> Rudeness is just a normal part of America culture now.

I have a backpack that has a phone holder on the shoulder strap. When you click your phone in it, the camera is visible. I've had many a situation where someone was about to go full New York on me, but noticed the camera staring at them and toned it down. I've never once been recording.

Very interesting. I should look for a backpack like this, so I can be prepared the next time I travel to America.

What kind of backpack do you have?

It's an Orben with a cheap iphone belt holder clipped into the cargo loop on the strap. The belt holder came with the clear protective case I bought at Wal-Mart. I hung the belt hodlder on the strap and it's been great for recording short hikes and downtown excursions. But also, seems to have the effect of making people more polite at customer service counters.

  training them to be friendly and positive even in difficult situations

Without having any insight into how Southwest runs things I'd venture to guess that their gate agents and cabin crew have a lot more discretion than their peers at, for example, United. That kind of leeway makes the job much, much easier. United essentially handcuffed their staff leaving few options for dealing with an overbooked flight but to escalate to police involvement.

That's what happened with Dr. Dao in any case. Not long after that shit show, I booked a transcon on American. Turns out it was overbooked, and they were desperate to get people off the plane. The gate agents basically asked how much money it would take to get people to volunteer to take another flight. They got their volunteers, everyone went home happy because American empowered their staff to resolve problems.