New York:
A folk hero in digital times, JetBlue flight attendant Steven Slater has been thoroughly embraced by the Web.
Not only have news stories about his meltdown on a plane from Pittsburgh to New York City been exceptionally popular on the Internet, but he's been feted in all manner of online tribute. Even JetBlue Airways Corp wryly noted on its blog post on Wednesday that many people reacted: "Like, the entire Internet."
Slater has consistently ranked as one of the most popular topics on Twitter and has birthed a small cottage industry of Facebook pages, with titles such as "Free Steven Slater" and "I Support Steven Slater."
One group, dubbed the "Steven Slater Legal Defence Fund," is seeking to raise money for the airline veteran. More than 650 people are members of the group, which was founded by Gary Baumgardner, a pilot who pledges transparency in donating all the collections to Slater. He said he had raised more than USD 1,500 as of early Wednesday.
Slater, 38, is accused of cursing out a passenger over the intercom after his plane landed on Monday at John F Kennedy International Airport, grabbing some beer and exiting on the plane's emergency slide. He was arrested and jailed before being freed on bail. A defence attorney says Slater didn't put anyone in danger.
The website Free Steve Slater has been launched in support of Slater. It introduces itself: "Steve! This page is for you! Get in touch and let us know what you want to do with it!"
One of the trends on Twitter has been to imagine T-shirts dedicated to Slater's audacious escape. Film critic Roger Ebert was among those churning out ideas, including: "Front: 'I may be under arrest...' Back: 'But I got two free beers out of it.'"
Actual T-shirts were already for sale online, though with the more simple "Free Steven Slater" printed on them. On eBay, luggage tags reading "Steve Slater: An American hero" were for sale, as was a painting of Slater holding a prison number, which was going for USD 355 as of last afternoon.
Not only have news stories about his meltdown on a plane from Pittsburgh to New York City been exceptionally popular on the Internet, but he's been feted in all manner of online tribute. Even JetBlue Airways Corp wryly noted on its blog post on Wednesday that many people reacted: "Like, the entire Internet."
Slater has consistently ranked as one of the most popular topics on Twitter and has birthed a small cottage industry of Facebook pages, with titles such as "Free Steven Slater" and "I Support Steven Slater."
One group, dubbed the "Steven Slater Legal Defence Fund," is seeking to raise money for the airline veteran. More than 650 people are members of the group, which was founded by Gary Baumgardner, a pilot who pledges transparency in donating all the collections to Slater. He said he had raised more than USD 1,500 as of early Wednesday.
Slater, 38, is accused of cursing out a passenger over the intercom after his plane landed on Monday at John F Kennedy International Airport, grabbing some beer and exiting on the plane's emergency slide. He was arrested and jailed before being freed on bail. A defence attorney says Slater didn't put anyone in danger.
The website Free Steve Slater has been launched in support of Slater. It introduces itself: "Steve! This page is for you! Get in touch and let us know what you want to do with it!"
One of the trends on Twitter has been to imagine T-shirts dedicated to Slater's audacious escape. Film critic Roger Ebert was among those churning out ideas, including: "Front: 'I may be under arrest...' Back: 'But I got two free beers out of it.'"
Actual T-shirts were already for sale online, though with the more simple "Free Steven Slater" printed on them. On eBay, luggage tags reading "Steve Slater: An American hero" were for sale, as was a painting of Slater holding a prison number, which was going for USD 355 as of last afternoon.
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