What has our country come to...and where are we going?
Donald Trump - in an interview with The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday, April 12th, 2017 - called it "horrible"...that a United Airlines passenger...was forcibly removed from the airplane seat that he paid to ride in...for a trip from Chicago, Illinois to his destination of Louisville, Kentucky. It was Sunday, April 9th when 69-year old Dr. David Dao was violently dragged on the aisle floor of a United Express aircraft. And although I blame United Airlines...and the police officers from the Chicago Department of Aviation, who allegedly caused Dr. Dao to be bruised and bloodied...I must also point the finger of blame at the man who currently occupies the chair behind The Oval Office desk.
Many of you - when you read this commentary - will scream and yell...call me nuts...or even label me more of a Trump hater than some of you have been doing for quite awhile. But before you do any of those things...I ask you who disagree with my views...along with all my readers...to wait to cast judgment...until after you have read my column in its entirety. Maybe then...you will fully comprehend my reasons for this editorial.
On June 16th, 2015, when Donald Trump announced that he was seeking the GOP nomination for President...Trump's speech accused Mexicans of being "rapists" who are "bringing drugs" and "crime" to the United States. It's obvious to me that Trump's venomous language - 22 months ago - was translated by a sizable amount of Americans, who ended up voting for him...that it's okay to express vulgar words of hate...towards other human beings.
For nearly two years, Trump's toxic tongue has badmouthed - in no particular order - women...the disabled...Muslims...Latinos...African-Americans...a Gold Star mother and father...a distinguished U.S. Navy veteran who spent five years as a Vietnamese prisoner of war and who today is an honorable U.S. Senator...and numerous other individuals and groups of people...by insulting them for one reason or another. Yet despite all of his despicable and reprehensible actions...Trump was still unbelievably able to win the Republican nomination and he was unfortunately elected the 45th President of the United States.
It is tragic to think - but it is apparently true - that certain citizens in our country are playing a game of "Follow The Leader." Trump has belittled people and performed in an offensive manner...yet he has been applauded not punished. The 62-million Americans who - on November 8th, 2016 - cast their ballots for Trump... have unknowingly...or perhaps knowingly...validated the vicious behavior of Donald Trump as an acceptable way to treat others.
Let me be crystal clear that I'm not - for a second - implicating Trump...or even insinuating...that he has ever used his own hands - or any weapon, for that matter - to physically hurt another person. But each fiery syllable that Trump utters...does ignite the flame that sparks the incendiary incidents that have ravaged our nation since his Inauguration. From dozens of synagogues and Jewish community centers nationwide that have been vandalized in acts of anti-Semitic hate crimes...to more and more people expressing loathsome feelings towards both strangers and neighbors...America is no longer the country I once knew.
I wrote this column to be published as my weekend commentary...before I saw a tweet by motion picture star John Cho. The actor - who is best known for portraying Lieutenant Sulu in the reboot series of Star Trek movies - tweeted on Monday, April 10th..."It's hard not to see a connection between the environment Trump has created and what happened on that @United flight."
When I read John's tweet on Thursday night, April 13th, I thought to myself...I knew I couldn't be the only one in America...who targets Trump...as being responsible for the change in attitude across our nation over the last two years. And thus...it is Trump who is culpable - in part - for the manner in which Dr. Dao was brutally assaulted on the United Airlines plane. I will explain later in this piece.
Unless you've been living in an underground bunker with no lines of communication from the rest of the planet...then you are well aware that United Airlines made a grave mistake...when instead of finding another avenue for its employees to travel - due to the overbooked flight - the company notified law enforcement officers...not Chicago Police Department cops, but employees of the City of Chicago just the same...who allegedly manhandled Dr. Dao.
United Airlines would have been better off footing the bill to purchase four seats on another airline's flight to Louisville so that the United crew could make their trip. It would have been a whole lot cheaper than the multi-million-dollar payout that it's going to cost...along with the public relations fiasco...that will haunt United for many years to come. After all...the Elizabethtown, Kentucky physician just needed to keep his seat on the airplane...so he could be back in "The Bluegrass State" that night in order to keep scheduled appointments with his patients the next morning.
Dr. Dao did nothing wrong. As a paying passenger, it was not his fault that United Airlines overbooked its flight. It was United's fault. And paying passengers should always come first. If there are no seats available, the employees shouldn't fly.
Dr. Dao did not want to accept the eight-hundred-dollar voucher that was being offered for him to give up his seat. It was important to Dr. Dao to be in his office... to treat his patients the following day.
At first, United Airlines chief executive officer Oscar Munoz defended his employees...which was wrong. And Munoz branded Dr. Dao...as "disruptive and belligerent." However, on Tuesday, April 11th, Munoz apologized for his reckless remarks, but only after he and his company received a deluge of telephone calls, e-mails and tweets...severely chastising United for acting irresponsibly and disgracefully. The airline initially lost a reported 255-million dollars in the stock market, while people all around the globe also threatened to boycott them. But the public outcry later resulted in a nightmare for United's reputation and image. The airline has reportedly lost one-point-four-billion dollars in value in less than one week...and it's also facing a federal investigation by the U.S. Department of Transportation. A Congressional investigation is also possible. But Munoz has pledged to review his airline's policies relating to all issues of overbooking and the treatment of passengers. Nevertheless, a petition - signed by more than 20-thousand people - is demanding that Munoz resign as CEO of United Airlines.
In the meantime...after nearly three days in the hospital...Dr Dao was released late Wednesday night, April 12th and is recuperating in a secure location. That's according to his lawyer who conducted a press conference in Chicago on Thursday, April 13th. Attorney Thomas Demetrio told reporters - and the world - that Dr. Dao suffered a "significant concussion"..."a serious broken nose"..."injury to the sinuses" for which he will soon undergo "reconstructive surgery"...and he "lost two front teeth" during the traumatic injustice. Witnesses have apparently advised authorities and the press that Dr. Dao fell and hit his head when the officers allegedly began to yank him from his seat.
Dr. Dao's daughter, Crystal Dao Pepper - at the same news conference - stated her father emigrated from Vietnam. Lawyer Demetrio said Dr. Dao fled the wartorn country in 1975...amid the fall of Saigon. Demetrio reported that his client told him that "being dragged down the aisle...was more horrifying...and harrowing...than what he experienced in leaving Vietnam." Demetrio also commented that Dr. Dao remains "shaken" by being so terribly abused.
Furthermore...Demetrio confirmed that a lawsuit is pending, but that it won't be filed until after his law firm has completed its investigation. It is doubtful, however, that the case will ever go before a judge. If United Airlines is smart...Munoz and his legal team will settle out of court. And personally...I hope Dr. Dao takes the airline for ten, twenty, even fifty-million dollars or more. Not just because Dr. Dao deserves the money for punitive damages, but to send a message to every airline...to other transportation companies...and, quite frankly, to all businesses that serve the public.
Dr. Dao - who had been traveling with his wife, who is also a medical doctor - was one of four people on United Express Flight 3411 who were chosen at random to give up their seats so that a United flight crew could board. The airline claimed it was the only way their employees could get to Louisville for work the next day. Dr. Dao refused to leave, so he was physically ejected from the aircraft and allegedly knocked down on to the floor as if he had committed a crime, which he certainly had not. Witnesses have reportedly told various news organizations that Dr. Dao was not at all aggressive. Meanwhile, the three Aviation Department cops have been placed on administrative leave.
As the chaos ensued on the plane, other passengers have reported fearing for their own safety...while a few travelers documented the disturbing event by recording it on their "smart" phones. Those videos quickly went viral on social media and all over the Internet.
United Airlines has offered all passengers on the aforementioned flight... compensation by reimbursing each one with a five-hundred-dollar voucher. But giving such an insulting amount - in the form of a voucher - is not reasonable in my eyes. The airline needs to give cash dollars to each and every traveler who endured the nerve-racking stress and aggravation of that night. They should demand a cash reimbursement for their round-trip tickets plus an additional amount of cash money for their inconvenience and for the three-hour delay before the flight finally took off. After all, I doubt too many of the passengers will ever fly United again, so vouchers will be worthless. I wouldn't be surprised if some passengers - besides Dr. Dao - file lawsuits against United for mental anguish and suffering. If United Airlines knows what's good for them...they should present each passenger with a minimum of one-thousand dollars in cash...and reimburse each traveler with double the amount of the round-trip ticket...in cash.
Attorney Demetrio summed up United Airlines' behavior by asking..."Are we gonna just continue to be treated like cattle? Bullied? Rude treatment? We all have enough...oh I don't know, angst...for flying as it is. A lot o' stuff out there. But don't treat the people...who helped make you the corporate...entity you are...like Dr. Dao was treated."
Before issuing an apology, United Airlines CEO Munoz had complimented his employees and said he "emphatically stand(s) behind" them, as they "followed established procedures." If Munoz signed off on his company's "established procedures" by approving that a paying passenger could be dragged through the aisle of an airplane...then Munoz has no right being the boss of a model airplane company, let alone the head honcho of a corporate giant like United Airlines.
All of which brings me back to the chief executive of the United States. Donald Trump has set a poor example of how people should treat their fellow man and woman. Let us remember a campaign rally in Las Vegas, Nevada when Trump was interrupted by a disorderly protester. Trump responded by shouting..."Get him the hell out. I'd like to punch him in the face." He went on by reminiscing about years gone by. "I love the good old days. You know what they used to do to guys like that when they were in a place like this? They'd be carried out on a stretcher, folks." And yet - as I noted earlier in this column - Americans still cast their ballots for Trump. No Presidential candidate...no future President of the United States... should ever speak in such a harsh tone...and with such vile vocabulary. But Trump did get worse. During other campaign rallies - including one in Iowa - Trump, on several occasions, made a firm promise about ISIS...that he would "bomb the sh-t out of 'em." Then, of course, was a rally in New Hampshire when Trump told American businesses that moved their operations out of the U.S. to Mexico...that they can "go f--k themselves." And these obscene remarks were made with children in the audiences.
Donald Trump is a negative and repulsive role model for the kids of our country and for all citizens of our nation, young and old. But, as he proudly announced at a campaign rally in Iowa..."I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue (in New York City) and shoot somebody and I wouldn't lose any voters."
How on God's green Earth did this man become President of the United States?
As for United Airlines...I have a friend from elementary and high school who is a 32-year veteran Captain for United. And I trust that he would never have allowed such turmoil on his jet aircraft. That being said...I would sooner hop on the back of a slow-moving, two-humped camel before I ever board a United Airlines flight again. That is at least until certain ivory tower executives are long gone from the company; those who didn't care to think ahead...that someone on their payroll would allow "stormtroopers" - to quote attorney Demetrio - on a United airplane...and act like barbarians. Sorry, Jim...nothing personal.
United won't be having any trouble finding seats in the future for commuting flight crews. They'll be plenty of vacant seats on nearly every one of their airplanes.
For years, United Airlines has welcomed vacationers and business people to "fly the friendly skies." But I think the RSVPs to that invitation are going to be the same from a multitude of travelers worldwide. "No thanks."
And that's The Controversy for today.
I'm Gary B. Duglin.
"We'll talk again."
The Controversy is a publication of
GBD Productions. Founder and Editor-In-Chief of The Controversy is Gary B.
Duglin.
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