Stay Home Movement Aims to Ground Air Travel
In a bold new strategy that definitely won’t backfire spectacularly, Democratic operatives are reportedly encouraging air traffic controllers to call in sick, apparently believing that gridlocking American airports is the best way to win hearts and minds. Because nothing says “we care about working families” quite like stranding thousands of them in O’Hare with crying babies and overpriced Cinnabon.
The grassroots campaign, which organizers insist is totally spontaneous and not at all coordinated, suggests that overwhelming the air travel system will somehow demonstrate the importance of federal workers. It’s a 4D chess move that only makes sense if you’ve been breathing too much jet fuel. The logic seems to be: if we make everyone’s Thanksgiving travel absolutely miserable, they’ll suddenly appreciate transportation infrastructure and vote accordingly.
Air traffic controllers, who have historically been pretty good at their jobs (which is to say, preventing planes from crashing into each other), are now being asked to choose between professional responsibility and political theater. It’s like asking firefighters to let a few buildings burn to make a point about fire safety funding. The metaphor writes itself, and it’s not flattering to anyone involved.
Critics of this strategywhich includes everyone from business travelers to grandmas trying to see their grandchildrenhave pointed out that weaponizing essential services might not be the electoral winner Democrats are hoping for. There’s something deliciously ironic about a party that champions “putting people first” advocating for tactics that put people last on the runway for six hours.
The political calculation here is apparently that Americans will blame the administration rather than the people actually not showing up for work. It’s the “kick your own shin and blame your opponent” school of political strategy, and it has about as much chance of success as a paper airplane in a hurricane. But hey, points for creativity, even if those points are being deducted from the scoreboard of common sense.
Meanwhile, airline executives are quietly thrilled about having a convenient scapegoat for delays that were going to happen anyway. “Sorry folks, it’s not our faultit’s political activism!” is a much better announcement than “Sorry folks, we overbooked this flight by 47 passengers because capitalism.” The silver lining is always found in someone else’s cloud.
As this strategy unfolds, one thing becomes clear: American politics has reached such a fever pitch that every institution, every profession, and every flight from Dallas to Denver is now a battlefield. Can’t wait for the sequel where postal workers are encouraged to deliver mail to the wrong addresses to protest stamp prices. The possibilities for chaos are endless, and apparently, so is our collective patience for terrible ideas.
SOURCE: https://bohiney.com/democratic-operatives-to-air-traffic-controllers-stay-home/
SOURCE: Sarah Pappalardo (https://bohiney.com/democratic-operatives-to-air-traffic-controllers-stay-home/)
