The inflight patronizing we

In English, The patronizing we is when someone uses the word "we" as a synonym for "you." This is one of the most annoying linquistic habits of American so-called "service" staff. They are so-called service staff because whenever they're using the patronizing we, they have no intention of actually serving you...they're giving you an order.

For someone that spends very little time in the country, it's very easy to be tricked or confused by this language.

This exact thing happened to me several years ago on a domestic American Airlines flight during a brief trip to the country:

I boarded my flight, placed my carry-on in the overhead compartment and bag under the seat in front of me, sat down, put on headphones and started listening to music. The flight attendant tapped me on the shoulder and I took off my headphones to hear what she had to say. She said, "Sir, we're going to have to move your bag."

I think "gosh that's really kind of her to give me a heads up that she's going to move my bag" and replied "oh, okay! thanks for letting me know!" And put my headphones back on.

The flight attendant suddenly got very angry and raised her voice and said loudly, "No, YOU move your bag." At that point, I thought, maybe I should have flown on that airline that promises the friendly skies, because this one didn't seem very friendly.

Interestingly, the overhead bins on the flight I was on had pieces of duct tape on them holding on trim or patching holes or something. Probably just a coincidence.