[ CYPHER CODE #1349 ]
Once it leaves your hands, it stops being personal.
[ CYPHER CODE #1350 ]
“Fragile” is a label that often gets cast aside. Literally.Â
[ CYPHER CODE #1351 ]
Carless has become routine.Â
BRIEFING
Grant here. I think most of us know that once we check our bags at the airport, they're not necessarily getting the "white glove" treatment. Just a quick glance outside of your airplane window and you'll usually see staff throwing around luggage like it's a sport. But this latest video of a baggage handler literally throwing guitars onto the tarmac has people saying "enough is enough." Let’s break it down.
In a viral TikTok video, a baggage handler at LAX is caught on camera tossing what appears to be expensive guitars onto the tarmac like they’re bags of useless garbage.
He's not setting them down or handling them carefully. He's literally tossing them around like yesterday's trash.
SOURCE
🔥🚨DEVELOPING: This baggage handler at LAX is facing backlash after he was caught tossing expensive guitars onto the tarmac, in a TikTok video with over 4 million views. pic.twitter.com/lyDmCSicST
— Dom Lucre | Breaker of Narratives (@dom_lucre) March 24, 2026
People are understandably infuriated, and there are many calling this worker's actions a "firable offense."
SOURCE
The guitar zero’s actions hit a sour note with viewers, with one labelling them “absolutely disgraceful.”
“I’d lose my mf mind,” said another, while a third theorized, “that’s easily $3,000 of equipment by the way.”
“This makes me so mad,” fumed another. “I don’t care if it’s a $100 guitar or a $5,000 guitar, be respectful of others’ property.”
“That should be a fireable offense,” said another appalled commenter.
One critic quipped, “That’s a candidate for a robot replacement right there.”
It’s unclear which airline the culprit works for, but US carriers are required to accommodate instruments either as checked baggage (provided they’re under 150 inches and 165 pounds) or carry-on if they can fit under the seat or in the overhead bins, per the US Department of Transportation.
In the event that it exceeds the carry-on size limit, many airlines will allow passengers to “purchase an adjoining seat for your instrument,” known as “seat baggage” or “cargo in the cabin.”
To mitigate the chances of damage, flyers are advised to pack their instruments in hard-shelled cases labeled “fragile.”
Travelers are also advised to buy protection, although these policies — as well as the extra seats — can come at a substantial cost.
DEBRIEFING
What we're seeing here unfortunately isn't even shocking or surprising at this point. It's all just part of the general downward spiral of working standards, especially at the airport and especially after DEI.
Obviously, working at the airport isn't a cake walk. Bags are coming in nonstop, flights are going in and out, and everything has to keep moving. So in that kind of working environment, it's expected that negligence will happen. But it still doesn't excuse the behavior, and it especially doesn't excuse the guy seen throwing around guitars willy nilly.
Our standards have fallen to a low in the United States, there's no denying, and it's especially apparent how far we've fallen when you look at other countries like Japan. There, luggage is handled humanely and efficiently.
@japanjoyful In Japan, even your suitcase is treated with respect. 🇯🇵✨ From trains to airports, staff handle luggage with incredible care. #japanfacts #japantravel #japaneseculture #respect #attentiontodetail
♬ original sound - japanjoyful - japanjoyful
There's honestly no excuse at this point that we need to sit back and accept this kind of subpar work. Go to any other airport where DEI hiring isn't running rampant, and you can clearly see that things are operating at a different level.
NOW YOU KNOW
This isn't just carelessness. It’s how the system was built to work.
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Its America not an airline baggage handler…. no one cares about YOUR stuffs more than you do and you can no longer even PAY someone to.
I was a baggage handler for Delta in the late 70s and back then we were trained and required to not handle luggage like this.
But, even at Delta things changed… then, we had 2 different Carts your bags are loaded into for moving from the bag room to the jet. The only one allowed to use had a shelf for two rows .. so you had two levels of baggage…the other Cart had no such shelf and that was for Freight only.. you could not use it to pile a second level of luggage on top of the first.
WELL…. no longer does Delta have two carts for luggage… next time at the airport look at your luggage in the cart… 2 piles of bags, one on top of the other… would you like to have YOUR bag on the bottom of that pile when you packed something semi fragile and not as well as you should have?
Same thing in jets using containers loaded in the bag room out of sight of passengers… no longer use the shelves, so your luggage is in a pile 5 rows high. No shelves in containers? Weight,,,, weight costs fuel to carry.
This is ‘Merica in 2026 and its not a Trump or Biden fault,,,its ours, we do not hold employees to an acceptable standard anymore nor our children growing up.
This to me is crystal clear in our phones. Dropped calls, never received calls, tiny little screen with horrible clarity. The difference in phone service in this era, vs when Ma Bell was in charge is astronomical!
US based baggage handlers have always been this careless for the most part. It’s part of their DNA. Yeah, there should be repercussions, but we all know how that goes.
Was the handler a Muslim?
United hates guitars
That sounds familiar. Wasn’t there a songwriter who wrote a song about his broken guitar ordeal with United? I seem to recall a video about it. Was that the song’s title, United Hates Guitars?
I wrote the following yesterday after watching a YT video of a woman complaining about getting in trouble at work.
If you have ever asked yourself, why does customer service in stores seem to be nonexistent. If you are an older person and can’t believe how employees in many companies you deal with behave, dress, or speak, look no further than this video [link omitted] for your answer as to why.
Imagine someone is applying for a job, the person interviewing looks at their resume and says, wow, if half of what you wrote here is true, you would be a huge asset to this company. Unfortunately, you are the wrong skin color or sex, so we can’t hire you.
That is why you have seen a decline in the work output of the people you see in stores and businesses today. We no longer hire the best, instead it is based on some metric so you do not get sued for discrimination. Then after you hire them, you have to let them do as they please, so you do not to get sued for discrimination.
I am actually glad I no longer own or run any businesses in the USA.
Totally 100% intentional with the guitars. You can tell just by the way that sliver back throws them. He’s being made to work while others get to travel and play music…….and he feels he’s being oppressed. Intentional flat out.
This is not new. I watched very expensive guitars thrown over a double decker luggage wagon, and then thrown back over it, over 20 years ago. Look up the 3 United Breaks Guitars videos to see how Dave Carrol battled with United airlines over breaking guitars several years ago.
I know a guy that use to do that and asked him why? He couldn’t answer but I can tell you they don’t care and just feel BIG doing it because bags can’t hit back.
That boy is on the career path to become a pilot!
Hard shell travel cases. Guitars were not damaged but still