As pilots we have all learned to be compliant to the multitude of rules, procedures and regulations which define how we work and interact. For obvious reasons, this is a most excellent trait to have.
But I do worry when this compliant mentality carries over into private and public lives outside of the work environment.
My observation over 45 years has been that pilots as whole don’t have enough mongrel in them to stand up to bureaucratic over reach outside the work environment. With notable exceptions, we (myself included) are just cows in the paddock grazing with our heads down
And then when the odd outlier appears (Graeme Hood, in this instance) the herd gathers together to drive him out.
This thread is but one example of that compliant herd mentality. And personally, I don’t think it’s healthy.
Pastor Martin Niemoller’s poem always resonates when I see episodes like these.