I don't fly often, and perhaps that limits my exposure. Nonetheless, I have been generally pleased with the patience and courtesy of my fellow passengers over the years. There have been a few exceptions, but exceptions nonetheless. According to the Federal Aviation Administration, there were "more than 1,800 unruly passenger incidents in 2024," costing millions in fines.
That seems like a lot. But for perspective, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) says that "On any given day, more than 87,000 flights are in the skies in the United States."
Of those, a third are commercial passenger flights - 28,537. In a year, that is 10,416,005, give or take. The "1,800 unruly passenger incidents" is a very small portion of the whole (.017%). Sure, that 1,800 is the reported incidents, and many are likely never reported. Nonetheless, it is a very low potential for unruly, rude, or childish behavior.
The news recently featured an incident that was recorded and posted on social media. It reminded me of some previous suggestions that we all need to remain conscious of the ubiquity of cameras and the permanency of the internet.
See Assume Everyone is Watching (September 2015); Evolving Issue of Body Cameras (July 2018); Artificial Intelligence Surveillance (August 2020); Orwellian Store Security (August 2022); Judicial Bullying in the News (April 2018), Surveillance, Conflicting Rights, and Balance (May 2021), Pay Attention (July 2023)(and the posts linked there), Optics and Options (September 2025).
I have seen some poor behavior in person, and the air travel examples on social media are seemingly frequent and repetitive. The recent example illustrated a calm and well-aimed response that has apparently appealed to the world of social media.
The poor soul in this instance is convinced that her utterance of "excuse me" should work magic and clear the aisle of the aircraft to allow her access to the front of the line. The narrative suggests that the aircraft door had not opened yet and that all the passengers were waiting for their turn to deplane.
Courtesy DailyDot, Yahoo, and Twitter
The repeated utterance of "excuse me" and the insistence that those words should unequivocally clear a path may lead one to wonder at the passenger's logic. Another passenger employs the ubiquitous cell phone camera and makes a permanent record of the interaction, while yet another verbally confronts the bulldozing passenger. The language he uses is too often peppered with unfortunate expletives, but one point he makes seems to resonate with the wider world - "who raised you?"
That is an intriguing question. Perhaps in the way that the name Karen has become synonymous with self-appointed privilege, "who raised you?" may become a rallying cry in our public interactions (without the accompanying expletives?).
Perhaps in that deposition that becomes heated? Perhaps in discussions of why discovery has not arrived, phone calls weren't returned, or courtesy was not reciprocated? Perhaps in that authorization phone call? Perhaps in that emergency room waiting area, as the time clicks by? Maybe before we reach the angst, anger, or frustration, we might just internally reach the "who raised me?"
The Yahoo story likened the recent incident to another seemingly self-absorbed lady on another flight. It relates that she was similarly in a hurry to get off the plane rapidly. She engages in a debate with multiple other passengers. She accuses all of her fellow passengers of being the "Karens." Then she challenges the person with the camera, asking if they have her permission to record her.
This person then plays the lawyer card, "I'm a lawyer." She then offers to show fellow passengers her "bar card" after they deplane. Who raised you? It seems a fair question.
Notably, we are left to wonder whether the passenger had a bar card, whether it was shown to fellow travelers, and most importantly, how that would be of interest or relevance to anyone (having a bar card, or not, is not an indicator of intellect, couth, compassion, or any other attribute - a bar card means you went to school and passed a test. It is not a measure of worth or anything else).
Most lawyers would know that no one needs permission to video people in public. The Freedom Forum provides a reasonable overview of the First Amendment, the expectation of privacy, and more.
To be clear, it does not matter who you are. A recent series of judicial missteps illustrated that and reminded us of the whole "cameras are everywhere." See Tech Frustration and Outburst (May 2026) and A Recap and Result of the Judicial Viral Video of 2014 (January 2016). Noted there, when you make a mistake or misstep, just own it. An intriguing recent example of a police officer's dumb double-down reminds us of the value of owning a mistake.
That said, everyone has bad days. Certainly, it is unlikely that either passenger mentioned in this story can be defined by their actions or words in these short video clips. People have bad days. We say stupid things. People make mistakes in judgment. And in the 20th century, we could easily limit the breadth, scope, and travel of such instances.
But the 21st century does not afford such easy forgiveness or forgetness (I made that word up). The "lawyer" video is a year old, according to this story. It was reiterated again by the Yahoo story now for wide distribution, again. How many more times will it make the national news? It is part of the World Wide Web and will persist forever.
Each time someone misbehaves on a plane, such a video may resurface. Each time it does, you might get a call from a friend, family member, or business associate to help you lament it. Or, they may just cringe in silence and commiserate from afar.
Such examples are likely to become lasting and even permanent attributions of our lives. The world is watching, and someone is likely always making a video. Before we reach for anger, storm the boarding door, or otherwise disregard our fellow humans, let's reach for the courtesy card, remember who raised us, and keep our pomposity to ourselves (don't make me show you my bar card!).
Courtesy DailyDot, Yahoo, and Reddit