The only thing that seems a big deal to me is the way Pakse's FA started out from 'I need you to' - ie this is all about me, not you - to stating that he/she was ordering you to give up your drink: this in spite of you having asked nicely if you could keep it.

I would have thought the appropriate thing for the FA to say was something along the lines of 'I'm sorry, Pakse, but the regulations require me to collect all items prior to landing' before going to DEFCON 5.

But then, what do I know? I'm one of those old-fashioned idiots that still thinks the airline industry should be a service business, rather than the taxpayer funded make-work for campaign contributors that it has become.