JetBlue Flight Attendant Assumes Folk Hero Status

Steven Slater, the JetBlue flight attendant whose on-the-job meltdown became a media sensation, is now gaining supporters from all over the Web.

Facebook pages are popping up in droves and the Tweets just keep coming in support of Steven Slater, a previously unknown JetBlue flight attendant who is likely not going to be employed by the company in the very near future. Slater lost his cool after a flight from Pittsburgh to New York City, at which time he took to the microphone to berate a passenger with whom he had problems from the start of the flight. After his verbal tantrum on the microphone, Slater grabbed two beers from the beverage cart and pulled the emergency exit hatch on the plane.

When the inflatable slide deployed, Slater jumped on, slid off the plane, then went to his car and drove home. He was arrested at home a short time later on charges stemming from his opening of the emergency exit door on the plane without proper cause. Slater was held on $3500 bail and has since been released.

Since his release, Slater has been swarmed by media and adoring well-wishers, most of whom, seem to relate to Slater's memorable meltdown on the job. Most of us everyday working stiffs envision being able to leave a job - and a career - behind in such a fashion. Of course, the reality would have likely been that Slater would struggle to find another job within the airline industry after such a tirade.

But because of the media coverage and the Internet, there's a very real chance that Steve Slater is going to become a celebrity for the immediate future. Sort of like this year's twisted version of Sully Sullenberger, the pilot who miraculously landed a passenger jet on the Hudson without losing a single person. Sully was great, to be sure, but few of us could truly relate to that type of heroism. Slater, on the other hand, is the quintessential Everyman. We could all do what he did - but few of us have the nerve to pull it off