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I want to know who the the passengers were sitting next to this child were that didn't help her with her transfer. The lack of human decency is a cultural prob
by jcampbell1 14y ago
I want to know who the the passengers were sitting next to this child were that didn't help her with her transfer. The lack of human decency is a cultural problem as much as an airline problem. What the fuck is wrong with people that don't talk to a child traveling alone and make sure she makes her connection. I blame humanity as much as the airline.
- arjn 14y agoIt sucks to say this but in the US if you're male, the smart/safe thing to do is not have any contact with an unaccompanied child at all. There is a non-trivial chance that may be misconstrued as something else and you could find yourself in a whole world of trouble. Of course this should not stop someone from bringing a distressed child to the attention of the flight crew and other passengers.
- gitarr 14y agoThis is a very interesting phenomenon. 1) A child approached by an adult man = everyone is alerted. 2) A helpless child that should be helped = nobody cares. It seems that in case 1 it's more about getting the bad guy then to help the child. This is all sorts of crazy if there is any truth to it. I'd love to see a study on this.
- corin_ 14y ago> more about getting the bad guy then to help the child. Another way to look at it is that the worst outcome of one is the child gets lonely and scared for a small period of time, the worst outcome of the other is they get kidnapped and worse. That said, I'm playing devil's advocate here, not arguing that the above logic should be used by anyone.
- gitarr 14y ago> worst outcome of one is the child gets lonely and scared for a small period of time Actually the outcome could be the exact same thing in both cases.
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- ZoFreX 14y agoFuck. That. If you're not willing to take the negligible* risk of the situation being misconstrued to help a lost scared child, you are no better than the United Airlines employees. * Yes, it is negligible. For every scare story you hear, thousands of people interact with minors with absolutely no issues at all.
- waveman2 14y agoIf it happens to you it is a 100% result. Just today a man was ordered to move his airline seat away from two young children. Until he proved they were his children. In another story out today a woman aggressively approached a man and threatened him with arrest for taking his own children to a store. Another man found a lost child and returned the child to its mother, only to be abused and threatened by the mother. You see enough of this, eventually you conclude "OK, have it your way".
- objclxt 14y agoSorry, are you claiming these as factual stories, or are you just citing anecdotes?
- lunarscape 14y agoUnfortuately I'm pretty sure they're all real reported stories. In one case the man asked to move away from his own children was Boris Johnson, the mayor of London[1], when he was an MP in 2006. Edit: There's more on wikipedia [2]. [1] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/personal-view/3634055/Come-off-it-folks-how-many-paedophiles-can-there-be.html http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/personal-view/3634055/Com... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airline_sex_discrimination_policy_controversy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airline_sex_discrimination_pol...
- drgath 14y agoSo, a handful of instances out of millions over the last 5 years. Got it.
- cmiles74 14y agoIf no one cares enough to point this child at the correct gate, I'd be surprised to find someone who cares enough to file a report with the police or to hail down security. We're not talking about putting this kid in a car, we're talking about a little guidance in an airport.
- fjarlq 14y agoDo you have evidence to support this claim?
- arjn 14y agoEnough people have posted links in this thread. Its also easy enough to search for. However, as mentioned, no matter what you read or infer, if there is a child in distress on an airplane or in an airport the very least you should do is bring it to the attention of airport or airline staff.
- endgame 14y agoWell, if you're male, you won't be sitting next to any unaccompanied children, much less helping them: - http://www.theage.com.au/travel/travel-incidents/seat-swap-outcry-moves-virgin-to-think-again-20120810-23y7q.html http://www.theage.com.au/travel/travel-incidents/seat-swap-o... - http://www.smh.com.au/travel/travel-incidents/nurse-humiliated-by-qantas-policy-20120813-243t4.html http://www.smh.com.au/travel/travel-incidents/nurse-humiliat... - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/personal-view/3634055/Come-off-it-folks-how-many-paedophiles-can-there-be.html http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/personal-view/3634055/Com... If that's standard policy in the airline industry, then half of the adult population wouldn't be able to help the poor child even if they wanted to.
- corin_ 14y agoThat's... wow. I mean, even overlooking the obvious flaws in this logic, even if it is a paedophile sat next to the kids, what are they going to do in the middle of a flight surrounded by other people?
- briandear 14y agoYeah, imagine if they said black men couldn't sit next to white women. There would be an outrage of the highest sort. Or single women couldn't sit next to married men lest they be temptresses. It's nuts.
- eslachance 14y agoGroom them and talk them into coming with them outside the plane, for example. Having been on the receiving end of that stick (not on a plane, but still), I'd ask you reconsider how easy it is for an adult to have power over kids.
- corin_ 14y agoFair point, I would have assumed that even a long-haul flight isn't enough for that to really make any difference and therefore be a waste of a predator's time, but I'll bow to your experiences
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- rblackwater 14y agoNobody is responsible for other people's children. Not making sure an unaccompanied minor gets to her next flight is not "lack of human decency".
- masklinn 14y ago> Nobody is responsible for other people's children. He didn't say anybody (other than United) was responsible. > Not making sure an unaccompanied minor gets to her next flight is not "lack of human decency". I'd say not helping a fellow human in distress, especially a vulnerable one (such as a child) in a situation where you can help at next to no cost, definitely qualifies for "lack of human decency".
- rblackwater 14y agoIncorrect. He imposed responsibility on the passengers next to her. > "I want to know who the the passengers were sitting next to this child were that didn't help her with her transfer." And, no, you don't know she was in obvious distress, nor do you know the passengers next to her were aware of her problem as they were disembarking. Not taking the time to help a child to the next gate is normal, any rational actor would expect the airline to take care of it; the fact that they did not does not mean the other passengers lack human decency, what the hell.
- nandemo 14y agoThe passengers have nothing to do with it. If a kid is seating next to me in an airplane, I won't engage in conversation with her. How would I even know whether she's accompanied or not? A normal assumption would be that her parents were sitting elsewhere, maybe with another kid.
- mattheww 14y agoIn flights I've been on with obvious unaccompanied children, someone from the flight crew tells the child to stay in his/her seat until everyone else has gotten off the aircraft.
- UnoriginalGuy 14y agoThe child remains on the aircraft after all other passengers have disembarked. She should then be taken by a member of staff to her connection. At no time would another passenger be in a position to assist. The only people who could have helped were likely United's staff and the out-sourcing firm (who are also by extension United staff).
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