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SWA under fire for obesity policy

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Do you think "people of size" should buy 2 tickets?

  • Yes

    Votes: 128 96.2%
  • No

    Votes: 5 3.8%

  • Total voters
    133
Unlike real disabilities like MS, mental illness, severe injuries, fat is totally controllable.

Photopilot,

For you, being fat was totally controllable. For others, it is not totally controllable. There are quite a few medical problems that can cause obesity. Hypothyroidism for one... People with severe thyroid disfunction can have uncontrollable weight gain. It can takes up to a year or two before medication can properly control it.

I know all about hypothyroidism. I went from 190lbs to near 300lbs before I was on the correct medication and correct amount of it. It took another 2 years to lose most of it.

Before you jump to a conclusion and call all overweight people lazy and fat, you might want to get your facts straight. It's not all about not being able to push away from the table.
 
Now we just need to find a way to solve the screaming kid problem and we'd be all set.

Personally, I wouldn't be adverse to donning an oxygen mask and raising the cabin alititude until the little brats pass out. But that's just me. :D
 
Perhaps should have just had a row called *fat row* where all six people can squeeze into six seats together. Let them mash up against each other.

Its rather selfish that the obese leadership demand that they be allowed to overflow into someone else's seat and ruin their flight because they don't want to buy an extra ticket.

If there is room on the flight to accomodate an obese person, then perhaps Southwest should put them in that seat...But if the flight is packed, that person should be required to buy two seats or get bumped for the next flight.
 
You didn't say "all" or "lazy" but you did use the phrase "totally controllable". Obviously that is untrue. For the most part though, a large percentage of obese people are fat asses due to lack of activity and a poor diet. Look at my lard butt for instance. I put on 15lbs after I was furloughed because I sat around the house and snacked all winter. Do like JARED! I am sick and tired of paying full price for my ticket and then getting only half a seat because some sweaty, fat, business man has rolls of fat falling over the arm rest and squishing me against the fuselage/person next to me/etc. Let's not even get started with how these people only weigh 170/175lbs. So much for average weights. Time for me to grab another donut.
 
Don't misquote me. I said being fat is caused by an idle lifestyle, but certainly not "all" cases.

Photopilot,

I wasn't quoting you.. I was inferring what you said and "lazy" and "all" were my words.

However, you did say,
Unlike real disabilities like MS, mental illness, severe injuries, fat is totally controllable

I was simply pointing out that you were incorrect.

Obesity is a major problem in this country and you won't get an argument from me on that point.

As far as this thread goes, I think Southwest is totally within their right to do this. I hope they don't find themselves in court fighting against having a certain number of seats + sized.
 
Quit Crying!!!

Bad things happen in life. You sack up and do what it takes to get by, without having to inconvenience those around you. I would put cold hard cash down that those who have a physical condition that ABSOLUTELY gives them no choice in their weight is insignificant. For those people; that sucks, but you can't expect that the other 90% of people who fly need to make an allowance for a small percentage. The rest of the fatasses can do something about it, either by taking medication and controlling their medical condition or by getting up and walking everyday and watching what you eat. That is exactly what that subway guy did.
 
Quit Crying!!!

Who's crying, and what are they crying about?? I'm certainly not crying, just enlightening.




I would put cold hard cash down that those who have a physical condition that ABSOLUTELY gives them no choice in their weight is insignificant.

How much money do you want to lose?

What percentage of people do you call insignificant? 1%? 5%? 7%?

Certainly the majority of people who are overweight are so by their choice of lifestyle. I don't have an exact number, but Thyroid disease is one of the most common diseases in the world. Many who have it don't even know they do. If you have a real slow producing thyroid, you have virtually no metabolism working for you. No metabolism means nothing is getting burned which in turn means everything becomes fat.

If you want to place that wager, I'll be happy to take your money. Hypothyroidism is not insignificant within the population.
 
We're off the topic...

Southwest doesn't care if people are fat or how they got that way. They simply expect them to pay for the extra space they use. Period.
 
I'm about 30-40 pounds overweight. You know what I'm doing about it? Jogging. I can jog my fat a$$ off and get down to my "ideal" weight. Why? I don't feel like having myself spill over into the persons seat next to me. As for thyroid disorders, there are medications and they do take some time to work. However, in the meantime cough up the extra cash for an extra seat. I would be extremely embarrassed if I were the one crowding out the seat next to me and I would gladly pay it. Coach seats are uncomfortable enough.... Okay, I'm done now.
Have a nice day!


Skyking
 
At an all you can eat buffet, notice that they usually charge little or nothing for children. This is due to the fact that most children do not eat as much as an adult. Granted, some adults eat like mice, but we are looking at the trends, not the exceptions. My point is, just like in a buffet, if you use up more of the good or service that is being provided, it is only right for a business to charge accordingly. This doesn't translate directly, but I couldn't do my flight training in a cheaper, smaller aircraft because I am 6'5", and that just doesnt work. I need more space, so I pay for more airplane. Again, I know this is a different kind of thing, but the principle still applies. Businesses (in theory) treat customers as best as they can, but they have to draw a line to make sure they are making money on their service (that is what a business does) and keep it fair for everyone. Maybe they could just sell seats by the inch, and they measure you when you get there, so smaller people pay even less when their space has been encroached upon:D .
 

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