I think everyone is being too harsh on the passenger.  We don&#039;t know how it started. I mean, it appears to be true from various people&#039;s accounts that the passenger was being loud and using bad words in her cell phone conversation.  However, whether or not a situation escalates will also depend how she was first addressed by the conductor at the start - a disrespectful start can easily escalate the situation.  From the video, the conductor&#039;s behavior does not inspire much confidence in this regard.  Although her (conductor&#039;s) words were polite and in even tone, her body language was disrespectful towards the passenger.  For example, in the entire altercation, while the passenger was trying to engage the conductor into a discussion, the conductor did not make eye contact even a single time, a definite personal affront in any culture.  (Although most of the time they do, polite and even words do not always mean respect.  For example, a police officer may &quot;Step out of the car, Sir!&quot; in a tone that unnecessarily diminishes the driver in front of a driver&#039;s wife and children, or an airport guard at the scanner may say ... you get the drift.)  Also, the conductor&#039;s later actions belie her seemingly professional behavior when she announced on the speaker about Harvard, Yale, etc. people.  Summing my thoughts, I think (1) the passenger is being vilified and made fun of too much (she deserves a little but not to the extent I am reading and hearing) and (2) the conductor was not being very polite while ostensibly being polite, and, ultimately, as a professional who deals with all kinds of people everyday, I think it is HER (conductor&#039;s) failure not to have managed the situation and let it escalate.