The other issue that comes to mind is on one hand, Southwest is saying this is a safety issue and fat people NEED two seats for the safety of EVERYONE.
On the other hand, Southwest is self-congratulatory because they refund the price of the second seat if the airplane is fully booked and that second seat wasn't available.
You can' t have it both ways. Either there is a safety hazard for a fat person to have only one seat or not. I'm not sure how a second seat makes us or anyone else safer, but in any event either it does or it doesn't. Either you should preserve that second seat during booking or admit that really the bottom line is money and pleasing your socially acceptable thin customers at our expense.
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All of you fat haters should be thanking Kevin Smith for publicizing his experience on Southwest because hearing that his armrest was able to go down and he got thrown off anyway has convinced many of us never to fly Southwest again. Now your plane will have fewer of us repulsive fat people on board and you will be free to luxuriate in your self satisfaction over not being fat yourselves.
I have been amazed and disgusted by the depth of fat hatred expressed in reaction to this blog entry. I myself have never been a smoker or had a drug or drinking problem but it never occurred to me to assume that makes me a better human being or that I have some right to view people who struggle with those problems as less human or deserving of respect. Maybe fat people make you uncomfortable because you have trouble eating a healthy diet yourselves, I don' t know. It is possible to eat badly and remain thin as long as you don't consume excess calories and exercise.
In any event, I might someday succeed in one of my many attempts at losing weight--I've been trying since age 9 and at times have lost as much as 60 lbs and kept it off for a few years. I do have one of the genes implicated in obesity as genetic testing demonstrated so it is a life long struggle.
I suspect it will be easier for me to lose weight than it will be for some of you to learn compassion. I'd rather be in my large shoes and treat all people respectfully than be so hateful towards people I don't even know.
Like the song says, "Hate on me haters..."
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02-16-2010
09:57 AM
All of the fat people I know don't have a problem with the idea of being asked to purchase two seats--rather we are frustrated with no clear guidelines and subjective implementation, leaving us in doubt as to whether we will be required to purchase an extra seat or not. No one wants to be publicly shamed. With no clear, objective guidelines that we can check when we buy the tickets online, how can we know what to expect when we show up to board?
I am one of those who was NOT asked to buy a second seat. I have to wonder if it is because I booked an early morning flight that was not fully booked. Unlike Kevin Smith, I need a seat belt extender for a two inch gap. I can put down the armrests fully. I am five foot five and at the time of that flight weighed 290 and carry a lot of extra weight on my hips, being bottom-heavy. I would think I'd be asked to pay for a second seat before Kevin would. According to his account, both women seated on either side of him indicated that they were fine with him being seated next to them. So what was the real problem if his seat belt was buckled and arm rests were both down? That is the real issue--Southwest seems unwilling to admit that he did not need to be ejected. I'd love it if the women come forward and publicly state that they told the airline employee they were fine with him flying next to them.
I don't see why it is impossible to do some testing with different people--we'll volunteer--and come up with a range of weight and measurements that anyone can apply at home to know if they are required to buy two seats or not. Why do we have to be surprised and publicly confronted when such standards ought to exist? Having objective standards will also insure that employees can't ever be subconsciously influenced by things like class and race, even with the best of intentions. A measuring tape or weight scales don't lie and can be employed when there's a dispute about the policy.
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