The video currently circulating around the world wide web, showing a woman on a Southwest flight from New York to Kansas City in fits of rage is nothing short of insane. Screaming and fighting off the flight attendants in an attempt to not be detained or held captive, the woman shouts, “Get the f*ck off me! I am being human trafficked! Leave me alone! They’re trying to put stuff on me! Get off!” and famously adds, “If they have your family hostage don’t believe it — they use fucking emotional manipulation. This is not real!”
Sports and entertainment blogger Andrew Powell weighed in on the incident saying, “This is outright bananas! I’ve been noticing the press just easily dismissing this whole thing as some ‘crazy lady,’ but what if she’s telling the truth here? What if she’s making a scene on purpose to get arrested to take her away from her alleged human trafficker? It’s a wacky world, man. Something like that could easily be going down.”
Are people dismissing the possiblity of human trafficking? Is her behaviour worth ignoring because of her irrational state?
Human trafficking is a major issue that affects people all over the world each and every day. However, is this cause for alarm? We don’t have any real evidence to back up the woman’s claims. At this time, it’s unclear how we should interpret the situation. Should we simply ignore it and potential victims like this woman?
Powell believes people should consider all possibilities, “Now don’t get me wrong, this could be a simple case of some rando losing her marbles, but just keep it under consideration that this woman could very well be telling the truth. Human trafficking is a real thing, and it happens every day. I’m gonna put this story on the shelf until I know more.”
We have to be aware of various forms of trafficking. That’s why it’s important to do research and educate ourselves about awareness. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), “human traffickers use deception, coercion, and violence to force their victims into a life of labor exploitation, sexual exploitation or forced labor.” If trafficking occurs, it’s absolutely necessary to investigate the claims and hold the perpetrators accountable.
@spam39231 deleted post from 11/13 phillypolish
That said, we should always treat any and all claims of human trafficking seriously. The woman on the Southwest flight may have been telling the truth. We won’t really know unless authorities investigate the situation.