It's easy to sympathize with many people who struggle with their weight. But in this specific case, this actor has no business slamming Southwest when he knew he was too large for one seat. He purchased two seats for another flight but wanted to jump on a different flight that only had one seat available.
In accordance with Southwest's "customers of size" policy, Smith had purchased two tickets but then stood by for an earlier flight, which had one seat remaining. That is when the airline forced him off the plane.This isn't discrimination at all. The only person being discriminated here would have been the passenger sitting next to Smith who paid full fair but had less space. It's true that most airlines have reduced the available space for passengers and at the same time, the size of Americans has increased.
If he already knew he needed to buy a second seat, his tantrum makes no sense. His twitpic attempt at humor noticeably avoids showing how he fit into his seat. For his neighbor on the flight, I doubt they would receive a discount due to the over sized passenger spilling into their already cramped space. Average sized people or small people don't receive any special benefits for taking up less space, do they? Even after Southwest apologized, Smith still blasted them. They'd be better off without this guy as a customer.So what do you guys think?
NOTE FROM JOHN: I fly a good deal, and have sat next to someone obese before. I had to pull my left arm over to the right, with my elbow half way to my navel, the entire flight, so as not to be playing snugly with the guy to my left. It was very disconcerting, and physically uncomfortable, having someone else basically sharing your seat. I appreciate that we should not judge people by their weight. But I'm also not so sure that treating obesity as if it's a minority status is correct either. If your metabolism is screwed up, fine. If you eat too much crap, then I have less sympathy for you.
