Airline Passenger Detained for Being a Jerk

By Selwyn Duke

The
bigger the government, the greater the opportunity to seek revenge by
state action. This has been demonstrated throughout history, and now
current events are teaching the same lesson.

The
latest example involves 52-year-old California businessman Salvatore
Bevivino, who was detained after a Virgin America flight in April, 2013
for, he reports, refusing to flush a toilet and arguing with a stewardess over a soda. Writes The Smoking Gun:

A
flight attendant told cops that Bevivino argued with her over the
ordering of a soda via a computer touchscreen. "My time is precious, you
are here to serve me," Bevivno [sic] said, according to the flight
attendant.

Following
the soda confrontation, the flight attendant told police, Bevivino
"went to the restroom, came back out with a smile on his face and began
using profanities." When the flight attendant passed by the lavatory, she "saw that Bevivino left the door open and did not flush the toilet."

Despite
the airplane captain saying that "at no time did he or his flight crew
feel threatened regarding this passenger," Bevivino was detained upon
disembarkment and questioned by six uniformed officers. He is now suing
the airline for $500,000 minimum damages for the inducement of
"apprehension, embarrassment, humiliation, mortification, fright, shock,
mental anguish and emotional distress."

Now,
first let me say that I wouldn't give Bevivino a dime. I'm also quite
sure that he acted like a jerk and that those who really suffer mental
anguish and emotional distress are the people unfortunate enough to be
in his sphere of effluence. Yet the real issue here isn't Bevivino, but
something else: do we want a government that detains citizens for being
jerks?

The
truth is that, increasingly, Americans are using the state to exact
vengeance on people who rub them the wrong way. And we've seen this
before. In Nazi Germany or any number of communist countries, claiming
that a neighbor criticized the leader or state could be a good way to
cause him serious anguish — or worse.

Of
course, we're not at that point yet, but our ever-metastasizing
government brings us closer to 1984 every year. For the more laws you
have, the more opportunities there are to snitch on a neighbor for
violating the law. Have an axe to grind with the guy down the street?
Just report him for child abuse to CPS. Aren't getting along with your
ex? Accuse him of abuse or making threats and perhaps get a restraining
order. Or maybe there's an annoying boss you could accuse of sexual
harassment or racial discrimination or someone you could report to the
IRS for tax evasion. And New York has now even instituted a tip line
through which you can finger fellow residents who violate the state's
new gun-control law — and get 30 pieces of silver ($500, actually) in
the process. It's the grown-up equivalent of "telling daddy."

But
when you do grow up, you're supposed to be able to live as a true
adult. This means that we shouldn't create a paternalistic government
that a person can run to every time he has a squabble with his brothers.
Unfortunately, this can't be avoided when a good part of the electorate
are nothing more than children in oversized bodies.

As
for airline employees, they now know that they can leverage the
hair-trigger apparatus created to combat terrorism to retaliate against
difficult passengers. This is highly unprofessional, and, frankly, there
should be consequences for it. This doesn't mean the Bevivinos of the
world should receive monetary awards, but shouldn't filing a false
police report be a crime no matter who does it? Shouldn't we take the
wasting of limited law-enforcement resources seriously, especially in
this age of terrorism? And if the authorities really acting based on
nothing more than a passenger being a jerk, then the onus belongs on
them.

But
don't hold your breath waiting for common sense in this uncommon time.
When too many jerks are voting, the inevitable result is knee-jerk
reactions and a government of the jerks, by the jerks, and for the
jerks.

Contact Selwyn Duke, follow him on Twitter or log on to SelwynDuke.com

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