It’s been a banner week for quitting your job, people!
Yesterday, the denizens of the Internet applauded the girl with a dry erase board who told her boss off. Was it gutsy? Was it fake? Ehh, who cares! It was entertaining for about twenty seconds.
The real story this week is Steven Slater. For those of you who are coming to the party late, here are the quick and dirty details.
Steven Slater was working as a JetBlue flight attendant on Aug. 9, 2010, when he reached his boiling point.
Sitting on the tarmac at Kennedy International airport, Mr. Slater got into a dispute with a passenger who stood to fetch luggage too soon on a full flight just in from Pittsburgh.
According to a law-enforcement official, the passenger stood up to retrieve belongings from the overhead compartment before the crew had given permission. Mr. Slater instructed the person to remain seated. The passenger defied him. Mr. Slater reached the passenger just as the person was pulling down the luggage, which struck Mr. Slater in the head.
Mr. Slater asked for an apology. The passenger instead cursed at him. Mr. Slater got on the plane’s public-address system and cursed out the passenger for all to hear. Then, after declaring that 20 years in the airline industry was enough, he blurted out, “It’s been great!”
Then, the authorities said, he pulled the lever that activates the emergency-evacuation chute and slid down, making a dramatic exit not only from the plane but, one imagines, also from his airline career.
On his way out the door, he paused to grab a beer from the beverage cart.
The amazing thing about this story, besides that Steven actually got to use the inflatable emergency-evacuation chute of an airplane, is how the story has captured people’s imagination. Everyone has had an awful day at work and dreamed of telling the bastards off before promptly going home to the ones who love you. This is nothing new: Johnny Paycheck made a pretty penny when he captured that sentiment in “Take This Job and Shove It.”
But Steven has become a Internet folk hero in two days. He has inspired at least three ballads (there are probably more). He’s like the second coming of Antoine Dodson (remember, that guy from literally last week). Maybe Steven wasn’t expecting to be famous when he cracked and maybe it wasn’t a lot of fun being held on Rikers Island, but I hope that Steven weathers his legal problems and new found fame well. I’m sure his fame will evaporate soon. If he isn’t enjoying the attention it’ll be over soon. I can’t say the same for his legal problems.
I hope Steven marooned the rude passenger on that airplane for at least a good hour. Hopefully, two.
Update: Steven is out of jail and in good spirits!
