A viral post on Twitter/X about a screaming baby on a plane has the internet divided. Does complaining about a crying baby on a plane cross the line, or is it fair game?
Crying baby on Delta flight sparks heated debate
Pat McAuliffe of Barstool Sports took to Twitter/X to share his misery on a recent Delta flight, with the first post now having been viewed over 15 million times. In the first post of the series, he wrote the following:
If your child is screaming on a flight (that’s late with no AC and hasn’t taken off yet @delta) show it a f*cking phone. Brain rot the baby on TikTok until it’s quiet. Is that too much to ask?
He followed that up with another video, where the baby can be heard crying, writing:
I do feel bad for the parents but at some point you gotta try something new. Walk his a$$ up and down the aisle, distract him, do something. It’s still going on. Simply praying it’ll stop is not acceptable
He then had another post:
At what point does this become a medical emergency? It’s been two hours. Also why are these people not at least talking to the kid to soothe him? STAND UP AND WALK HIM AROUND
After getting off “the flight from hell,” as he called it, he posted another video, saying that “at the end of the day this is Delta’s fault.”
He explained that the airline put them on a flight with no air conditioning, they were late departing, there was no gate available upon arrival at JFK for around one hour, and there was no gate agent on arrival, as the gate agent was reportedly late for work. I’m a little suspicious of some of those claims (like, Delta has more than one gate agent at JFK), but I’m just passing on what he’s stating.
I feel bad for all parties in these situations
You wouldn’t think that someone simply ranting about a crying baby would be viewed over 15 million times, but clearly this is a topic that many people feel passionately about. People seem divided on this:
- Some think this guy is a complete jerk and are calling him all kinds of names; they’re also saying he should’ve put on noise canceling headphones, should’ve offered to help, etc.
- Some agree with the guy, and think parents should do more, since babies shouldn’t cry for two hours
I’ll be the first to admit that my opinion has certainly evolved since becoming a parent. Is someone else’s crying baby on a plane annoying? I mean, of course it is. It’s incredibly unpleasant to listen to (for many reasons — not just the noise, but because you don’t like to see anyone suffer).
Also, a lot of people don’t understand how noise canceling headphones work (they can eliminate consistent sounds, but don’t necessarily cancel out loud crying). As much as I love kids, when I board a flight and there’s a little kid seated near me, I’m not like “oh yay, how exciting.”
All that being said:
- Commercial air travel is a shared form of transportation for people from all parts of society, and babies are part of society
- It’s a little rich to judge the parenting of others, in particular if you don’t actually have kids, as seems to be the case here (and most parents I know don’t judge other parents, because everyone is different, and there’s no single right or wrong way to handle things)
- Sometimes babies scream uncontrollably and it can be hard to get them to stop, so this guy’s genius solutions might not work
- I can promise that however bad this experience was for the guy complaining, it was much worse for the parents
Parents should of course always do what they can to keep their young ones entertained when traveling, and minimize disruptions. But sometimes babies will be babies, and they have a mind of their own, and there’s nothing you can do.
People should show parents grace in those situations, in my opinion. As he even mentioned in his video, he could tell that the parents were really stressed, and were trying. Just ranting at the internet about it seems a bit immature.
Bottom line
A Barstool Sports personality ranted online about a crying baby on a flight, in a video that has been viewed well over 15 million times. While some have sided with him, the responses to his complaint have been overwhelmingly negative.
Of course a crying baby can be annoying for anyone in the vicinity. At the same time, it’s a fact of life, commercial air travel is a shared form of transportation, and I can promise that it’s really unpleasant for the parents as well. If/when this guy becomes a parent, hopefully others show him more grace than he has shown the baby and parents here.
Where do you stand on this rant about a crying baby on a plane?