The Fine Print Isn't For Us

By now, the drag seen around the world has been watched by everybody and their non-English speaking grandmother. The clips are laced with violence and the visuals provide a universally understood language. Its not too difficult to see which side was in the wrong.

However, there are still so many that believe the man asked for it, that he should have quietly de-boarded the plane, relinquishing his rights as a consumer to get to the destination he paid for. They like to point to the fine print that states an airline has the right to man-handle another human being if they dont cooperate.

What we need to understand is that the thousands and thousands of tiny letters were presented with before every purchase exist not to protect us, the consumers, but they exist to protect the multi-billion dollar corporations as they implement sly ways to increase their profits. These words exist so companies can cover all angles when confronted with a situation such as the one that transpired on Sunday. Unless youre a lawyer defending clients similar to Dr. Dao, nobody is going to take the time to read through every page of the terms and conditions. And big businesses know it.

This tragic incident is merely a reflection of the one-sided relationship between consumer and corporation.

This was not Dr. Daos fault. There were plenty of other peaceful options available. Yes, it was the police that handled the situation in the worst way possible, but they should have never been called in the first place. The blame lies solely with United.

Overbooking is just another word for greed. Airlines overbook because passengers have been known to be no-shows from time to time. At first glance, it may seem like airlines do this in order to maximize the space within their planes. But if we look closely, it is apparent that their main goal with overbooking is to squeeze every penny out of its consumers. Theyve already got their money whether a passenger is present for a flight or not. Frankly, airlines are just digging for extra cash in places that have already gone dry.

Dont get me wrong, I do believe that there are some sections in most terms and conditions that have been written to protect the livelihood of employees. However, we must recognize that its also laced with warnings and big words to confuse the consumer. It sneakily shifts the blame onto us. How is overbooking fair to the consumer in any way? It exclusively benefits airlines by cornering the consumer in a lopsided fight.

How many times have we seen big businesses get hit with a lawsuit from a tiny consumer and come out of it unscathed because of their corporate lawyers and corrupt money. The chances of us winning are always minimal at best.

I hate to put it this way because Dao did end up with a significant concussion and major facial injuries requiring surgery as a result of the brutality, but this incident is a major win for us little guys. Lets stand behind our fellow consumer instead of defending corporations run by people like Oscar Munoz who clearly dont care about their customers.

Lets show them who theyre really messing with.