The lady didn’t like her first-class seat assignment out of Palm Beach, was switched to one more to her liking, then became annoyed at a screaming infant and began swearing at staff and children alike: “F****ing kids”, “Get your f***ing hands off me,” etc.
The lady was eventually escorted off the plane by sheriff’s deputies, and placed on another flight – no charges were filed. Do you suppose harsher action might have been taken had this lady not once, four husbands ago, rented out her private parts to Donald Trump?
Flying commercial is airborne mass transit, like riding subway or Greyhound
No, I don’t think she would have been treated any more harshly, in fact, the opposite, given the propensity of workaday folks in quasi-guvmint jobs to look for any reason to mess with others, especially those with a high profile. It’s a real feather in their cap and a badge of honor and in many cases, quite satisfying.
That said, I’m not entirely unsympathetic towards Ivana, having been on many a flight with squalling babies or unruly kids. Very annoying when you want to get a little shut-eye. But never, EVER attack someone else’s kid verbally, even if the kid is the ultimate bad seed. The onus should always be put firmly on the parent. The kid is usually just a reflection of the parent.
Greenwich Ex, Pal Nancy once flew home from Florida with our 18-month old boy who was struck with some horrible kid-sickness thing just at the airport. John screamed, up-chucked and was totally miserable the entire flight. Nancy was even more exhausted and says the only thing that helped was the graciousness of the obviously – tired businessman in the seat next to her who helped when he could and murmured sympathetic noises otherwise. Nancy felt terrible for him but gosh, what a fine human being he was, to acknowledge that Nancy had no more desire to inflict our sick boy on him than he did to endure it. Ivana doesn’t reach that category.
C, point taken. There are always exceptions. There’s a difference between a brat kicking the back of your seat and a sick child. And also, a difference between an illness that happens suddenly on a plane and a pre-existing illness. Any parent who would take a child on a plane knowing the child has a cold or respiratory illness is a sadist, IMO. As someone who suffers terribly from earaches caused by in-flight changes of pressure, I can only imagine the agony of some child who doesn’t know why their ears are about to explode.
As we usually do, Ex-Pat, we agree. Parents who won’t control their children are an abomination, in flight or not. Parents who can’t control a sick child are to be pitied – but avoided nonetheless, if possible.
On this score, the words of WC Fields come to mind: “children should neither be seen or heard from– ever again”. But then, Fields also said, “On whole, I’d rather be in Philadelphia” so one might question his judgement.
Ex-pat with clearly no offspring,
I really take offence to your statement that children are a reflection of their parents. I am nothing like my children, nor never were.
My children are awful, the boys especially. I cannot control them. They will grow out of their inability to be discipined, I hope. They kick the seat, shall I beat them up? Shall I let you do it for me? Maybe they are yours, did you know me then?
As for not taking them on a flight when they are ill, a flight to the UK for my family costs thousands of dollars. Are you saying that I should not board just because we might have the swine flu?