From an AA guy stateside, the posts on BA here make me feel right at home. Same exact problem here. A small minority, far larger than it should be, causing most of the problems. Most are great, but the problem FA's thrive in an antagonistic corporate enviroment that has had a history of pitting one work group against another.
If I had to place the order of blame, I'd put the lack of respect for authority first, the gutless among our pilot group who let it occur second, and the corporate culture third.
The societal problems over there might be tougher to beat though. Any place where you go to prison after defending yourself in your dwelling has some major problems.