I feel your pain Kevin Smith. Southwest airlines decided that Kevin Smith weighs so much that he was a safety risk. The pilot of the plane came out to the cabin, saw Kevin jammed in his seat and kicked him off the plane. Kevin then spent the next 24 hours on Twitter talking to his 1.6M followers. Shortly thereafter Southwest realized who they kicked off and started kissing a lot of ass. Southwest airlines style. In typical Southwest style they offered Kevin a $100 voucher. He laughed at them and turned them down. They then put him on another flight. I don't understand how he could be safe for one flight and not for another. It isn't like he lost 20 pounds between flights. Do you think maybe the pilot had seen an advance print of Cop Out?
He had passed the both arm rests down test so thought he would get to stay. Instead, he got escorted off the plane with all the passengers looking. That is humiliating. To read the entire episode as it happened, click here.
Poor Kev...Southwest Airlines has no idea what's coming.
ReplyDeleteLove ya, Silent Bob!!
Hi Majik!
ReplyDeleteI like Southwest Airlines. Its always a nice flight. But I don't understand how he can be too fat for one flight and not for another. Unless its a different plane. Or there were less passengers..
Poor Kevin.
ReplyDeleteIt has to be one of the most humiliating situations to be in. I was at the airport once and overheard a very similar conversation at the ticket counter. I felt sooo bad for the poor woman.. Urgh..
That had to be very humiliating, I feel for him and anyone else that has experienced that type of situation. I was shocked to hear it was Southwest though, since me and my husband (who is a big guy himself - more to love!) have found them to be the best airline to fly compared to the rest of them. Looks like SWA is going to have their hands full containing this situation, but hopefully in the end something positive will come from it all.
ReplyDeleteSouthwest has been sued for the exact same shit in the past, have they not?
ReplyDeleteAnd I'd take sitting next to Kevin Smith on a plane over sitting next to a screaming, crying brat or someone who won't shut the hell up- despite my best ipod-at-full-blast efforts- any day of the week.
Yes.. it's humiliating for an overweight person, but as someone who travels constantly and has been smushed into my window seat by a fat person MANY times I can't say I'm too horrified.
ReplyDeleteI agree, how humiliating would that be? I know that there is the rule that if you are very big you sometimes have to buy two seats - but they could have told him before he boarded and not on the plane in front of everyone.
ReplyDeleteSomeone asked me a few months ago, in front of other people, if I was pregnant. Which I was not. Even if you are a person who is comfortable in your skin whatever your size, comments like that can be really hurtful. Can't even imagine going through this in front of a plane full of people!
Fat people aren't the only ones who "smush" people on planes, you know. I'm all of 5'3" and 100 pounds, and had the joy of a flight from NYC to Heathrow sitting next to a 6'6" man. He could not help smushing me, but did anyone throw him off the plane?
ReplyDeleteFat people are just an easy target, and I don't think it's fair to blame them for the shitty sardine-can seating situation most airlines have going on. Rather than blame someone larger than yourself, why not blame the greedy corporate fucks who decide to squeeze everyone together like such?
Just sayin'.
And I agree, I'd rather sit next to Kevin Smith or any large person, than next to whiny, snotty kids. I have actually asked at check-in to be seated as far away from children as possible.
ReplyDeleteIf the planes weren't configured so as to cram as many people as possible into one small metal tube, they might be able to serve all passengers with an equal amount of hospitality. You're mushed no matter how big you are. And yes, give me the portly but intelligent and amusing Mr. Smith over that fidgety whining child any day.
ReplyDeleteHaving lost over 100 pounds, I have been the fat girl, and the smushed girl.
ReplyDeleteIronic that the first flight I took skinny was between two men who probably weighed over 300 each. I was happy that I could sit with my legs crossed, but since I was pinned in by large man arms on each side of me, there was no victory, but I didn't hate them, 'cause I'd been there.
As the fat girl, I sat on the window and spent the flight holding my arms in tight, for fear of invading the other person's space.
Kevin is not that big. They really screwed up on this one, but perhaps the backlash will make other large passengers feel less humiliated.
As someone who has racked up more than 75,000 in the air over the past year, let me tell you there are few worse things than being stuck between two overweight people who are each taking up the majority of your own seat on a cross-country flight. It isn't fair of them or of the airline to put passengers in this position.
ReplyDeleteSmith knows he's too big for a single seat; he usually buys himself two seats on Southwest flights. He got into this single seat by catching an earlier standy flight than the flight upon which he had booked double seats. There is enough blame to go around equally here: Smith for getting into a single when he knew he needed a double, and Southwest for allowing him to get seated and situated (and recognized) before removing him.
Not to be mean, but I work very hard by eating right and staying active to keep myself trim and healthy. I don't have a lot of sympathy for people who whine about the injustice of not being catered to because they are overweight when they are choosing to be so. Sorry, Enty.
Do You Come w/ the Car, THANK YOU! as a fellow frequent flyer, you just spoke my exact same thoughts.
ReplyDeleteand i have to admit...it's a little hard feeling sorry for mr. smith on this one...he's milking it for all it's worth, and that's just a little too tila-like attn-whoring for me. enough.
Saying people are overweight because they "choose to be so" is a pretty boldly ignorant statement to make. I've known people who work out and watch what they eat religiously, but have the metabolism of a snail or other such weight loss hindering medical problems. Just because you or I may be "trim and healthy" does not invalidate the rights of another human being solely based on their size. Asking for the same courtesy and respect (and, you know, being treated with dignity and humility) as another, smaller person does not equate to "whining about the injustice of not being catered to."
ReplyDeleteYou can sugarcoat it any way you like, but it is still discrimination.
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ReplyDeleteWell said, 0. I, too, work at a lot of things in my life (not just eating right and exercising) and one of them is to be kind, empathetic, gracious and with good manners. Replace the word "fat" with gender or ethnicity or sexual orientation and tell me that it doesn't sound discriminating. As Enty said, how is it he was too big for that flight but not another?
ReplyDelete@MsCool, Kevin had two seats on the first flight. Went standby. Could only get one. Why isn't he in first class on some airline. Lots of room up there.
ReplyDelete@Do you come with the car
ReplyDeleteFor real? Do you actually believe that sh*t you wrote? When was the last time you heard an overweight person whine about the injustice of not being "catered" to? B*tch please.
Kevin bought a ticket. He was seated on the plane. The pilot took a look at him and kicked him off. If he was too overweight for a single seat, he never should have been allowed to get on the plane. The fact is, half the time, airline employees arbitrarily decide someone is too fat for a flight. In one instance you're fine, in another you're too big. Do you think that if Kevin was paralyzed from the waist down, but exactly the same size, the airline would have said he was too large to fly? Do you think they would have dared to do anything but upgrade him to first class?
Hi Do You Come With The Car,
ReplyDeleteI am fat, but fit. Go to the gym five days a week, walked the Inca Trail last year, did NOT lose any weight. Have you ever walked the Inca Trail? Do you know how bloody difficult it is to NOT lose weight on that thing? But, I managed it.
I realise that there are people who have eating disorders, but you haven't complained about those who get drunk and abusive, or do drugs, or make mock bomb threats and hold up the plane. Be grateful you are able to be slim in a world where discrimination against fat is so prevalent.
O and Ms Cool, awesome responses. Thank you.
WTF! I came home on a flight from Sweden and sat next to two huge ppl! I had the window seat and the woman's arm literally took half my space. Luckily I'm petite ( 100 lbs, 5 feet). I should have complained b/c it was sooo uncomfortable all the way back to LA. *sigh*
ReplyDeletefat discrimination=bullshit.
ReplyDeletepeople aren't born fat and people aren't permanently fat once they gained the weight.
if you eat less calories than you burn...you will lose the weight...nothing new about it....it is just that people do not have the will-power, support, and the courage to actually make a fundamental change in diet/exercising habits.
Kevin Smith is an idiot...he bitches about being humiliated about being fat but when have he ever written lead parts for plus-sized woman.
How many fat jokes have he made directed towards fat woman.
He needs to get over himself.
Now he will be known as the guy who was too fat to get on the plane.
retard.
Must be nice to be petite and thin and think all fat people are lazy without willpower. How is the view from up there? Don't think about the myriad of endocrine disorders that can cause disease.
ReplyDeletejumping back into this...
ReplyDeleteMy theory is that many people don't want to be that close to a stranger. Sitting next to a heavy person can mean that your shoulders might connect, or even worse, your upper arms could touch! Oh, horror!!!
I've sat next to many a 'normal' weight passenger who just seems to spread out, arms on both rests, legs splayed. Now THAT'S obnoxious to me.
I'm sorry, we do not all choose to be fat.
ReplyDeleteI eat healthy, and I don't eat much. But I have COPD and am unable to exercise. I also have untreated (untreatable) sleep apnea. It's not a life choice, it happened to me in the process of living these past 67 years.
I get tired of everyone looking at overweight as the choice of a non-caring, ignorant person. Sometimes it is, yes. Often it is not. A little compassion would be in order. You'd never snarl at a paraplegic or a blind person the way you snarl at the obese.
Well put, Syko.
ReplyDeleteMy father was born without a thyroid gland. He has worked and worked his entire life to try and stay as healthy as he can possibly be, and despite the fact that he probably has the most asininely healthy eating habits of any person I've ever known, he has always been a larger than average guy. He definitely burns off more calories than he consumes, and has always been active. He just happens to have a disorder that mildly interferes with an otherwise healthy life.
Sure, some overweight people probably have poor eating habits and don't get enough exercise, but it's not fucking fair to lump everyone together and make ridiculous assumptions.
Maybe because I've had first-hand experience dealing with loved ones who are larger people, I can sympathize and understand. Or maybe I'm just not as ignorant as others and have a fucking sense of compassion toward fellow human beings.
Replace words such as "fat" and "obese" with words such as "black" or "gay" and tell me your statement isn't discrimination. Hating a "fat" person won't make you any skinnier, just as called some a "retard" doesn't make you any smarter.
Sorry for the multiple posts. Like I stated, my father has put up with ignorant, insensitive shit his entire life due to a lack of understanding. I will defend his rights and the rights of all other "larger people" 'til the day I die. We're all human.
I'd recommend listening to Kevin's SModcast about this subject. It's long but he gets very detailed about how it all went down. Specifically, he regularly books more than 1 seat because he doesn't like sitting next to other people and having to make conversation. (He's not alone in this, I reckon. He can just afford to do it.) He doesn't book two seats because he's fat. An important fact to note.
ReplyDeleteThe airlines really need to adjust the size of seats and the number of seats on their planes. It would benefit all people in the long run and increase revenue.
@Vanessa---your departing word says so much about you. Charming.
Smith is saying now that it's not true he normally buys two seats - he doesn't know who's been spreading it, but it's not true.
ReplyDeleteWhat I find most interesting is that if he weren't Kevin Smith, there would have been no voucher and no "other" flight. Charming double-standard.
wow a LOT of ignorant people today!
ReplyDeletefirst off..Kevin Smith buys two tickets TO AVOID TALKING TO DUMBASSES on a plane, i would too if i could afford it.
second- it was a ONE HOUR flight,no one should "have to pay first class" just because he has money, doesn't mean he should have to pay 2x.
third- he had BOTH armrests down and DID NOT NEED A SEATBELT EXT.
but what other bullshit can you Superior Skinny Asshats come up with?
get a fucking clue,we are all in this world together, there is no scale at the door of life.
exactly roquet..lol.
ReplyDeletehe only started buying two tix in the last 3 weeks and SWA has latched onto it like alifeline "But eh always buys two!!"
don't forget..i think these were the dicks that pulled the girl off the flight for showing cleavage.
Syko, Have you tried to be fitted for a CPAP machine? If not, please look into it. It is uncomfortable, but it works! My father dropped dead while jogging(he was very fit) but had severe sleep apnea. This was in the early 80's and not much was known about sleep apnea at the time. He was only 57!! I have never truly gotten over it. My brother and I both wear CPAPs. There must be some hereditary component to sleep apnea. It is a pain, but we don't want our kids to go through what we did losing a parent when we were in our early 20's. So Syko, see if you can get a sleep study and a CPAP!!!
ReplyDeleteThere are certainly people who have metabolic diseases that make them either overweight or make it very difficult for them to lose weight. I feel fairly comfortable in assuming that Kevin Smith is in neither camp.
ReplyDeleteI've been a fan since "Clerks," have ordered off the website, was an early participant on the View Askew boards but stopped following him on Twitter. The fact of that matter is he's not an advocate of the overweight, he's being obnoxious. A bully. There are people who have been working hard to resolve one pilot's bad decision yet he stands steadfast in the fact it's him against the world. You, me and everyone else would have to figure it out and move on with our life.
He'd get my compassion if he would hold his head high and move on instead of siccing his fan boy army on some customer relations people who didn't make the decision in the first place. I don't buy him as some born again advocate for the obese. To some extent you have to ask if he'd be so humiliated without broadcasting the situation to millions of people.
And why is Kevin Smith, millionaire director flying Southwest in the first place?
@skeeball - yes, I have. My doctor referred me to the respiratory specialist, who did a sleep study. He then ordered me a CPAP machine. After a miserable month on it, still not getting enough rest (and also not getting any of the comfort I had prior to using it), I returned to the specialist for follow-up. He told me that I might as well stop using it, that the sleep study had shown that it was a small chance it would help, but he thought it was worth a shot. Maybe to him - he didn't have to pay the $500 co-pay. I was quite angry that he would not let me in on the decision, because had I been told it might possibly help, but probably would not, I certainly could have used my money for something else.
ReplyDeleteI do know that CPAPs help a lot of people. I was not one of them.
"WTF! I came home on a flight from Sweden and sat next to two huge ppl! I had the window seat and the woman's arm literally took half my space. Luckily I'm petite ( 100 lbs, 5 feet). I should have complained b/c it was sooo uncomfortable all the way back to LA. *sigh*"
ReplyDeleteWAH!
@Syko, I am sorry it didn't work out for you!!! The doc really should have respected your wishes on that,especially since the sleep study showed what it did!
ReplyDeleteI can't believe people actually think that being fat is equal to being black .....dumb comparison.
ReplyDeletecause obviously fat people suffered the same dehumanizing injustices that Japanese, native Americans, blacks, and Jews.
I wonder if fat people had kids that couldn't enter college, separate water fountains, forcibly raped just so they could become thin, slaughtered by the millions, denied access to certain neighborhoods, beaten by cops...the stuff that happen to non-white minorities aka jewish, blacks, asains, gays...people born that way!!!
like black, Asians, Indian people actually have a choice to be black or have a surgery called minority bypass surgery to become white.
gay = fat...okay...another nice one too....
How many people in this country do you think have thyroid disorders....get serious...less than 10 person of the population would have it and if they do have they prob under meds...what about the other 50 percent.
plus...retard is for smith...his being a hypocrite...
If you thought I was talking about you...I apologize...the retard wasn't for you...was for the dumbass calle kevin smith.
@ Vanessa,
ReplyDeleteI think the use of the word "retard" was the problem, not who you were referring to.
jesus, this sure set some people off.
ReplyDeletei'm not looking for a fight, but i fought my weight for years. the ONLY thing that works is diet and exercise and making some permanent changes in your relationship with food. when i got that through my head, i won the battle. and i think the overwhelming majority of overweight people out there know i'm right, but just don't want to do those things.
in this case, it's a safety issue. the airlines have the right to do this whether people like it or not.
Wowzies, there's a lot of ignorance concerning weight out there.
ReplyDeleteVanessa,I see your point,but let's keep it in 2010,shall we?
ReplyDeleteFind a obese black man and ask him how many times he's been discriminated against for being black and how many times for being fat.
i bet the answer would surprise you.
Discrimination is discrimination.
@nancer,
ReplyDeleteI don't think weight or obesity is the problem. And I don't think it's a safety issue. You think the plane is going to crash because you have some 300lb guy sitting in row three?
The only reason I'm irked over this issue is because airline employees use this "too fat to fly" feature arbitrarily. There is no weight minimum. No rule set in stone. Which means if you have a ticked off pilot or airline attendant, and you happen to be the sorry-assed fat chick that day, you're screwed! This is why it’s discriminatory.
I think we all saw the picture of the obese gentlemen who was sitting on the arm rest during a flight that went viral a few weeks ago. Some airline let him fly, and clearly he was blocking the aisle...
By the way, LMAO at all the "losing weight is so easy if you just put your mind to it" tips on here today.
humiliating story! and very strange standards !
ReplyDeleteSome of you guys are being real assholes about other people's weight. I thought this online community was better than that.
ReplyDeleteWow! Crazy comments...
ReplyDeleteHere is the thing. I fly stand-by all of the time (roommate works for Delta) and this is what I think happened. When the plane gets loaded they do a final weight check. If the plane is over weight it is not allowed to take off. If they can't take off, guess what's the first thing they do?? Pull off Stand-By people. Yes, this has happened to me before. It fucking sucks...But they have to do it in order to take off.
Now, I'm not sure what was said to Kevin Smith, but if they were pulling him off after he was seated there was a problem.
Unless of course he was rude and pissed off either a flight attendant or the pilot.. who knows.. BUT I do know that it is not uncommon to pull of stand-by folks after they have been seated. It happens all of the time.. Maybe we're not getting the whole story.
That's my 2 cents...
I'm all yoga-fied and physically fit, but 5'8", and I've never found coach seats all that comfortable to begin with, no matter what size my row-mates are.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, it's the slobs and asshats who are too lazy to get out of their pajamas, food-stained wifebeaters and flip-flops for public air travel who offend my sensibilities -- not folks who are overweight.
I was wondering why he doesn't fly first class too? I am sure one of his best buds, Ben Affleck, does.
ReplyDeleteNicola, Jax: SWA does not have a 'First Class.' I assume you don't know because they don't fly where you live.
ReplyDeleteIt's a budget carrier, but has a more laid-back attitude and cheaper prices. Their service safety records are also very good.
Lots of people prefer Southwest, regardless of income. That's surely why he flies them and usually buys two seats. That seems like it would be more expensive than flying First Class elsewhere, but I'm no expert.
"By the way, LMAO at all the "losing weight is so easy if you just put your mind to it" tips on here today."
ReplyDeleteand who exactly said that? certainly not me. there's nothing easy about it.
this whole discussion got derailed.
let me tell you a little something you don't get. the airlines have a very powerful lobby. they can do things you wouldn't think they can. until 2008, they were exempt from the americans with disabilities act. i flew handicapped by an injury and found that out the hard way. you can basically like it or lump it if you need any accommodations like an aisle seat due to the cast on your leg.
WOW--what ignorance on display today!
ReplyDeleteDo You Come with the Car, Pookie, Vanessa, Bella, and even Nancer to an extent--all of you should be ashamed of yourselves. Not just for thinking nasty, ignorant, prejudicial thoughts, but for actually having the balls (or sheer ignorance?) to express them publicly like this. How lucky you all must be to live in such beautiful glass houses.
Pookie and Nancer, you really surprise me, because you usually show yourselves to be insightful and compassionate people via your posts. Vanessa...well, no comment. There's nothing new from you here.
Someone is wronged, and because he's fat he should just sit down and stfu. Sad.
ReplyDeleteI complained to ctv this morning about their "coverage" on this. After it was mentioned Southwest offered him a $100 voucher, they launched into a "why is he flying coach" discussion. The dick beside Bev Thomson made quips about Kevin's movies, implying that he was now poor and then added that he was "back to smoking certain substances" which meant that he put the pounds back on. This was on a newscast, not an entertainment show. How is a comment so personal about someone news?
If their fact checker had followed this at all, they would know why he flew coach and they would have also reported the girl sitting beside him on the next flight also was publicly embarrassed. AND he has flown Southwest many, many times before with no problem.
I don't care who you are. You don't deserve to be publicly humiliated for anything.
I'm never surprised at the ignorance of thin people (who are primarily thin by nature not by their own design). I am surprised by the wealth of thoughtful, compassionate posts here, though. I am a fat person and whenever I fly, I buy two seats -- out of thoughtfulness but also so I don't have to sit between two loud-mouthed idiots who think my fat intruding on them is a problem but the intrusion of THEIR opinions on everyone around them is okay. Even WHEN I have two seats, I often get into a discussion with idiots about why fat people are beneath them(they say other things but that's what they mean).
ReplyDeleteNow if I could only arrange a dome-of-silence to go with the two seats.
I, too, am very shocked at how this story is working the boards here. People are apparently very passionate about this topic...
ReplyDeleteMy opinion, for what it's worth, is that for the purposes of this story, I don't care WHY Mr. Smith is the weight that he is. If he's an emotional eater, if he has a medical problem or if he just likes food - I don't really care, and I also think it's not the point. The point is that a fellow human being was singled out, because of how he looks, and publicly humiliated. Period. Even if they ejected him because of his weight, at the very least, they could have done it privately. And if his weight was the concern, it should have been addressed before he got on the flight. It was, like others before me have said, arbitrary and just plain old fashioned mean.
I hope I didn't offend anyone by saying that. We all seem to be wound a bit tight today.
blankprincess, i'm sorry but i fail to see how anything i posted means i lack compassion.
ReplyDeleteif you look at the hard facts, you'll see that obesity has literally exploded in this country. it was not always like this. what's changed? mostly the advent of fast food and technology which makes us less active. it's just a fucking fact. has nothing to do with compassion. it's a national health emergency.
you want to see worse? go to the CNN message board where this story is and read the comments. 99% of the posters say they LOVE southwest for this decision.
How can he make a movie out of this?
ReplyDeleteOh yes, he can.
nancer, that "obesity" epidemic represents a lot of formerly thin people gaining 20-40 pounds. They aren't the fat people you see. I come from a long line of truly fat people, long before fast food or anything else you cite. We're the ones who are targeted.
ReplyDeleteOf course the board is filled with bullies loving on Southwest ... control freaks are bullies and they'd naturally love the idea.
And I mean the other board, not this one.
ReplyDeleteDespite my "smart" self telling me to stay out of this, I'm gonna jump into this fray...
ReplyDelete1. I myself am 50 lbs overweight-- mostly because my job is stressful and I think the best way to deal with said stress is with vodka, potato chips, and cupcakes.
2. I travel for work every other week; no less than three times a year for pleasure; airline of choice is Southwest and has been for the last 12 years.
3. My fat ass has sat next to people my size and bigger over those years and in all that time, I have never encountered a SW employee who was anything but gracious.
First thing to know---SouthWest is a "get on the plane and get yourself a damn seat wherever the hell it might be" kind of airline. You buy two seat? Whatever, if somebody decides to sit next to you, that is your freaking problem.
Second thing to know---in my decade of experience with SouthWest, those folks will do anything to help anybody, *period*. The employees will deal with anything, and in situations where I would have slapped a person as hard as I could, they smile (with gritted teeth) and do whatever they could to make things work.
MY OPINION STARTS HERE----
Kevin Smith got pitched from that flight because his behavior was inconsistent was that of a normal passenger---(fat/thin/slutty/virginal/black/white/red/yellow/orange/blonde/brunette/bald/blahblahblah). He can cover it with whatever rhetoric and discrimatory language he desires, but my experience with the onboard crew is that if you aren't an asshole, they got no issue with you.
I can build a lot of imaginary situations where I would kick his smartmouthed ass off, but if they didn't get rid of the cantankerous bitch old lady on the flight out of Miami I was on last week, I'd think he'd ride.
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ReplyDeleteOh, and just for the record... IN MY OPINION....
ReplyDeleteif the PILOT had to come out to get him off the plane, IN MY EXPERIENCE it just means he was being a SUPER UBER ASSHOLE.
And being kiss-assed and offered a voucher? Sorry Enty, but that's just the LAYWERS trying to mitigate anything that comes up later. I play that game every single day; it just makes me roll my eyes....
Oh, and flame for FACTS, not opinions. Thank you.
>I think the best way to deal with >said stress is with vodka, potato >chips, and cupcakes.
ReplyDeleteNow there's a man who knows how to party
I too listened to the Smodcast, and while he was mad when it happened, he became truly infuriated when on the the next flight they put him on, they humiliated the girl sitting next to him. And he flat out admits that he looked at that chick, and saw his daughter, who has inherited his stocky build (his words.)Seeing how humiliated she was, and realizing that could be his daughter sent him off the deep end.
ReplyDeleteIf you really care about what happened, or want to be able to discuss it intelligently, you should listen to some of the Smodcast...as someone else pointed out, the media has gotten many of the pertinent facts wrong in this story.
And fatty haters, so smug and self righteous. I have a close friend who is about 40 pounds overweight. Her therapist says it is because of the horrific sexual abuse she suffered as a child...she subconsciously tries to make herself unattractive so no one will want her in that way. I know (because you've complained) that eating right and exercising is tough. But if you want tough, walk in her shoes. And realize it isn't always about self control, you judgemental prigs.
I am too fat for Southwest, so I never book them. That's why I did not know they did not have a first class. Gosh, if he booked on this airline to be cheap, then he has some financial problems. I do not think his buds would admit to not flying first-class. Even the love of my life, John Stamos, always flies first class.
ReplyDeleteOnT:
ReplyDeleteI agree obesity is a disease. But only in the sense when people cannot lose weight even after trying (thyroid, low metabolism genetic and other health issues that contribute to weight gain). But I also agree with people that reserve a right to look down on (non self created) obese people, because when a lifelong smoker gets lung cancer, I should have a right of calling them an idiot or if someone gets aids after having unprotected sex, I should have the right of making fun of them or if you eat too much and don't exercise
and then complain, I should have the right of calling you a chubrock. In this case, K. Smith knows he's a fatty and every business reserves the right to refuse service. Airplanes are designed to maximize space (smaller seats, smaller bulkheads) to increase payload, while 40% - even though the number is 60%, you have to exclude roughly 20% that are obese due to non self created issues of Americans are designing themselves to minimize free space. Their will be more and more clashes like this in the future. The main objective is how to satisfy both the customer and the business equally when dealing with obesity.
OffT: Southwest overhauled their whole fleet of 737's some years ago to give more legroom and bigger seats. I recently flew back from Vegas and I ended up with the last goddamn seat in the plane. I'm 6'4", 290 lbs (not exactly muscle, but proportioned very well). It was such a awkward position. I couldn't even lower the armrest, because it was an older seat. The steward apologized to me, said I should have boarded earlier and that was their fault for not seeing it. So they found two hot asian girls to squeeze next to me. It was an awesome ride home.
Trog, and I reserve the right to look down on people who look down on anyone -- or call them names.
ReplyDeleteThen again, as the Kris Kristofferson song goes, "Everybody seems to need somebody to look down on, someone to feel better than at any time they please ... if you don't have nobody else then help yourself to me."
Wow, this discussion is killing me.
ReplyDeleteI normally fly first class because I'm fat. Only in Europe have I bought 2 coach seats (and that was on a discount airline).
When I buy 1 seat, they almost ALWAYS accommodate me by leaving the seat next to me empty. I make the request the moment I get to the gate. If that's not possible, I pay to upgrade to first class (anywhere from $50-250).
I've recently lost 80 pounds. I'm still fat, but after bariatric surgery, I'll probably be under 200lbs by the end of the year. Some time around July/August, I'll be able to fit into 1 seat without question. I pledge to move to sit next to an obese person so they are not embarrassed or humiliated by an unhappy seatmate. Other people have done it for me when the plane was full and/or an upgrade wasn't possible.
Obesity is an epidemic. Yes, people can exercise and watch what they eat and still not be thin. Others are simply emotional eaters and cannot control it. Let's stop judging each other.
Why criticize Kevin's financials? Just because he's flying Southwest doesn't mean he's broke.
first of all, to whoever made the comment, yes, some people ARE born fat. i was 19 inches and 9'6". i've seen the pictures. i ran track, i swam, i ice skated.
ReplyDeletemy pediatrician put me on my first "official" diet at age 8.
that being said, diet and exercise are NOT the answer.
because of my joints, i cannot exercise enough to burn the calories to lose the weight. i started the process for gap band surgery, but with the help of phentermine, got below the BMI that made that possible.
i've read kevin's books. yeah, i'm a big fan, but i can't figure out twitter for the life of me. he's embarrassed by his weight. he's done optifast at least twice, and he tends to drive places if he can.
he doesn't consider himself a bigshot director-- i guess jax and i may be the only ones here that get him, but truth told, i can't fly southwest. i still can't fly coach, not because of my size, but because of the joint problem, i change positions a lot, which is also annoying as hell.
i also doubt kevin would shoot his mouth off unless things got extremely out of hand, because he is introverted. he's a sweet, loving man who seldom drinks OR smokes weed, tobacco and sex are his vices.
i have no idea what happened on this day, i do know that once you get put on standby, you're stuck on standby for life, it seems. and the pilot almost ALWAYS comes out to discuss this kind of thing w/ passengers JUST IN CASE they become unruly.
if he had been unruly or smartassed, the airport cops would have been called.