There is an old saying that "a picture is worth a thousand words." Looking at the You Tube video of the passenger being dragged off the United Airlines plane at the Chicago airport, I cannot wonder how many words such an image is worth. Ten thousand? A million? Whatever the total, you can bet not one of them is positive. And none of them is going to be going away any time soon. Folks from United Airlines, including the company's chief executive officer, have been doing their best to make amends to the passenger who they removed from the plane, those who witnessed what happened, and to the nation itself. So far, and rightfully so, their apologies have been falling on deaf ears.
In other news, White House press secretary Sean Spicer, who seems to be well on his way to becoming everyone's favorite cartoon, is now doing his best to back away from a statement he made in which he downplayed the horror that Hitler inflicted upon Germany's Jewish population via poison gas in the 1930s and 1940s. Thus far, public and press reaction to what he said is giving United Airlines a run for its money in terms of which one is generating the most outrage. My guess is it is going to a long while before Spicer is able to move past this monumental gaffe. It may even ultimately cost him his job.
People say dumb things. People make mistakes. Generally, few are serious enough to where they cause lasting damage. In my view, this is not the case with United Airlines and Spicer. From a communication standpoint, other than offer heartfelt regrets, the United CEO and Spicer need to simply plant their feet on the ground and weather the criticism and negative reaction being directed toward them at present. They should not make excuses or try to explain-away what happened. The last thing either one needs is to appear defensive. The better able they are to perceived to be taking genuine responsibility for what happened, the more quickly the public will move on.
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