This just in: when it comes to being deplaned by airport security, nobody's safe. Kate Penland and her 18-month-old son Garron now know that first-hand.
The Georgia natives had been delayed for 11 hours in Houston, but did get to board their flight to Oklahoma City. As the plane taxied down the runway, Garron looked out the window and waved, saying "bye bye, plane!" repeatedly as the flight attendant gave her safety speech. The attendant apparently did not take kindly to his childlike excitement.
"As she finished [her speech], she leaned over the gentleman who was sitting next to me and she said 'OK, it's not funny anymore. You need you shut your baby up,'" Penland told ABC News.
Passengers around her were stunned as Penland told the attendant she didn't know what she was supposed to do. Numerous witnesses said the child was not making any more noise than any other passengers.
But the attendant demanded Penland administer her son what she called "baby Benadryl," and when Penland openly refused to drug her son, the attendant had the pilot land the plane. Penland later told Good Morning America that the pilot had been told she'd made a threat against the attendant, something all her fellow passengers deny.
The airline has refused to comment save for general boilerplate about dealing with unruly passengers.
In short, when planning for your family vacation, be prepared for airline ego trips - they now come standard.
Since September 11 we've gotten used to all manner of airline inconveniences. We stand in line longer than used to be necessary, in the name of security. We carry only our three ounces of liquid, to prevent shoe-bombings. Mothers have even been known to have to drink their own breast milk to prove it's not a bomb or a poison. Earlier this year a 16-year-old was thrown off a plane for coughing too loudly.
A line, however, must be drawn at some point. I'd suggest, at the very least, that attendants not be allowed to vent their frustration on customers by threatening a security removal. Penland's choice, to medicate her child or be escorted from the plane, was ridiculous. That the other passengers tried to come to her aid and were rebuffed is equally repugnant.
Worse, this woman convinced a pilot to turn the plane around because of a physical threat that did not happen. That's abuse of power, and if something is not done to prevent airline misuse of authority, we're all going to suffer in fear whenever we take to a plane.
Where does it end?
I'm blind and cannot look directly at someone easily because my eyes twitch involuntarily. Am I to live in fear that an overeager flight attendant might take my nystagmus for the furtive gesture of a terrorist?
Though we live in frightening times, we need to speak up and tell the airlines that we need a voice in what power airline employees are able to exert on us. There needs to be a defense against accusations.
A mother should not have to chloroform her child in order to bring him on a plane.
Write to Jonathan at jonathansanders@justice.com
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