I think the FA's words adequately express the feelings of many FA's flying today. When it comes time for the "safety spiel," the only people paying attention most of the time are your first-time flyers and your "Nervous Nellies." I would bet that if you surveyed a group of FA's, most feel like the safety announcement is the least respected aspect of flying. I try to make a point to make eye contact with the FA during their spiel, just so that they know someone is listening.

No, mainline FA's probably wouldn't say such things aloud, but I don't doubt that they think it.

I should have added this to my comment earlier, but last summer, I was flying home from Baltimore (not on Southwest, though I could have & should have; not that the airline I flew is terrible, but Southwest is my favorite!). On my flight from BWI to DAL, a mother & her early elementary age looking daughter sat across the aisle from me. After we landed & taxied off the runway, this girl unfastened her seat belt & stood up on the floor between her seat & the one in front of hers. I don't think the Captain had yet made his announcement to keep selt belts fastened, but the mother never told her daughter to sit down & buckle up! That irritated me, & I wish we had been sitting close enough for the flight attendants to see it & say something!

This question may be off topic, but how many of you flight attendants serve Deaf customers? I sign (my BA is in Deaf Services with a Sign Language interpreting minor; plus, my church has a Sunday School class for Deaf & Hard of Hearing that I'm a member of & we have an interpreter who comes twice a month to interpret Sunday School & the second worship service at 11:00), & I hope to serve some Deaf customers when I become an FA!

when I become a flight attendant!

As a fellow Alabamian (also from a "Over the Mountain" suburb of Birmingham-Mountain Brook), I appreciate the references to Southern sayings. You don't hear a lot of that down here in Florida. It's funny- the more south you go in Florida, the more you feel like you are NOT in the South! Other sayings that get weird glances are "That dog'l hunt" and any reference using the word "yonder". I will freely admit that in Customer Service, the honey vs. vinegar analogy holds true. I will bend over backwards and maybe even break or bend a "rule" for someone who is genuinely nice. If we have wronged a Customer, they have every right to be upset- but it is how they express their anger that will determine whether they will be "processed" simply for the sake of removing them from your presence, or whether they will be "WOW'ed" with the responsiveness and compassion that they probablly deserve. Screaming at people to get what you want will only get the person that is trying to help you so riled up that they just want you gone. Calmly explaining your situation and why you think it's wrong will get you a lot farther than screaming and cursing.
And by the way- after hundreds and hundreds of flights; I watch and listen to the safety announcements. Making eye contact and nodding let's that F/A know they are respected. Plus- it's funny to see the different personalities- especially when you get a good veteran crew on a SWA flight. those old jokes are still so corny that that they are funny.
Seriously-anyone who has ever been in an actual air emergency will tell you that Flight Attendants are highly trained professsionals who are much more than a drink and snack server!

I really do LUV the way your F/A's treat the customers! I love the uniqueness and spunk that they bring back to flying!