A well-planned day might still go downhill for reasons beyond one’s control. A woman who had left her home to catch a flight to Europe had her plans delayed by the scores of protesters blocking the intersection at LAX Airport, California. A video posted on X showed one of the protesters scolding the woman, who was evidently frustrated. “These are people’s lives, you need to stop,” he said.
The woman, already tearing up, pleaded, “I’m going to miss my flight. I’m flying to Europe.” Her pleas, however, fell on deaf ears as 3 protesters stood directly in front of the car the woman was in, blocking its path. An earlier clip on X showed the multitude of protesters, mostly wearing red, carrying handmade signs and some using blowhorns. The reporter explained that there were “hundreds of people” at the intersection, who chose to protest on one of the “busiest travel days of the year.” They have since been identified as LAX airline catering workers who made a statement before Thanksgiving.
A woman among the protesters explained that they were “fed up” and needed a contract. “They work super hard inside their workplace to provide the food for the international flights,” she concluded. A sign was placed in the middle of the road reading, “City of LA, why is Flying Food Group above the law?” More frustrated road users were lined up in traffic, blaring their horns and growing impatient. One man said, “I understand they can be on a strike or whatever, but do you know that we want to go!”
Many netizens shared the sentiment of the road users and wasted no time airing their frustrations. “The problem is if you try to use any sort of physicality to get out of this, your life is ruined. So these people have one-way permission to disrupt lives, and there’s no recourse for the victim of their bullying. This is not fair. This is wrong,” one wrote. “What does this accomplish other than someone legitimately getting run over? God bless Florida. This [expeltive] doesn’t fly,” another added.
“You will never see this happening in Philly or certain parts of Jersey. There are certain things people just know not to do or will never try here,” someone stated, while another tried to explain why it happened, “These disruptions are constant in LA because offenders never face charges.”
Many more criticisms about the protest poured in. “Your right to protest (however misguided) doesn’t give you carte blanche to be a POS to everyone,” a netizen pointed out. One user, referring to the woman’s pain, wrote, “Wow, this is so frustrating! That woman just wanted to catch her flight to Europe. Protesters should find better ways to make their point without ruining people’s travel plans.” A last one offered her a way to get compensated, “She should take photos, identify, then take them to small claims court for flight and travel reimbursement.”
