Originally Posted by ender83
My fire is directed at both sides of this, and I was quite happy to see a thread over in the United forum today about an ORD GA who told a Group 4 fungus to wait his turn.
I really don't think ignorance is a valid excuse unless you are deaf or don't speak English. I always hear very clear announcements describing the boarding process as being First class first followed by boarding with group numbers.
To quote an old bit of hilarity from the Jerky Boys' Frank Rizzo: open your f#*&ing ears, jackass!
(And no that was not directed at you, but the Gate Lice in general.)
You say ignorance is no excuse, but this overlooks the rationality argument, really a "tragedy of the commons" situation in which individuals who do the "right" thing are punnished in the end. If, as a gate lice, I do the right thing (i.e., wait my f*&@ing turn), I get shafted because no one else does. (You implicitly recognize this, which is why you have met the enemy, and he is you.) Under the circumstances, the rational thing to do is push to the front of the line. The only way to solve the problem is, as I said, to (a) enforce the rules and (b) consistently get bags to baggage claim much faster. Until then, blaming GL for their behavior is like blaming a thirsty man in the desert for running to an oasis.