People are calling for a couple to divorce after the wife reveals that her husband always flies first class while she and their kids sit in the economy.
The story has been shared by in their recent newsletter, The Ethicist, where philosopher Kwame Anthony Appiah asks readers to share their views on real-life tricky situations and dilemmas.
According to the woman, her husband always flies first class and leaves his family to sit in economy or economy plus.
“My husband loves to travel and always either pays for, or gets an upgrade into, the first class cabin,” she wrote. “When we travel together with our children, he buys himself a ticket in first class and puts us in economy or economy plus.”
The wife said they recently traveled to Paris on an overnight flight, and her husband booked his ticket for the first class but asked his wife and two kids, one 16 years old and the other 12, to sit in the economy with their mother.
When the wife argued with her husband that she wanted to sit with him in first class, he said he could not pay for everyone’s tickets for the first class as they were expensive. The husband even argued that he would have paid for his wife’s ticket, but it would not be fair for the kids to travel in the coach alone.
The woman added that her kids don’t mind their parents sitting in first class but thought it wouldn’t be fair to them.
“I don’t think our kids would mind if they were in economy plus, and my husband and I sat together in first class. Is that unfair of me to want?” said the woman.
The woman also revealed that her husband took a different flight to Paris so that his wife and kids won’t feel bad about traveling in the rear cabin and him sitting in first class.
However, according to the woman, this does not justify the ‘inherent selfishness in his thinking.’
“Am I wrong? We are happy to travel, and love going places together, but it is still very strange,” the woman asked.
Responding to the letter, Anthony Appiah suggested that the woman and her husband take turns sitting in the first class.
He wrote, “A modern marriage is meant to be a pairing of equals, in which each partner treats the other with respect, consideration and dignity.”
However, social media users disagreed with Appiah’s suggestion and asked the woman to divorce her husband, as nothing could justify his extremely selfish behavior.
“This is grounds for immediate divorce,” wrote New York Times’ opinion columnist Lydia Polgreen.
“Divorce seems like the mildest possible response,” a second said.
“Whether it’s fair or not doesn’t matter. What matters is that you’re unhappy about it. And that he doesn’t give a flying monkey,” a third added.
“I got a free first class upgrade once when traveling with my wife and daughters. I, of course, gave it to my wife and chilled in back with the girls. Easy choice,” a fourth commented.
“Whenever me and my fiancé travel together, if one of us gets upgraded and the other doesn’t, I first offer it to her, and then I refuse it myself if she doesn’t want it. Strange hill to die on for this guy. It’s just a larger seat at the end of the day,” another shared.
“I think they both suck for wanting to sit in first class and leave their kids in economy, but yes, he sucks more,” wrote another.
Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
Source: The New York Times – Twitter
