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Airplane travel is stressful. When something goes wrong, it can feel debilitating and helpless, especially when a baby is involved.
On a recent flight to Orlando with Southwest Airlines, a man started screaming about a baby that he claimed had been crying for over 40 minutes while the plane was waiting to take off. The aircraft was further delayed when the passenger refused to obey authorities, instead making everyone deplane so officers could apprehend him for the disruption.
TikTok user @mjgrabowski filmed and shared over three minutes of the man’s meltdown, which later went viral on multiple social media platforms:
@mjgrabowski
“That child has been crying for 40 minutes!” the man yelled.
“You can’t put your f**king finger in my face like that,” he told one employee. “Calm that child down, please! I had headphones on. I was asleep.”
“You’re yelling,” a flight attendant said. “So is the baby,” the man quipped.
At one point, the man claimed that the baby would’ve been silenced had it been Black. After refusing to leave the plane, he implied that other passengers should be happy that his tirade quieted the child. The video ended with authorities speaking to the man at the airport.
The incident caused controversy far beyond the Southwest passengers. Social media users sparred over the man, with some empathizing with his over-the-top reaction.
“He is saying what everyone else wishes they could say,” said @kissssit.
“I’m a parent and I understand his frustration,” @brandymasonfiore agreed. “The overstimulation of having to listen to a child scream and cry would be too much.”
Others defended the likely stressed, exhausted parents whose child is too young to regulate emotions.
“I always wonder like do you THINK the parents want a crying child??” @coco_courtney1 asked. “OBVIOUSLY NO!!! We are HYPER aware our child is screaming!”
“Not to mention the fact that the yelling is PROBABLY making the baby cry worse,” @julessanders wrote. “That poor mama and baby!”
Southwest Airlines and the involved passengers have not commented publicly on this incident.
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