Has GA turned mean?

In a blog post titled “The meaning of aviation,” AOPA Editor In Chief Thomas Haines talks about how mean aviation has become. What’s behind that crankiness? He postulates: “As I ponder what brings out the general crankiness of pilots, several things come to mind. The dismal state of the economy, especially as it pertains to general aviation, may contribute to the foul mood that drives people to fire off thoughtless and destructive messages. Perhaps it’s the political landscape that causes people to fear the future and frustration to well up. Maybe it’s the impersonal way we communicate today. It’s easy and quick to fire off an email or post a forum comment without taking the time to reflect on the fact that a real person is going to read what is written. Those emails don’t go to some blind email box. There’s a human being on the other end.” Read the full post here.