Scum of the skies

There's a man in Edmonds, Washington who has dedicated his life to boycotting Alaska Airlines. For years now, he's had signs up in his windows, on his car and erected in his front yard.

Note: the photo below is outdated. The sign now has a spotlight.

Image via KomoNews

Curious cat that I am, I decided to Google "Boycott Alaska Airlines Scu..."—I didn't even have to finish typing. Clearly I'm not the first to have investigated this man's mission. Google autofilled my query and before I knew it I was on the homepage of alaskaairlinesscumoftheskies.com.

You know how they say that dogs look like their owners? Well, the same is true of websites. Kind of. I don't know what the Edmonds man looks like, but aesthetically, the website screams 'ramblings of an angry mad man'. Giant block of words, tiny font, double spaces after each period, second-person narrative and footer text that reads 'One Pissed Off Customer'.  I loved it instantly. 

I also just love it when people go big or go home. When they commit to something so intensely because it's too late and they've invested too much to bow out now. I do it a lot in debates with Andy. Even if I realize that he's right halfway through, I double down on my argument for dignity's sake. 

Today my auntie Barb told me that her phone rang during a recent pilates class. Everyone looked around at each other. They all pointed to a woman whose phone had gone off before, but she swore hers was on vibrate. Even the teacher piped up to say, whoever's phone it was, just go turn it off. The whole time Barb kept quiet. She'd decided not to confess and she had no choice but to stick with it. With every passing second, it became increasingly impossible to fess up. 

I completely understood her position and admitted that I would have done the same. 

Back to Alaska Airlines man. I wanted to love his story. I wanted to grab my pitchfork and riot by his side. But his tale let me down. There are big chunks missing and the whole thing reads a bit homophobic. 

I don't know. Maybe it's just bad copywriting. Perhaps he used up all his energy on 'Scum of the Skies', which is brilliant. 

Whatever the case, I'm disappointed—and now a bit worried that, if he's any bit the Googler I am, there might be a 'Boycott Madgespace' sign up in his lawn tomorrow. I flatter myself.

Love ya,
Margaret