"I prayed that God would protect my family in case I was gone."

From "[T]he captain asked that 'all able-bodied men please come to the front of the plane for an emergency... basically every man on the plane stepped up....'" by Ann Althouse.  

Said one passenger, quoted in "Delta passengers and crew subdue off-duty flight attendant on Atlanta-bound flight" (CNN). Newsweek quotes the pilot saying: "We'd like all strong males to come to the front of the aircraft to handle a problem passenger."

That's what happens in a true emergency, even today, with all our aspirations of gender equality. A passenger went wild and threatened to bring down the plane, and the standard of who must act now was: "all strong males." And just about all the men stepped up. 

We do understand that, however much we minimize discussion of that aspect of reality. Thanks to the men.

This reminds me of the Aurora Theater massacre in Colorado, in 2012.  Of the twelve dead in the shooting, four were men who placed their bodies between the shooter and their girlfriends.

I cannot help but weep at the courage and conviction of men - "And just about all the men stepped up."

There is a reality of men protecting their loved ones and others, even strangers; and there is also the reality of women doing everything to make the lives of their children better.  It is so obvious, so real, and so taken for granted.  

From the CNN report.

A couple of minutes after the announcement, Curlee said, the captain asked that "all able-bodied men please come to the front of the plane for an emergency."

"I feared the worst," he said. "I prayed that God would protect my family in case I was gone."

Curlee said he and a passenger next to him bolted from their seats to help but did not get very far.

"We got nowhere near because basically every man on the plane stepped up and was in the aisle," Curlee said.

On an entirely different note - what is it with Delta and Los Angeles?  This is the third Delta flight from Los Angeles that has had to be diverted this month due to out-of-control passengers.  Statistical fluke, but attention grabbing.