Flying Fat

Hello ladies. There has been a lot in the fat news lately about Kevin Smith getting booted off a Southwest Airlines flight for being "too fat". The amazing Kate Harding has blogged about her outrage and hope that because Smith is famous there will be more light shed on this issue. I certainly hope there is.

Kate's latest column on Salon.com's Broadsheet, Kevin Smith: The face of flying while fat, brought me to tears as she described how her sister opted not to fly due to her fear of being delayed, ejected or asked to pay for another seat and instead drove to their mother's deathbed. All the while hoping their pained mother could hold on until she got there. Thankfully she made it but why should she be made to feel this way?

The experiences of these people and others who've commented on Kate's site break my heart. Are we not all human beings? Do we not all deserve to have the same rights? And lastly, are you telling me that just because there's more to my body that I should be made to feel like an outcast on an airplane? I cannot accept that brushing against me is going to disgust my seat neighbor so much that I should leave the plane. I also refuse to believe that I'm a hazard in case of an emergency. What can people possibly think I'm gonna do? "Oh, the plane is on fire I'm just gonna stand here in your way while it burns us both alive." Seriously? No. I'm not going to allow anything bad to happen to myself. I may be fat but I do have an extremely high level of self preservation. Not like other people wouldn't climb over my fat ass to save their own lives too.

If you as a fat bride plan on having a honeymoon this may be something you have to think about. It may be something you want to look into, write letters about and speak out about. I feel like if this could happen to a celebrity this can happen to any of us, even on our special day. Derek, the future husband, has big plans in his life. He wants us to be able to travel to Japan and Australia among other places. I don't want a trip for two to equal the cost of a trip for four. The seats on the planes don't equal the cost of the plane and upkeep.

According to The Weight Control Information Network statistics, "About two-thirds of adults in the United States are overweight, and almost one-third are obese...". Despite the fact that I don't believe in BMI as a measurement of health, what this statistic tells me is that there are a LOT of fat people in the United States. Are all of these people meant to never fly on a plane?

I want all people to feel as though they are free to do as they please. I thought the US was based on freedoms for its people, not just its thin people. Don't back down, ladies. Fight for your rights to be who you are!