Values and might! They are the final arbiters of dispute. You think one way and I might think another. Biggest brawn/brain combination wins. PERIOD.

The original BBC article has a spokesperson mentioning not wanting to offend anybody. This seems patently absurd! Are people so apathetic as to not be able to gather a not so impromptu flash mob against this stupidity. Surely, several flightfuls of fed up passangers cannot be detained indefinitely. I'm positive there are that many irked individuals worldwide.

To curb any snide retaliations in advance, yes I would be there if accompanied by a large number of like minded individuals. Obviously, It would take more than a handful of rebel-rousers.

ugggh Xp

Anyone know how this was achieved?

Dude! I just want to know how they attached those designs. I've got some ideas I'd like to sport on mine.

hurrah!!! hurrah !!! Ditto #9

Unless I misunderstood, the key issue here was poor customer service to the point of intimidating aggressiveness. That being said, I agree with a previous poster who mentioned taking business elsewhere. If this truly is a problem and people show their dislike the company might give a ____ .

I hate to say this, but as usual this all seems like a bunch of pointless chatter. We're all smart enough to realize the current system is ridiculous, but I'm astounded at the dearth of solutions. What can you/are you going to do about it. That would make for truly dialectical discourse.

Sucks to be him/her, but that made my day a WHOLE lot better.

What would happen if all of us "smart" people used some of our free time collecting data, organizing/educating people, voicing dissatisfaction with elected offcials/laws? Hmmm?

I have to agree with an earlier poster, who mentioned he/she was no longer suprised. Imagine that, and we're people who give a S#!^. I don't think it's absurd to envision this as noose that will over time tighten while simultaneoulsy encompassing more and more of our "rights". Who ever heard of a nice tough guy? Muscle (government/law) does what muscle wants, including bending you over.

Isn't interesting that a random group of "unspecialized" individuals can come up with a wider range of "less lethal" options, in such a short time, than a committee of trained law enforcement officials, who surely deliberate at length the appropriate use of their coercive powers. Psyche! People manipulate things in their favor, and the more powerful they are the wider the spread of any eventual inconveniences.

Intensity, rage, & aggressive reactionary comments do not promote a rational discursive. Maybe it this very flaw, the inability to curb emotion to allow logic, that nurtures the things we abhor.

Apparently this is an intensely emotional subject, as critical thinking seems to have been slightly misplaced. If we momentarily set aside, training/procedure issues, and non lethal/less lethal ones as well, then we can ask, "O.K. this doesn't work that well. What mihgt work better?"
For example what about projectile nets, complete isolation, MILD sedatives (dart gun style), heck did anyone think of a translator? My point is that mindfulness should be a prerequisite for any use of force.

I think the really scary part is that with us being the superpower, and apparently hated worldwide, there may be no one to save us when things get "obviously" ridiculous. Could we save ourselves? Maybe, but I guess it'll take more than being told where you can and cannot go to piss people off.

Good point Bill. It is a bit disheartening to think that there is no appropriate response that doesn't take great courage and a large gamble.

What can be done about it? Can police officers be coerced into more appropraite behavior? Can we, the general public, affect this change, and how?

Sadly, reasonable and intelligent people whom this affects will probably do nothing about this. Either there aren't enough people who care to fix things or the government isn't listening. hmmm. What do ya'll think?