reamworks

None of us saw it, and seeing how quickly the Police dropped this, I think this was just a crazy crew member who has seen too many scare stories about "human trafficking" and wants to be a hero.

Since none of us saw it, and since the Police didn't pursue it, I'd have to assume that nothing even slightly untoward happened. To assume otherwise is outrageous.

porciuscato

I was really sympathetic with the father until I read this:

Sounds a little like a DYKWIA -- or at least a NIWTMW

nacho

Fortunately it happened in the US, if it happens in Sweden, you won't believe the consequences......First there will be 45 minutes investigation while the adult is immediately put away and then that adult will be locked up for 6 hours. After a week social services will come to your home and check your home and then the police will file a charge against you. During that period someone will take away the kid during school hour for investigation. If you are not educated enough not to find a good lawyer, you could be convicted based on 1 person's statement.

Ber2dca

We don't know the story really because we don't know what actually happened. I think it's unwise to get all outraged about stories where you don't have all the information.

The police could have also dropped it quickly because it was going to be word vs word anyway and who wants to deal with the PR nightmare that could follow.

mahasamatman

Sounds like he's fishing for a large settlement.

TurboFan779

I just can't side with the father here. You re in public, dont hold your son like that because its offensive to people. When you are at home sure, but I'm sure the kid would feel just as secure if he held him on his belly or feet during the flight.

Again we dont know what happened, but in my opinion, for the crew to go so far as to call police, something must have looked REAL awkward. And I predict police quickly dropped it because he was gay, and as said, who wants to deal with that PR.

As a passenger in a public airplane, I would not want to see that myself. Just like if Im at a fast food place and see a dad kissing his 5-6 yr old daughter on the lips, I lose my appetite.

LDVFlyer

He's not asking you to be sympathetic. He's appealing to the LGBT community. It is a compelling appeal.

User Name

Have you considered the common factor in each of these problems?

mduell

Allowing children on airplanes?

ftweb

As anyone who travels with kids in economy knows, airline seats can lead to very awkward sleeping positions. You don't want your kid kicking your neighbor. You also worry about the kid's feet or head protruding into the aisle where they could get hit by the service cart. And yeah, sometimes kids fall asleep with their heads in an awkward looking place on your lap, or a kid grabs your hand and puts it in their lap, or the kid is sleeping on you in such a way that there is pretty much no appropriate comfortable place to rest your arm. So you try to move the kid around, but you don't want to wake the kid, either, so it just makes for an all-around uncomfortable situation. If this is wrong, the guilty party is clearly United for deploying these seats, not the poor parents just trying to help their kids sleep through a flight!

And by the way, if your kid does grab your hand during turbulence or something and it ends up in an awkward position, the last thing you want to do is draw a lot of attention to this fact and make the kid feel like they've done something bad. In case anything ever does happen, you don't want kids feeling any reluctance or guilt about reporting inappropriate touching. That's what's so horrible about this situation. What kind of impact will this have on a 5-year-old who watched his dad get hauled off by police for 45 minutes? If, god forbid, the kid ever does get molested, don't you think he'll be a lot less likely to want to discuss it with his parents or teachers?

This is way, way worse then the David Dao situation. Bash my teeth in fine--that's only one or two notches below the treatment I expect as a 1K anyway. It's not right, of course, but we accept a lot of BS if we aren't Global Services. On the other hand, detain me in front of my kids? That's the worst thing I can imagine happening short of actually hurting my kids. (Is that the next headline... "United restrains and Tazes unruly 5-year-old"?)

Freebird

Isn't there a passenger manifest available to the crew that would show who parental - child relationships?

Sabai

According to this article, the airline would prefer that the father not make too big a deal about what a wretched company UA truly is:

http://www.advocate.com/business/201...these-gay-dads

mduell

No, booking agents do not inquire about such things.

YadiMolina

In a story on cnn.com, the father demonstrated his embrace of his son. I'd say the reporting flight attendants were way out of line.

I can't imagine the rage I'd feel if a 45 minute detention/interrogation happened to me and my kid.

CDTraveler

What puzzles me is why adults are so quick to sexualize a child's body.

Having traveled a great deal with my kid when he was small, I probably rested my hand on his diaper area a hundred times and never thought about it. Tight seat on a plane, have to keep your elbows in, try to hold the child so he feels secure yet isn't able to kick or disturb those around him, rest the hand across him because your arm gets tired - seems perfectly normal to me.

Unless the hand was between the legs and actively moving, what I see is adults projecting their own issues onto a innocent situation.