A passenger may have had a bad flight attendant on American Airlines, but responding by posting her picture online and calling her a “pig” was not accountability, but ugly, petulant behavior that deserves to be called out.
Passenger Calls American Airlines Flight Attendant A “Pig” Online…Which Says More About Him Than Her
A man who was unhappy with an American Airlines flight attendant took to social media to complain about her, posting her picture and calling her a “pig.”
As One Mile at a Time notes, a New York-based Guyanese media personality and political commentator named Ossie Winston Rodgers posted a photo of an American Airlines flight attendant after a flight from Georgetown to New York JFK and wrote:
How come this pig got employed by American Airlines? Most of the passengers on this flight agreed she is the worst flight attendant they have ever experienced. #PigOnBoard Apology to JetBlue!
I think we all know who the pig is here, even if the flight attendant was one too.
And that is my point. Let’s assume, for the sake of argument, that this flight attendant was rude, dismissive, obnoxious, and unprofessional. I was not there, and I do not know what happened onboard. Maybe she provided poor service…it would not surprise me if the passenger had a legitimate complaint.
But you do not respond to rudeness by being even more rude or trying to humiliate someone online. And you certainly do not post a recognizable picture of a flight attendant doing her job and call her a pig…
There Is A Right Way To Complain
I am not necessarily opposed to documenting bad behavior onboard. If a flight attendant is acting wildly out of line, taking a discreet photo or video may be appropriate. We live in a world where evidence matters, and I understand why passengers sometimes feel they need to document what happened.
But that does not mean you publish it!
You send it to American Airlines with a concise explanation of what occurred. Date, flight number, seat number, what happened, and why you believe the crew member acted improperly. Keep it factual and do not exaggerate or insult.
Will you probably receive a canned AI response that thanks you for your feedback and assures you that American takes these matters seriously? Frustratingly, yes.
But you may get a real answer and trying to publicly shame a flight attendant by doxxing her face and attaching a vile hashtag to it is a really bad look. It makes the complaint harder to take seriously, not easier.
Once you cross that line, the story is no longer only about the alleged bad service…it becomes about your own conduct.
Respect Still Matters, Even When Service Is Bad
I review flights for a living and I take pictures onboard constantly. But over the years, I have become much more careful about photographing crew members.
If I am reviewing a flight and want to include a flight attendant in a picture, I generally ask permission first. If I do not ask, I make sure the crew member is not facing the camera, is far enough away not to be recognizable, or is incidental to the cabin shot. I do not always get it perfect, but that is the standard I try to follow and it becomes non-negotiable when I’m flying on a European carrier.
I do not support blanket bans on photographing cabin crew. That can be abused too, especially when passengers are trying to document legitimate problems. But I also think respect goes a long way.
Even when respect is not reciprocated, offering it anyway is usually the better way to live.
American Should Look At The Underlying Complaint, But The Post Crossed A Line
American Airlines can still review whether anything inappropriate happened on the flight. If multiple passengers truly complained about this crew member, I suspect it will be taken seriously. Bad service should not be ignored simply because the person complaining behaved badly.
But the social media post itself was indefensible.
Calling someone a pig is dehumanizing, even if we are talking about Rosie O’Donnell (sorry, I couldn’t help it). Posting her picture made it personal and the hashtag was so juvenile. This was an attempt to humiliate someone, not hold her accountable.
It is bullying…
Should AA ban this tool? Airlines have a legitimate interest in protecting employees from harassment, but I’d probably stop short of the ban since he deleted it (after first lying and saying the flight attendant told him he could take her pictures, which of course calls into question his entire story).
CONCLUSION
A passenger who believed he had a bad American Airlines flight attendant posted her picture online and called her a “pig.” Maybe the flight attendant was rude…or maybe she was not. Either way, the response was unacceptable.
Documenting bad service is one thing, but it should be done without publicly humiliating a flight attendant by posting her face online with a degrading insult. If you have a legitimate complaint, send it to the airline or even take it to social media but don’t hurl vile insults and post unwanted photos.
Respect is not weakness. If only more people would remember that (and yes, I better practice what I preach…).
image: American Airlines
Welcome to Trump’s America. This behavior is now encouraged and rewarded.
Bvllsiht. I’m as conservative as they come. and no one I know demonstrates boorish behaviour. Most of us have extensive vocabularies and if we care to insult someone, we use big words and an indoors voice.
But what is “conservative” about DJT? I’m taking big picture and in terms of policy.
Presumably it would be acceptable to call him a fat n-word pig to his face. I’m old enough to remember when that was common verbal currency on the South Side and would have no problem reverting to that sort of language for this guy. And I wouldn’t use language like that about Kanye.
*deep sigh*
With 50+ years of flying as a passenger yea I have had rude/bad flight attendants. I have even written and mailed (no email or social media at that time) about FA’s good and bad. Most of the comments I make to an airline are positive. Recently on a red eye from YVR to DFW we had one of the kindest and efficient FA ever in F. Yea I sent AA a written compliment about him. I even heard back from AA with a few miles for being nice. If I run into a poor FA I normally bury my nose in a book and move on with my day, Too many people are “Outraged” by this or that. I have said it before and I will say it again, social media will be the collapse of western society!
“media personality and political commentator ”
That pretty much tells me he has no real skills and for some reason thinks he is special.
He is also from Guyana which has a high rate of abuse towards women.
From those photos it looks like he could afford to lose a few lbs himself.
He’s no oil painting, that’s for sure.
American, do the right thing. Life time ban on this jerk.
Mr Rodgers is reportedly experienced when it comes to abusing women:
https://www.stabroeknews.com/2023/01/15/news/guyana/woman-in-ossie-rodgers-assault-case-says-she-settled-matter-for-150000/
Of course he claims she provoked him, and then tried to framed him with a doctored video, which both the plaintiff and the local police chief deny:
https://www.stabroeknews.com/2022/10/20/news/guyana/ossie-rodgers-says-he-was-provoked-claims-video-doctored/
What a charmer.
Yikes!
“Yikes!” indeed. Of course the question of whether this gentleman is of sufficiently good character to hold a visa allowing him to reside in the United States is a matter for the United States. I would suggest, however, that it’s a question well worth asking.
DJT…this has NOTHING to do with politics. Stuff like this has been going on for a long time. There is a great possibility that, with the right lawyer, the flight attendant could bankrupt this clown with the right defamation case. I agree with BHN…ban the SOB.
Win: wrong, has everything to do with politics. You’re right, stuff like this has been going on for a long time. But prior to Dear MAGA Leader it was infrequent and frowned upon. The lying, corrupt, douche bag-in-chief does this every day, often times multiple times in one day, and has made this kind of behavior a badge of honor for the GOP.
Fascinating how Democrat politicians end up resigning, or terminating their campaigns, for the exact same behavior that GOP politicians, including the fat orange cheetoh, claim to be “locker room talk” and “fake news” and suffer no consequences for their vile behavior.
Respect for ourselves guides our morals, respect for others guides our manners. – Laurence Sterne –
Evolution of political scandals: 1987, Gary Hart, Dem front runner, photographed on a boat with a woman other than his wife, political career terminated. Past 10 years: Dear Maga Leader, many scandals and endless vile behavior, elected POTUS twice.
Difference between GOP and Dems: Paxton and Platner.
Repulsive and disgusting and inappropriate and (should be) unacceptable and unbelievable who GOP supporting morons embrace as their candidates and political leaders.
The only (rudeish) flight attendant I have every had on a transpacific flight (or any flight) was when I suggested the fasten-seatbealt sign should be lighted.. followed by a stronger suggestion, followed by an earnest appeal,… that was before I bounced off the cabin sealing while holding my arm across the lap of an elderly lady occupying a side seat. Then, I literally yelled at the flight attendant to turn the seatbelt sign on. Once in 50 years of flying over the pacific 4-times in one year.