This is a standard human response to all accusations. Or - It was not my fault. Shrugging off blame or responsibility seems to be a reflex action for most of us. Of course, the next logical thing to do is to find an escape goat to put the blame on. We find instances of this kind of behavior everyday in sports, politics, office etc.
I was thinking about all this after recounting an incident to my friends. I was at the Sacramento airport waiting for my flight to Minneapolis. A Punjabi lady approached me (I was one of the few brown faces around). She told me that her mother in law was traveling with her daughter to Philadelphia. Her mother in law didn't know any English. So she requested me to guide both of them to the correct gate for the Philadelphia flight at Minneapolis airport. I accepted, feeling proud too, about helping an Indian in a foreign land.
We boarded the aircraft. Another punjabi guy introduced himself to me saying "Tum software wale ho? Hamara to liquor store hai US me". Somehow i felt that my respect for his profession seemed to be the same as his for mine. Anyways, at that time i heard a little commotion at the back of the plane. Then the air hostess came and asked me if i was traveling with the old lady and the kid. I said "Sort of, what's the problem?". She said "The lady does not have a boarding pass for the kid. The kid being 3 yrs old, required a boarding pass." Now i remembered that while checking in the baggage, I had overheard the Punjabi lady say to the airline persons at the counter that her mother in law will travel with the kid on her lap. I reiterated this and the fact that they had made it into the plane with one boarding pass, so why are they being stopped now?
She said that rules are rules, and the lady and the kid will have to disembark. Then for few minutes I tried to explain this to the lady. To my dismay, she did not even know Hindi. My "Liquor Store" friend came to my rescue and explained everything to her in Punjabi. The lady said she had some dollars and was willing to pay for whatever the fine or charges. The Cabin Crew would have none of this and asked her to get off the plane quickly as she was holding up the flight. At last, while leaving, she asked if I could also get down with her and assist her. Now I was in a fix. It was easy telling the daughter in law that I'll help the old lady, but disembarking the flight for that? I also had a connecting flight to Amsterdam from Minneapolis with little gap.
It really wasn't a tough decision, i just said that i am sorry, and told her to call her daughter in law from the airport and sort things out. I felt guilty for a while, remembering the helpless face of the old lady. Added to this, the other Punjabi fellow had started cursing the daughter in law, saying that todays generation conveniently call their parents from India to babysit their kids, but put them in such situations for a few lousy bucks.
Of course, after narrating all this to my friends, i said, "But what could have I done? It wasn't my fault"
I was thinking about all this after recounting an incident to my friends. I was at the Sacramento airport waiting for my flight to Minneapolis. A Punjabi lady approached me (I was one of the few brown faces around). She told me that her mother in law was traveling with her daughter to Philadelphia. Her mother in law didn't know any English. So she requested me to guide both of them to the correct gate for the Philadelphia flight at Minneapolis airport. I accepted, feeling proud too, about helping an Indian in a foreign land.
We boarded the aircraft. Another punjabi guy introduced himself to me saying "Tum software wale ho? Hamara to liquor store hai US me". Somehow i felt that my respect for his profession seemed to be the same as his for mine. Anyways, at that time i heard a little commotion at the back of the plane. Then the air hostess came and asked me if i was traveling with the old lady and the kid. I said "Sort of, what's the problem?". She said "The lady does not have a boarding pass for the kid. The kid being 3 yrs old, required a boarding pass." Now i remembered that while checking in the baggage, I had overheard the Punjabi lady say to the airline persons at the counter that her mother in law will travel with the kid on her lap. I reiterated this and the fact that they had made it into the plane with one boarding pass, so why are they being stopped now?
She said that rules are rules, and the lady and the kid will have to disembark. Then for few minutes I tried to explain this to the lady. To my dismay, she did not even know Hindi. My "Liquor Store" friend came to my rescue and explained everything to her in Punjabi. The lady said she had some dollars and was willing to pay for whatever the fine or charges. The Cabin Crew would have none of this and asked her to get off the plane quickly as she was holding up the flight. At last, while leaving, she asked if I could also get down with her and assist her. Now I was in a fix. It was easy telling the daughter in law that I'll help the old lady, but disembarking the flight for that? I also had a connecting flight to Amsterdam from Minneapolis with little gap.
It really wasn't a tough decision, i just said that i am sorry, and told her to call her daughter in law from the airport and sort things out. I felt guilty for a while, remembering the helpless face of the old lady. Added to this, the other Punjabi fellow had started cursing the daughter in law, saying that todays generation conveniently call their parents from India to babysit their kids, but put them in such situations for a few lousy bucks.
Of course, after narrating all this to my friends, i said, "But what could have I done? It wasn't my fault"
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