More than a decade and a half ago, my mother-in-law came to visit us. She was 86 at the time, and a tiny little thing, less than 5 feet tall and shrinking. We took her to the airport to put her on the flight back home, and my husband asked if he could help put her on the plane and stow her small carry-on case overhead (a possible thing back in those days). We were given a pass to do so. When we arrived at the Delta gate, however, and they began boarding, there was no provision for people who needed assistance or for families with small children to pre-board. Instead, we waited in a line (no seats were available) for 15-20 minutes while various classes of platinum, gold, silver (or whatever the elite categories were), and first-class passengers were ceremoniously boarded first. Aside from my mother-in-law having to stand for so long, I witnessed an even older, very frail man having to lean on a cane for the duration, as well as a mother with a small toddler in hand and a baby strapped to her chest with a diaper bag and stroller have to bear the wait, struggling.
I was appalled at what appeared to be status and wealth taking precedence over common decency, and wondered what this country had come to. When we finally boarded her and departed I went straight to the Delta counter and lodged an angry complaint. It was met with a shrug and indifference. Infuriated, I called my US Representative and Senator to complain about the issue. Surprisingly, they and their offices took it seriously and were compassionate. They thought it was a real issue. Nothing, of course, happened however.
Since that time it has gotten worse. Do we even care about PEOPLE any more in our society? Do we teach our children to give up their seats or open the door for elderly people? Do we care if a pregnant woman has to stand squished in on the bus hanging on a strap as she's jostled about? Not in general.
One exception: I noticed that for a few weeks after the inauguration of Donald Trump that people on the El here in Chicago were surprisingly genial and caring of each other. That never happens (I had noticed it in Boston after 9-11 as well, for a few brief days.) We were riding the train one evening when a clearly foreign woman in a hijab and holding a map looked lost. A young woman got up to help her and suddenly all of us on the train were helping her to find where to get off to transfer to the commuter line. A few days later a man offered me his seat on a crowded train (I declined ... I'm not THAT old, and I was only going a few stops.) I noticed complete strangers suddenly talking to each other on the bus. Never happens!
We've tended to normalize these lapses of human decency and kindness, which only seem to be observed for brief moments in times of national crisis. Otherwise, we accept that we are just peons on our own, with no right to object to corporate insults or public discomforts.
I think this United thing is the straw that hopefully will have broken the camel's back. It's not just about one airline or even airlines in general. It's about the lack of human values altogether in our lives, and the money-grubbing, profit-making of businesses and the slavish catering to elites. We all deserve respect and basic rights.
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