call that fits, for them.

Now, maybe Althouse would like to speculate/jabber re gals' (e.g. Paltrow taking Harvey cock, allegedly) level of being F-ed up in order to travel through the getin' F-ed (e.g. Paltrow: drunk or high or both?).

That'd be an interesting take.

IMHO.

P.S. We know that DJT is sober. But, is it possible that Melania takes it sans some sorta altered state? If so, Althouse could have another interesting take re commercial flight--folks who trade sexual discomfort for avoiding commercial flights.

P.P.S. There's also some way of also jabbering about Ivanka and her family gettin' heckled on a commercial flight. IMHO, there is zero percent chance that that wasn't Ivanka et. al. fronting normal. BTW, if you disagree you've destroyed Althouse's original post. I.e., you're saying that flying commercial is the way everybody would go sans financial capacity for private.

Carry on.; 10/29/17, 5:17 PM
Sprezzatura said...: Doc Mike that's a quote from a really lowly rated (re tomatoes) movie w/ a Britney Spears association (Drive Me Crazy).

"Eddie Lampell: Who would you rather do: Agent Scully or Gillian Anderson?
Alicia DeGasario: They're the same person, you idiot.
Eddie Lampell: [to Chase] How about you?
Chase: Let's see, a flaky, self-absorbed actress or a gun-toting, badass FBI agent with years of pent-up sexual tension? No contest.
Eddie Lampell: My man. What I wouldn't do to Scully...
Alicia DeGasario: I'm sure she's been drooled on before."

I'm just bein' silly.

No offence intended.; 10/29/17, 5:23 PM
bagoh20 said...: Being sexually harassed on a flight is a fantasy for most men. We wouldn't even think of calling it harassment. We'd call it good luck.; 10/29/17, 5:27 PM
bagoh20 said...: For that matter, the idea of having sex with an unattractive woman in power to get a million dollar leg up in my career is not even slightly difficult to swallow. As a male, again this would be seen as good luck, the easy way, or at the least, well worth it. We just don't value our chastity and neither does anyone else. Maybe we are just more honest that way, or it's the culture, and it's very powerful, no matter what we claim.; 10/29/17, 5:36 PM
Sprezzatura said...: "For that matter, the idea of having sex with an unattractive woman in power to get a million dollar leg up in my career is not even slightly difficult to swallow."

Would your claimed more honesty mean that you admit that you'd take a cock in your asshole so that you could get a million dollar leg up over other people who were only judged on their professional capabilities?

Sickening.

IMHO.; 10/29/17, 5:44 PM
Mr. Groovington said...: Years ago I hated flying. Usually it was on business. Further back, when I was a schoolboy commuting to Europe, I dreaded it. Now, the idea that in less than a day we can be in Bangkok or Buenos Aires strikes me as a miracle. Europe sucks though.; 10/29/17, 6:00 PM
Just asking questions (Jaq) said...: You might be surprised at the people who fly JetBlue, but if it is so important to you to believe the worst about every Trump every time, I will let it go.; 10/29/17, 6:11 PM
bagoh20 said...: "Would your claimed more honesty mean that you admit that you'd take a cock in your asshole so that you could get a million dollar leg up over other people who were only judged on their professional capabilities?

Sickening."

Thankfully, my fantasies don't go down the dark corridors of your mind. "Sickening" is right. All sex isn't rape in a healthy mind, and nobody is talking about rape. We're talking about choices.

But, do you dispute my claim of honesty, when men would admit they did it for personal gain and not call it being forced?

A man might be embarrassed that he "cheated" to get ahead, but would he claim he was forced to do so, or just admit it was worth it.

I submit that many women who have done the deed to get ahead are just like men in that regard. They wish they didn't have to, but they would do it again in order to get the rewards for the same reason they did the first time. Honesty is dirty laundry.; 10/29/17, 6:35 PM
Sprezzatura said...: Bag,

I'm only repeating your claim that you think it makes sense for someone to take a cock in order to promote themselves ahead of more deserving folks (re relevant capabilities to the actual job (i.e not taking cock ability (unless yur in porn))in question).

I'm assuming that you're standing by your claim that you would have your asshole pounded by dick and filled w/ cum if you netted out a million dollar career advancement ahead of what your abilities justified.

So, the follow-up is: what is the dollar point where you don't think it would make sense for you to agree to an ass assault?

Are you cool w/ anal bleeding for a hundred thousand dollars of career advancement beyond the career advancement that you deserve when compared to the people who aren't willing to sell violation for a hundred thousand dollars?

Name your bottom line. That way we, and society, will know at what point sexual harassment is be acceptable in American businesses.; 10/29/17, 6:44 PM
bagoh20 said...: ""Would your claimed more honesty mean that you admit that you'd take a cock in your asshole so that you could get a million dollar leg up over other people who were only judged on their professional capabilities? "

I'm sorry if I misunderstood your comment. Were you making me an offer? How much are we talking about? Can I get a corner office? ... and one of those high falootin European coffee machines thrown in?; 10/29/17, 6:49 PM
bagoh20 said...: How about this? Would you take it up the ass to save the life of an innocent hostage held at gunpoint if nobody would find out? People are doing it for nothing all over the place right this moment. Is it really all that valuable?; 10/29/17, 6:57 PM
tcrosse said...: It was explained to me that anal sex is just like shitting only backwards. And forwards, and backwards, and forwards....; 10/29/17, 6:59 PM
Sprezzatura said...: Bag,

Did you completely sell your biz, or just move outa CA?

If not completely sold, ya may wanna check w/ legal re jabbering about when it's financially justifiable to succumb to sexual harassment such that the harassed is rewarded w/ job advancement above the non-harassed-giver-inners, but more competent.

Just sayin'; 10/29/17, 7:03 PM
Ralph L said...: James Dean and Raymond Burr gave blow jobs, Burr for the fun of it.; 10/29/17, 7:27 PM
Mr. Groovington said...: Blogger Ralph L said...
Raymond Burr gave blow jobs, Burr for the fun of it.
...
I googled it, you’re right. That has completely messed me up. Like when I first found out that girls poo’d.; 10/29/17, 7:38 PM
Sprezzatura said...: "Like when I first found out that girls poo’d."

a) I do get that you're joshin'

b) I do get that Freud is now discredited, re the pros

But still, there does seem to be something interesting re different humans re retention, analy.

For a long time I've had houses w/ his and her bathrooms. But, recently I've felt that this feature is foolishness, I used to think it was desirable (borderline necessary) .

Not to mention that ya gots dudes like that McAfee weirdo who paid gals to shit in his mouth, allegedly.

I dunno.; 10/29/17, 7:57 PM
bagoh20 said...: "ya may wanna check w/ legal re jabbering about when it's financially justifiable to succumb to sexual harassment such that the harassed is rewarded..."

Oh Jesus! Really? Is that where we are now? Pathetic. Nobody ever has to worry about that. If I ever have a million dollar opportunity to hand out, I'll fuck myself for it.

Isn't that revealing though. I could joke about bank robbery, extortion, or even murder, all things I could do if I wanted, but this is the subject beyond the pale.; 10/29/17, 8:13 PM
Sprezzatura said...: I was 98% sure that you were joking re your original comments defending sexual harassment in the workplace.

Thanks for confirming my correctness.; 10/29/17, 8:17 PM
Michael K said...: Doc Mike that's a quote from a really lowly rated (re tomatoes) movie w/ a Britney Spears association (Drive Me Crazy).

You're still a creep.; 10/29/17, 8:24 PM
Sprezzatura said...: "You're still a creep."

I'm sorry for the glib quip/quote.; 10/29/17, 8:47 PM
Lucien said...: Althouse, air travel sucks if you're poor. You're not poor. Fly business class FFS. No one will ever touch your knee with theirs in business class.

In business class, the holiday starts once you pass security and you arrive at your destination rested and refreshed (unless you help yourself to too much alcohol in which case you arrive hungover, but that's your call). If you've got the scratch or the air miles to spring for first class, that's even better. Personally I enjoy it when I get free upgrades to first, but business is plenty good so I generally won't pay for a first class ticket.; 10/29/17, 9:05 PM
Ipswichie said...: I fly for free on standby flights. I see a lot of different passengers. The other morning I was standing with my kids trying to check in at 8 AM, and listened to a man in his late 40s in high-tech sports gear berate the gate agents trying to help him. He was awful. And he went on and on. I got the attention of the agent closest to me and said, "I'm sorry for his terrible rudeness. You do not deserve that." She was surprised, which made me think she gets it a lot.

Don't be an entitled jerk when you fly. Airline people have hard jobs too.; 10/29/17, 9:33 PM
Ipswichie said...: I say this because people do seem to feel entitled to stress-free, hassle-free traveling. And in what other area of life is that the case?

And while I agree that TSA is security theater, I do want to say that every TSA agent I have ever dealt with - with the notable exception of 2 complete creeps - has been polite and professional and even friendly.; 10/29/17, 9:39 PM
Mr. Groovington said...: Blogger Lucien said...
Althouse, air travel sucks if you're poor. You're not poor. Fly business class FFS. No one will ever touch your knee with theirs in business class.
...
Yes. Flying cattle class is shitty. I’d never do it. Bring frugal is good, but not with flying.; 10/30/17, 1:06 AM