The NY Times has an evergreen story today about fat acceptance. A major focus of the story is the rise of a plus-size blogging community called the “fatosphere.”
Now, I firmly believe that if people want to be fat pigs, then that is their right. However, they need to recognize that as a result of their lifestyle choice they should not expect to do certain things like fly commercial.
On my flight to Miami, I was seated next to a man who was so obese that his fat flowed over the armrest and into my space. I am somebody who actually finds airline seats rather comfortable, but for three and a half hours I was crunched into one corner of my seat by this guy. His obesity had a direct and negative effect on my quality of life. I can’t smoke on airplanes because that would negatively affect other people; why can fat people fly?
I’m still pissed off at that guy.
Comments
Perhaps you do have some control over the situation. You never see two large people next to each other on a plane. The extra space taken up by one large person must be offset by a smaller person next to him. Together they take up the normal space of two people. I'm not advocating massive weight gain so that you become "that guy" encroaching on your neighbor's airspace, but an extra twinkie or two would help you achieve mid-size status. While the large and small are busy cancelling each other out, the remaining mid-size folks are paired up for a reasonably comfortable flying experience.
Posted by: Flick | January 22, 2008 12:00 PM