Stephen Slater has become a lightning rod for opinions, particularly in the online realm. The flight attendant for JetBlue has drawn attention for his actions on Monday after dealing with a difficult passenger: he told off the passengers over the intercom and then grabbed several beers and slid down the emergency chute right after the plane had landed on a runway at JFK Airport in New York City.

The firestorm over his actions reminds me of the book The Managed Heart: Commercialization of Human Feeling. In this book, sociologist Arlie Hochschild examined several professions, including flight attendants, where the job involved “emotional work.” Regardless of what a customer might do, flight attendants are required to be cheery and helpful. This can take a lot of work and effort as employees are always “on stage.” Occasionally, as Slater demonstrated, the employees can no longer maintain the emotional facade. These sorts of service jobs are often paid relatively less and are viewed by many people as jobs with less prestige and status.

Indeed, opinions about Slater’s action seem to break down along these lines regarding “emotional work.” Is he as a flight attendant justified in responding in the way he did because of a difficult passenger? Or, since he is being paid to be cheerful and diplomatic, shouldn’t he just have done his job and moved on? According to the New York Times, Slater’s actions have resonated with a number of people who felt similarly at their job.

I’d love to hear the side of the passenger who apparently provoked Slater.