Originally Posted by
declinespecificinformation
Would you be willing to say the same thing but change the world "children" to "mentally handicapped"?
Children seem to be the only acceptable target for bigotry these days on FT. Lots of children aren't treated as equals and enslaved all around the world.
I am not bigoted against children, I am bigoted against over neglectful parents. One of the responsibilities of parents is to teach their children how to function in society. I see well-behaved children all the time on planes and I am happy to share my environment with them. And to be clear, I am not asking them to stop being kids. But when I am on a plane and kids run up and down the aisles in-flight, sit on the floor and play with their toys in the aisle, and harass other passengers while both the parents and the FA's do nothing I am going to say that something needs to be done. It isn't just a comfort issue, it's a safety issue both for the children and the other passengers.
Children are not adults and cannot and should not be treated as such. Is it slavery to tell a child he is not allowed to drink alcohol or to vote in elections? It is simply lazy thinking to not distinguish the difference between placing reasonable restrictions on children and their enslavement (and yes, I do agree that child enslavement is a problem).
I also agree with others that I see more problem adults than children which is why my suggestion incorporated them as well.
As far as the 'mentally handicapped' are concerned, yes, the same prevails. You are of course unaware that my brother was mentally handicapped and I flew with him many, many times. Don't mistake my firm belief that there need to be minimum standards for flying on an airplane which flight attendants need to enforce with an intolerance of diversity. My concerns are about the extremes of behavior not minor things.
Originally Posted by
pinniped
For what it's worth, they already are empowered to do this, and every few weeks we see a news story where they use this empowerment for various reasons.
We've had some threads here that question whether FAs have abused this power as well, playing the "security" card for minor issues.
That said, if an FA feels like a passenger is genuinely disruptive to the cabin, causing some sort of safety or security issue, they can and will take action...sometimes offloading the offenders themselves and sometimes having the police do it.
I did include the word 'require' for a reason. I know that they are technically empowered to do this, but I don't know how much leeway the airlines actually give them. I also doubt they are ever monitored as to the quality and safety of the cabin environment beyond fulfilling the clearly defined obligations that we all know. See above for my example of children creating a safety hazard (as well as an infernal nuisance) and the failure of the parents or the FA to do anything about it.