Weight Related Discrimination

[teya]

Does she get discriminated against because she's thin? She's certainly been harassed. Does this happen with overweight people? I dunno. Random people have never come up to me and said, "diet!" Some of my friends and colleagues give me a bad time about my weight, but I see it as gentle teasing, even if it's not. Those same colleagues have been very encouraging about a weight loss/training program in the school's weight room.

I'm like your wife. I've had total strangers ask how long before I vomit the hot fudge sundae I just purchased. I don't know why *anyone* considers it right to comment on a stranger's weight.

However, one place where I think that "discrimination" should take place is in the policy to make anyone over a certain girth pay for two seats on an airplane. On more than one occasion I've had a seatmate who spills over into my seat. On a coast-to-coast flight, that's most annoying...

 

[An Officer]

^ From complaining about how others treat you, and then detailing how you think of others in exactly the same way. Golden.

Were you a fat bullied child or something? And now, you are congratulating yourself on your thinness, and looking down your nose at others who you feel aren't doing as well as you are...

 

[teya]

^ From complaining about how others treat you, and then detailing how you think of others in exactly the same way. Golden.

Were you a fat bullied child or something? And now, you are congratulating yourself on your thinness, and looking down your nose at others who you feel aren't doing as well as you are...

Where the hell do you get that from my post?

I said, and I quote:

I don't know why *anyone* considers it right to comment on a stranger's weight.

That means anyone's weight, heavy, thin or medium.

However, I do believe that those rare individuals who are so heavy that they take more than one seat on an airplane should damn well have to pay for more than one seat--and that's for their own comfort as much as anyone else's.

I really fail to see how that's so horrendous as to warrant your response.

Were you a fat bullied child or something?

 

[thestrangequark]

Either way though, the majority of fat people are fat because they are unwilling to stand up to their genes and fight back like I did. There are worse vices than food though, and If someone is in fact happy being overweight, then I see no reason not to let them go on living their life the way they want.

This is where I disagree. I think you're right about a small percentage of fat people, who continually make wrong choices and no effort. However, after experiencing the difference a physical condition can make in one's thought processes, I realized that the idea of willpower is pretty much bullshit. And for some people weight loss, for a variety of reasons apart from genetics, is much more difficult than for others.

 

[An Officer]

Teya, since you do not personally own the airplane, it's not really your call. How do you know you were not sitting next to somebody terribly ill, who's ballooned due to their medication, or other forces out of their control?

It's not the larger person's job to pay for the plane's deficiencies just because they are ill. If it IS such a heinous problem, the airline company should provide some allotted rows. Or perhaps you should check yourself into one of those personal cabins so that you do not have to rub shoulders with the unwashed masses.

The person you sat next to doesn't deserve your scathing remarks. The fault of the plane's design, or their inability to keep up with growing people is not the responsibility of passengers.

What will you say next? Large people should never be allowed to fly, if perhaps they can't afford two seats? If you are so tiny, you shouldn't have any problem as you'll have plenty of extra room in your seat.

 

[teya]

Since you do not personally own the airplane, it's not really your call. How do you know you weren't sitting next to somebody terribly ill, who's ballooned due to their medication or other forces out of their control? It's not their job to pay for the plane's deficiencies. If it's such a problem the company should provide some allotted rows. That person you sat next to doesn't deserve your scathing remarks.

Well, on one flight the overweight person demanded I be moved from my seat to accomodate her. How is that fair? I pay for a seat I can't occupy?

Airline policy in the US is that if you take up more than one seat, you pay for it. I am simply agreeing with established policy.

And do you think I *said* anything to her? Um, no. So, your concerns about my "scathing remarks" are really unfounded.

You have a lovely day.

 

[An Officer]

So it's okay to say unpleasant things, just as long as that particular person is out of earshot?

And as long as they find you a seat, just as good as your last, what do you care? And if the airline DOES have a policy, then you shouldn't have had any problem at all.

If you want to get off on pot shots, admit it.

 

[teya]

So it's okay to say unpleasant things, just as long as that particular person is out of earshot?

Oh, dear Jesus...

I'm agreeing with a particular policy by an airline, because I have seen the results when it's not enforced.

One. An overweight person demands I be moved for her comfort.

This, apparently, according to you is fine. I pay for a seat I can't occupy to make the overweight person comfortable. And if that means I have to be moved to a different flight, well, no problem.

Two. An overweight person raises the armrest and takes up half of my seat. This is also, apparently, okay with you because this person must be comfortable. That I am not is apparently no problem.

Your position is illogical, yet typical of those who feel that the obese must be accomodated at all costs.

 

[An Officer]

I feel for you. Still, we've all had uncomfortable journeys, it's a fact of life. I had to take a 9 hour flight with a baby in the next seat... On your logic, should mothers with babies be put in the luggage compartment, just so we none of us have to suffer child noise pollution, the smell of baby-sick, and whatever else? Sooner or later, you have to accept you don't live in a vacuum and have to share the planet with people who aren't always like you - who might actually enjoy a hearty meal, and don't wish to be treated like they are the new underclass for it.

 

[teya]

I feel for you. Still, we've all had uncomfortable journeys, it's a fact of life. I had to take a 9 hour flight with a baby in the next seat... On your logic, should mothers with babies be put in the luggage compartment, just so we none of us have to suffer child noise pollution, the smell of baby-sick, and whatever else? Sooner or later, you have to accept you don't live in a vacuum and have to share the planet with people who aren't always like you.

Was the baby sitting on you? Did the mother demand that you be moved to a different flight to accomodate her? No?

You're really going overboard here.

I'll tell you what, though. You have someone tell you that you have to be moved to another flight, that you have to be delayed getting to where you're going by 24 hrs, because they require the seat you paid for, and get back to me then.

You have a lovely day.

 

[Maestro]

Oh my. We were doing so well here too.

Teya and An Officer... as a 300 lb'er, I don't see an answer to your dilemma. I take up my seat on the airplane, but my hips go right up to the edges of the seats on either side of me (I hope for an aisle). I feel guilty because I know I'm inconveniencing the people sitting next to me. (I don't feel as guilty if it's just my wife).

Should someone whose body takes up part of the next seat need to pay extra? Well, the airline either cannot sell that seat (which means lost revenue for them) or the person sitting in that seat is inconvenienced.

I'm certainly not interested in paying extra for that next seat, but I feel awful is my hinder is causing the next person over to be uncomfortable. I'd never ask that teya or anyone else be moved to accomodate my girthaceous (that's a word?!) hips -- I'd be too damned embarassed.

If I could drop 50 lbs, this becomes a non-issue for me.

I don't see an answer, although I'd hate to be stuck in the seat inbetween me and another person my size!

 

[teya]

Oh my. We were doing so well here too.

Teya and An Officer... as a 300 lb'er, I don't see an answer to your dilemma. I take up my seat on the airplane, but my hips go right up to the edges of the seats on either side of me (I hope for an aisle). I feel guilty because I know I'm inconveniencing the people sitting next to me. (I don't feel as guilty if it's just my wife).

Should someone whose body takes up part of the next seat need to pay extra? Well, the airline either cannot sell that seat (which means lost revenue for them) or the person sitting in that seat is inconvenienced.

I'm certainly not interested in paying extra for that next seat, but I feel awful is my hinder is causing the next person over to be uncomfortable. I'd never ask that teya or anyone else be moved to accomodate my girthaceous (that's a word?!) hips -- I'd be too damned embarassed.

If I could drop 50 lbs, this becomes a non-issue for me.

I don't see an answer, although I'd hate to be stuck in the seat inbetween me and another person my size!

But, see, if you go *up to* the edge of the seat, then you're really not inconveniencing anyone. It's only when you can't fit into the seat you've got and take up part of another. And that's not most obese people.

I really do understand it from the heavier person's POV, but the thing is, I don't understand why an Officer feels someone else must be incovenienced (put on another flight, moved to another seat) simply to accomodate the heavier person.

Isn't being overly accomodating a form of discrimination, too?

And "girthaceous" is a great word.

 

[Maestro]

Hmmmm... now the Firefox spell checker is telling me that girthaceous is not a word. One of my college roommmates used to refer to the, ahem, larger a-round of the pepperoni-rolls from a certain pizza place as "girthaceous." She got exceptionally R-rated with them when dipped in ranch dressing.

Anyway... it's still a valid question... what should happen with someone who is too big to fit into their own seat? Is this a kobyashi maru?

You shouldn't have been inconvenienced the way you were, but was it fair to that person to have someone seated next to them, inconveniencing them? Is obesity a disability now?

 

[teya]

Hmmmm... now the Firefox spell checker is telling me that girthaceous is not a word. One of my college roommmates used to refer to the, ahem, larger a-round of the pepperoni-rolls from a certain pizza place as "girthaceous." She got exceptionally R-rated with them when dipped in ranch dressing.

I thought it was just a word you coined.

You shouldn't have been inconvenienced the way you were, but was it fair to that person to have someone seated next to them, inconveniencing them? Is obesity a disability now?

But an airline is a business--and in today's business climate, there aren't spare seats to be had. Plus, when you book a flight and choose your seat, you have no idea if someone will choose the seat next to you. In order to reserve two seats (leaving one open), you have to book two.

So it's not like either I or the airline had any idea who was going to be seated next to me, and that she would require more room.

Like I said, I understand the embarrassment. I understand the hassle. But, there's also a limit as to how accomodating a business can be. And how much innocent strangers should be put out to accomodate.

It's an issue of fairness, I think. Like the folks that would comment on your wife's weight. They wouldn't like comments made by total strangers--why do they feel it's okay to do the same?

 

[An Officer]

I'm sure airlines have more than enough funds to install at least one row of larger seats per flight.

 

[Maestro]

I'm sure airlines have more than enough funds to install at least one row of larger seats per flight.

The actually have an entire section of larger seats. It's called First Class.

 

[An Officer]

Not everyone can spare that.

 

[Trippy]

^exactly. An alcoholic can go to AA and stop drinking. Some one who may overeat (for a variety of reasons) still has to eat!

Sure, they have to eat but not as much or have to eat the "wrong" kind of foods.

This is a overly simplistic way of viewing the situation, and can lead one to jump to some inaccurate and inappropriate ideas about weight gain and weight loss.

Please bear with me, everyone, as I state the obvious. It just seems to me that a lot of people are obviously not getting it:

To begin, Trippy, was comparing overweight to an addictive disorder, therefore we can assume she was talking specifically about eating disorders, and was reminding us that it is especially hard for some one with an eating disorder to get well because their "addiction," i.e. food, is something they require to survive. Can you imagine telling an alcoholic that he must stop drinking too much, yet forcing him to have a shot of whiskey three times a day?

Yes, that is what I was getting at tsq.

I note for me, there is a correlation between eating too much chocolate (which I did when I quit smoking) and gaining weight. Now, I'm working off that weight. That makes me happy, and content.


To sum up my feelings about discrimination to anyone, I'll quote from my favourite novel:

"You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view - until you climb into his skin and walk around in it."
- spoken by Atticus Finch, by Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird

 

[Maestro]

Not everyone can spare that.

So you're really saying that if you cannot fit in your own seat, it's OK, and others need to be inconvenienced?

 

[teya]

Not everyone can spare that.

So what's your solution?

Aside from kicking someone off a flight to accomodate the heavy person.

A comment you added, after I responded...

What will you say next? Large people should never be allowed to fly, if perhaps they can't afford two seats? If you are so tiny, you shouldn't have any problem as you'll have plenty of extra room in your seat.

Charming.

Yep, your attitude says all.