Here's the thing:
You've obviously come to terms with the "new normal". You've accepted that 9/11 and all the bankruptcies have permanently reset the airline piloting profession to a lower economic level. That's great and in some ways I envy your contentment. You must be a better investor than most of us. But,
Some of us were still holding onto hope that this profession would someday soon be restored to the pre-9/11 standards of compensation and quality of life.
This last contract was just very disappointing in that it pretty much confirmed that the people who run ALPA have also accepted the "reset" paradigm.
They jammed through these work rule concessions and what were basically "cost of living" wage hikes when many of us were hoping for far more. We kinda thought the corporation's emergence from bankruptcy would also mean the pilots' emergence from our bankruptcy contract. When it didn't happen it was tough to take.
The posts on this forum simply reflect that frustration. Let's face reality. We're not seeing any real gains in our purchasing power as a result of our "raises" and the seniority list remains stubbornly stagnated. Despite your apologist posts I think its pretty clear to most guys that the new work rules and all these JVs and codeshares have allowed the company to postpone any hiring or significant advancement. You lose some credibility when you deny that.