Slater Thought About That

So it seems Steven Slater, the flight attendant who made a grand exit from a Jet Blue plane, fulfilled every worker’s fantasy of telling the boss to take that job and shove it. His recklessness has been applauded by Facebook pages, tweets, blogs T-shirts and even a defense fund to cover potential legal fees. In the spirit of ‘no-media-left behind,’ newspaper and TV coverage is on-going as well.

What’s going on here? Most employees who curse out a customer and exit left will find themselves in a therapist’s office for mandatory anger management work—or more likely—on the street without a prayer.

In fact, Slater was arrested within hours of the incident, charged with felony reckless endangerment, criminal mischief and trespassing. All of which could add up to a seven year prison sentence. And, of course, he is currently unemployed. If nothing else, he recklessly endangered his own career and quality of life.

I am fascinated by one report that says he was thinking about just such a scenario for 20 years. Since he is only 38, I take it to mean from his first day on the job as a flight attendant. This was not an impulsive reaction to an annoying passenger, the last straw at the end of a long, exhausting flight. It was a fantasy he lived with, developed, polished and when the situation presented itself, he couldn’t resist.

Such is the power of thought. It’s almost guaranteed that if you spend 20 years imagining a specific scenario, you will at some point find yourself experiencing it.

Daydreams may not be so harmless after all, but they are powerful. Imagination can relieve stress by taking you to a peaceful place in your mind, or allow you a mental dress rehearsal to prepare for a challenging situation. It can spin out a novel or be the genesis of a life-changing discovery.

And imagination can pave the way for actions with dire, even tragic, consequences for many or few. Think kidnapping, murder, suicide or simply rudeness or broken relationships. Every action is preceded by a thought, however brief, that arises from underlying values and beliefs.

So is Slater a hero? Not in my book. Neither do I consider him a villain. I do give him credit for creativity. I suspect that once all the hoopla dies down, he will regret his actions, if he doesn’t already. Or maybe not—if he ends up with a reality TV show. That would say more to me about society's values than about Steven Slater.