Airline Aggravation

Perhaps no public servant has more stress placed on them than those in the airline and aviation transport industry. There is no business more complex than the airline and aviation industry. In this line of work, there are more than just airline Ticket Agents, Gate Agents, Flight Attendants, and Skycaps.

Airline passengers meet with only a few of the professionals who make the business what it is. There is something in human nature that makes most travelers oblivious to the environment around them in that they only see a person in a uniform who either makes or ruins their day. Passengers see airline personnel and airport security as people who either hamper their freedom to travel or help their travel plans along.

The Humanity Beat documentary, "Airline Aggravation" looks inside the airline and aviation transport industry and exposes the stress levels experienced by those professionals who are expected to leave their humanity behind for the sake of corporate profit. This program will enlighten travelers on the matters of airline mental health, and what happens when the airline corporate culture forces airline personnel to hide their state of health until these hard workers reach their breaking point.

Airline personnel struggle with the stigma of mental health diagnoses just the same as anyone else, and yet, it is airline personnel who are demonized when they suffer a meltdown. Corporate corruption and alienation of people plays a role in airline and aviation employee mental health problems.

In recent news stories, two American Airlines employees have come under scrutiny and even demonization. Both of these professionals are Flight Attendants in the emlpoy of American Airlines. One of them is unidentified and under in-patient care at a Texas hospital after what is suspected to be a bipolar episode on a flight from Dallas to Chicago, and the other is Gailen David who was recently fired for blowing the whistle on American by way of his parody videos depicting his views of what happens at American Airlines.

"Airline Aggravation" is in production. The download link will be posted here when it is released. Until then, please enjoy this video statement by Gailen David, and visit his website, DEAR SKY STEWARD

Mortal Remembrance - The Death That Happens and The Death That Matters

The photo above is the face of Thomas Lynch. Mr. Lynch is an award winning writer and poet; he is also an experienced Funeral Director who wrote a book called "The Undertaking: Stories From The Dismal Trade". Lynch worked with the documentary team at Frontline by their request to create what is possibly the most meaningful work on the topic of how we humans process death, dying, and dealing with our dead. Mortal Remembrance is inspired by this, and other works by Lynch. 

In the Frontline documentary, "The Undertaking", Mr. Lynch made a VERY powerful and profound statement; he said "Funerals are the way we close the gap between the death that happens and the death that matters". Mortal Remembrance talks about exactly that topic....the death that happens and the death that matters. Thomas Lynch was unavailable for comment or consultation on this documentary per his office personnel.

Mortal Remembrance picks up where "The Undertaking" left off, examining how we process death, how we deal with the death that happens, how we make that loved one's life matter, and learning how to live beyond the loss when we lose someone we love. In this way, we are able to live our own lives as whole people because we become empowered to improve our state of mental and spiritual health when we work through the death that happens and make that death matter. 

Humanity Beat interviewed two Licensed Clinical Social Workers from The Center For Grief Recovery and Therapeutic Services - Institute For Creativity and Development.

 

David Fireman, MSW, LCSW

Kathryn Conway - "KC", MSW, LCSW

Learn about David Fireman and KC by visiting their official website. David and KC had the following words about the Mortal Remembrance program: 

"I'm really glad you are working on something like this. It sounds like a very important piece that will help many people, and it's really needed." - David Fireman

KC had this to say: "I'm glad you came to do this project with us, it was great to talk about something that people have such a hard time dealing with today. That people matter is axiomatic. How do we help people feel as though they matter?  -We can love them. In W.H. Auden's poem "September 1, 1939", he says that "we must love one another or die".  We'll die anyway but loving one another matters. The death that matters, matters because of love"

Mortal Remembrance also includes a segment on environmentally friendly disposition of remains. This feature comes from a Radio Netherlands Worldwide production called "Earthbeat".

Mortal Remembrance can be heard or downloaded HERE. Special thanks to Marnie Chesterton at Earthbeat for her support of this project! Parents, PLEASE guide your children through this program.