Never follow the emotional roller coaster ride.
Use that info for some other gain if possible - e.g. United Airlines' abuse of an airline passenger in order to make more room than their capacity recently caused one of the most viral uproar I've ever seen in social media. How one can take this news? Gossip - No. Sell UA's stock and then buy it back from the bottom the next day - very quickly.
As to better alternatives for UA:
- postpone flight until the next one's available. (passengers must sacrifice or everyone loses)
- avoid selecting passengers on urgent errands
- Better incentives (free ride one full year)
- Let staffs suffer without seating
And there are many more solutions I'm sure.