There was one time only in my life that I saw The Revolution of the Customers take one little step towards becoming a reality. I consider myself blessed that I was there to witness it.
I was in an airport during a holiday and a baggage handler’s strike. I was happy to be patient, since I support the workers in fucking up the bosses and striking during an especially painful time, so I was just observing the chaos. Gate and ticket agents were dealing with customers and then going down and putting bags on the plane themselves. Flights were cancelled. People were flown to new airports without a seat assignment on their connecting flight, and then told at the new airport that they wouldn’t be able to fly out for some indefinite period of time until the airline figured some new things out. I saw a little handful of people waiting for their bags at their destination make friends with each other, and break out a bottle of wine from one of someone’s bags that had arrived, and they all sat around drinking from the bottle while they were waiting for the rest of their bags, which never arrived. General chaos. Like I say, I was fine, but some people were pissed and the employees who were there were clearly dealing with a mountain of logistical and emotional difficulties.
So, in the middle of this, we were all sitting at our gate and waiting, while the gate agent was slowly processing her way through the queue of angry people, when this dude stormed over to our little gate area and started yelling out to everyone at the top of his lungs.
“HEY! Are all you people waiting for flight 437?”
Someone indicated that we were.
“Well you’re waiting at the wrong gate! It’s B37! Do you wanna know how I know? Because that’s MY flight! And I was waiting at the wrong gate too!”
“YOU!” he yelled, pointing at the gate agent like the finger of God. Everyone’s eyes swiveled over to the poor woman standing at her little podium.
“You didn’t tell them! Did you!?”
She indicated that she was about to make the announcement, and he cut her off.
“I KNEW IT!” he yelled. Turning away from her dismissively, he addressed the crowd, since he had their full attention. “Come on, everybody! Let’s go to gate B37!”
And, completely alone, he stormed off through the airport towards B37.
After everyone had verified with the agent that yes, we should be at B37, we all sheepishly migrated over to where he’d told us to go. It was only an instant in time, but for that moment, I felt like I saw a glimmer of what could be. The full realization of self-government by the “going where they’re told while employees organize everything” consumer class. And in an airport, the most restrictive of take-off-your-shoes-and-throw-away-your-water obedience places, no less.
I hope I work with him, and I hope I am him when situations unfold
He didn’t just figure out the truth. He came back for everyone else. What benefit does that bring him? Maybe the boarding goes faster, but maybe he endangered his own seat if the airline was trying to pull some bullshit
I don’t care if I’m listened to, but I hope I always disseminate the knowledge. Because we’re all in this together, even when we’re artificially forced to compete
Yeah, that’s what I mean. He stepped up, he sorted shit out, he moved on. Puts to shame everyone who was just waiting in line to bitch at the airline staff about things they can’t change anyway.
There was one time only in my life that I saw The Revolution of the Customers take one little step towards becoming a reality. I consider myself blessed that I was there to witness it.
I was in an airport during a holiday and a baggage handler’s strike. I was happy to be patient, since I support the workers in fucking up the bosses and striking during an especially painful time, so I was just observing the chaos. Gate and ticket agents were dealing with customers and then going down and putting bags on the plane themselves. Flights were cancelled. People were flown to new airports without a seat assignment on their connecting flight, and then told at the new airport that they wouldn’t be able to fly out for some indefinite period of time until the airline figured some new things out. I saw a little handful of people waiting for their bags at their destination make friends with each other, and break out a bottle of wine from one of someone’s bags that had arrived, and they all sat around drinking from the bottle while they were waiting for the rest of their bags, which never arrived. General chaos. Like I say, I was fine, but some people were pissed and the employees who were there were clearly dealing with a mountain of logistical and emotional difficulties.
So, in the middle of this, we were all sitting at our gate and waiting, while the gate agent was slowly processing her way through the queue of angry people, when this dude stormed over to our little gate area and started yelling out to everyone at the top of his lungs.
“HEY! Are all you people waiting for flight 437?”
Someone indicated that we were.
“Well you’re waiting at the wrong gate! It’s B37! Do you wanna know how I know? Because that’s MY flight! And I was waiting at the wrong gate too!”
“YOU!” he yelled, pointing at the gate agent like the finger of God. Everyone’s eyes swiveled over to the poor woman standing at her little podium.
“You didn’t tell them! Did you!?”
She indicated that she was about to make the announcement, and he cut her off.
“I KNEW IT!” he yelled. Turning away from her dismissively, he addressed the crowd, since he had their full attention. “Come on, everybody! Let’s go to gate B37!”
And, completely alone, he stormed off through the airport towards B37.
After everyone had verified with the agent that yes, we should be at B37, we all sheepishly migrated over to where he’d told us to go. It was only an instant in time, but for that moment, I felt like I saw a glimmer of what could be. The full realization of self-government by the “going where they’re told while employees organize everything” consumer class. And in an airport, the most restrictive of take-off-your-shoes-and-throw-away-your-water obedience places, no less.
I hope I’m traveling with B37 man one day
I hope I work with him, and I hope I am him when situations unfold
He didn’t just figure out the truth. He came back for everyone else. What benefit does that bring him? Maybe the boarding goes faster, but maybe he endangered his own seat if the airline was trying to pull some bullshit
I don’t care if I’m listened to, but I hope I always disseminate the knowledge. Because we’re all in this together, even when we’re artificially forced to compete
Yeah, that’s what I mean. He stepped up, he sorted shit out, he moved on. Puts to shame everyone who was just waiting in line to bitch at the airline staff about things they can’t change anyway.