Won't someone please think of the Boomers?

[Cherokee_Cruiser]

I've spent the majority of the last two months flying with a black (Haitian, as it happens) C/A. Great guy, VERY knowledgeable. And holy hell, talk about pulling onesself up. He showed up in the US not speaking a lick of English. Can you imagine?

But he does kinda stand out. Like when I show up in the bullpen, it's not super hard to figure out where he's sitting. Then he hits the bunk and you wind up talking to the R/O and while they're very complimentary about him (because he's good at his job and they're not horrible, explicitly racist dudes), at least some of them immediately segue in to some version of the stuff in the article. And you can't help but think "Uh, I don't think you'd be saying this stuff to El Capitan".

I think my views on "race" are fairly well-known at this point, and I think it would be fair to characterize me as "anti-woke". But Jesus Christ, there's a lot of daylight between being "anti-woke" and "pro-casual-racism". Or so it seems to me.

In any case, $1 will get you $100 that whatever guy wrote that thing wears New Balance.

Yup.


I did a pretty good job as FO. I remember a Jamaican CA I used to fly with a lot, he told me it didn’t matter how good I was and how great a CA I’d be and how competent, that there would be people who would (internally) still have an issue. You’d think that being a sharp guy would be a plus, and it is, but he said to some they would take that the wrong way - because they would see you’re a better pilot than them. It’s a barrier that’s hard to describe.

That’s what he said. I only partially understood him. Now, 4 yrs being a CA, I understand him exactly. Yet, I still can’t put it words precisely. It’s more a feeling you get and now I know what he meant.

What you are describing about the Haitian CA and things that happen behind his back, as subtle as they may be, is also what my Jamaican CA was alluding to. It may not be open, but it’s still there. Part of it is some feel a little intimidated if it’s some who is a minority, whereas they wouldn’t be if that CA was white.

Not cool. But it is what it is.

 

[A Life Aloft]

Our newhire class pics are somewhat more diverse than that. Like, representative of the population at large? Definitely not. But it's not like a Meth U. class picture, either.

Middle bottom guy is going to be a Problem at some point. Can't be sure where or when, but he's going to be known to Pro Standards, mark my words.

Well, considering that these are actually arrest photos lol, I should hope any newhire photos from an actual airline would look better.

 

[Boris Badenov]

Well, considering that these are actually arrest photos lol, I should hope any newhire photos from an actual airline would look better.

Pylot Shortaage!

 

[Boris Badenov]

Not cool. But it is what it is.

Sadly, I find little to argue with there. Although I will repeat that I have seen ZERO explicit racism. 60% aren't like that at all. Maybe 30% you can see that they're kind of conflicted. You know. "I flew with X and he was awesome, great pilot great human being, we drank our faces off in Y" but their politics are probably somewhat in conflict with their experience. At least a little. And then 10% or you know what let's say 5% (because it really isn't 10%) who are sitting over there waiting to see whether you're open to discussing how poorly the White Man has been treated in Modernity, etc. etc.

Good news? These people are dying off, and that is the way the world works. Progress doesn't happen all at once, but it does happen.

 

[Doug Masters]

I’ve been questioning if I made the right decision to take the upgrade. This article made me feel better about it.

 

[DropTank]

Pylot Shortaage!

and fast food worker shortage, and warehouse worker shortage.

(must be the immigrants' fault)

 

[roundout]

How the hell is he only getting 10 days off every month (and 6 this month) at a major?

He needed to make a boat payment

 

[bp]

what a great rant- looks like he left out his closer
"anyway I'm by the book, originating checklist"

 

[Skåning]

Some economics explained and not [too] harsh on the Boomers

 

[form810]

US pilot’s disturbing warning: ‘Humans make mistakes under this kind of pressure’

Flying when I started out in the ’90s used to be pretty nice. Then it became a race to the bottom.

nypost.com

I mean, fair point, the wheels do seem to be coming off the wagon, but while it starts out as a slightly splashy and sexed-up version of a fundamental truth, it's pretty fun to watch it turn in to the sort of spittle-flecked, denture-damaging screed we've all heard on at least one jumpseat.

I'll give dollars to donuts that there's something on the cutting-room floor about minority hiring "quotas".

First observation: Your Boomer analysis is off by a few years. If this guy is 55, he's not a boomer (that demo ends 1964).

More important. Yeah, it's easy to blithely dismiss this kind of thing as "old dudes ranting". And, yeah, a lot of condescending s/he/it gets spewed out there in baseball-land. (...who doesn't have that great-uncle at the Thanksgiving table?) Still I think it precisely misses the core point of this article to do so. It's unfortunate that emotion and bias (and intentionally incendiary, suppositional red-herrings like racism "on the cutting room floor") so easily distract and misdirect us from truth.

As much as it benefits me, the hard, cold, socially-unacceptable fact is that pilots these days are getting into cockpits with far less time, experience, training, sense-of-responsibility, and aeronautical knowledge than at any time in history (disregarding the WWII hiring surge by the military... but even then, the standards held while the immense hiring pool got winnowed mercilessly, oft-times, fatally).

What's next? Not going to listen to your, er, "mature" flight instructor 'cause s/he/it's not telling you what you want to hear about your prowess?

BTW, that's my pronoun... s/he/it! Say it with me!

 

[tcco94]

You ain’t cut out for this industry unless you’re rolling coal

 

[form810]

You ain’t cut out for this industry unless you’re rolling coal

I'd rather roll fatties.

 

[mrivc211]

I've spent the majority of the last two months flying with a black (Haitian, as it happens) C/A. Great guy, VERY knowledgeable. And holy hell, talk about pulling onesself up. He showed up in the US not speaking a lick of English. Can you imagine?

But he does kinda stand out. Like when I show up in the bullpen, it's not super hard to figure out where he's sitting. Then he hits the bunk and you wind up talking to the R/O and while they're very complimentary about him (because he's good at his job and they're not horrible, explicitly racist dudes), at least some of them immediately segue in to some version of the stuff in the article. And you can't help but think "Uh, I don't think you'd be saying this stuff to El Capitan".

I think my views on "race" are fairly well-known at this point, and I think it would be fair to characterize me as "anti-woke". But Jesus Christ, there's a lot of daylight between being "anti-woke" and "pro-casual-racism". Or so it seems to me.

In any case, $1 will get you $100 that whatever guy wrote that thing wears New Balance.

I still dont really know wtf "woke" means. I think its because I just want to stay away from all that BS.

 

[BobDDuck]

As much as it benefits me, the hard, cold, socially-unacceptable fact is that pilots these days are getting into cockpits with far less time, experience, training, sense-of-responsibility, and aeronautical knowledge than at any time in history.

Ummm... Pre 2013 called and would like it's 230 hour FOs back.

 

[DE727UPS]

I still dont really know wtf "woke" means. I think its because I just want to stay away from all that BS.

Don't feel bad. I still don't know what twitter and instagram is. I guess that makes me a boomer. And I think my galaxy 7 phone is fine.

 

[derg]

I'll give dollars to donuts that there's something on the cutting-room floor about minority hiring "quotas".

Ugh.

Every time someone goes off about “I didn’t have (anatomy) or (skin type), they wouldn’t hire (me/my guard unit buddy/my recommendation/whatever).

”Look at the new hire photos. Trust me, your demographic is KILLING it”

 

[derg]

I still dont really know wtf "woke" means. I think its because I just want to stay away from all that BS.

Don‘t fret. 99% of the people that use it have no idea what it means either.

Yet another stolen word from a lexicon that no one took a moment to ask what it actually means.

Like Avril Lavigne claiming “I’m punk”

 

[alaskadrifter]

I refuse to believe that article isn’t someone trolling the Post. You could not write a better parody of a boomer captain.

Edit: ok, old Gen X captain.

Boomer is a state of mind, not an age .

 

[Boris Badenov]

Where were the generational-label Police when Todd was running around claiming to be Gen X?

 

[roundout]

First observation: Your Boomer analysis is off by a few years. If this guy is 55, he's not a boomer (that demo ends 1964).

More important. Yeah, it's easy to blithely dismiss this kind of thing as "old dudes ranting". And, yeah, a lot of condescending s/he/it gets spewed out there in baseball-land. (...who doesn't have that great-uncle at the Thanksgiving table?) Still I think it precisely misses the core point of this article to do so. It's unfortunate that emotion and bias (and intentionally incendiary, suppositional red-herrings like racism "on the cutting room floor") so easily distract and misdirect us from truth.

As much as it benefits me, the hard, cold, socially-unacceptable fact is that pilots these days are getting into cockpits with far less time, experience, training, sense-of-responsibility, and aeronautical knowledge than at any time in history (disregarding the WWII hiring surge by the military... but even then, the standards held while the immense hiring pool got winnowed mercilessly, oft-times, fatally).

What's next? Not going to listen to your, er, "mature" flight instructor 'cause s/he/it's not telling you what you want to hear about your prowess?

BTW, that's my pronoun... s/he/it! Say it with me!

Ok, boomer

Boomer is a state of mind, not an age .

And not an enviable one, I can assure you