As a point of interest, I made sure to also listen to Kevin's podcast about this story. Turns out that on the subsequent flight, he had two seats and another larger person was seated in the third seat, with his empty seat between them. She was between the armrests with her seatbelt buckled.
The attendant took the girl out of her seat, walked her to some other place, and told her that next time she flies, she should purchase a second seat, then brought her back to her seat in the row with Kevin. The girl was humiliated- and for no reason, as there was already an empty seat in the row AND the girl was buckled up between the armrests.
He found out about this later on in the flight after he and his fellow passenger talked a bit. He described her emotional state as "brittle" as a result of the incident.
His fury and motivation for continuing to make this so public was not about his own experience, but because after having witnessed this blatant humiliation of a fellow passenger who does not have his resources or public platform, he realized that Southwest regularly humiliates its passengers as a matter of policy.
An excellent documentary that all Southwest customers and employees should be required to watch "The Corporation" [google it]. It describes the sociopathic behavior of corporations [and their employees].
I would suggest that with all of the insane "antiterrorist" measures in place when people fly these days- which have never, by the way, stopped any terrorists, but only turn passengers into dehumanized cattle and create a antagonistic relationship between passengers and personnel- that with all of those other indignities we all have to face at the hands of the air travel industry, this additional dehumanizing measure is well beyond the pale.
Southwest has in this situation failed to provide one of the most essential points of human service: Respect.
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