This isn't my normal type of diary subject, but several points about this story have resonated with me personally and also along the lines of variety of issues that I do take quite seriously.
If you've been under a rock the last couple of days Writer/Director/Actor Kevin Smith ("Clerks","Chasing Amy","Cop Out") was taken off a Southwest Airlines flight as a "Safety Risk" by Airline personnel. Kevin was pretty upset and tweeted about it to his 1.6 Million Followers.
That's when shit just went completely crazy as he explains in this series of Youtube Clips.
Smith : "I'll be carrying 'Too Fat too Fly' with me for the rest of my life, like herpes"
Just for full disclosure, my wife is a "Person of Size" and it's not because she's "Eats so much", we eat the exact same meals, in fact I usually grab extra snacks and I'm still pretty damn slim. She's not, a lot of American's aren't. Unless you have that kind of side-by-side comparison with someone with a different metabolism you may never fully realize that it's not entirely a "Matter of choice".
Anyway...
Smith's main problem with the scenario as it went down, is that he awas actually within their stated criteria of being a "Safety Risk" which was being able to put down both arms wrests. He did this and demonstrated it, but was tossed off the flight anyway.
Regardless of the fact he fit in the seat - They Publicly Humiliated Him - simply because they could and thought they could get away with it. They didn't.
They also Lied to him, and about him when they claimed that "The Pilot has asked for you to taken off." and later on their blog by claiming he "Is known to by two seats." Who knew that until they revealed it? Yes, he does occasionally buy a spare seat when flying Southwest, but that's not because he doesn't fit in their chairs, it's because he likes his Privacy.
Smith as he eventually admits in his series of Youtube videos was Profiled, and treated differently not because of his actions or his violation of the rules - but simply based on his appearance.
And this lying weasel-worded action by Southwest is what really gets me. They had every right to remove him from the flight since he was flying Standby and they simply needed the seat to accommodate a different passenger (which appears to be the REAL Story), if they'd told the truth up front he would have happily gone on the later flight without complaint.
Instead they decided to embarrass the fatty.
Some of his tweets:
Hey @SouthwestAir: you bring that same row of seats to the DailyShow, and I'll sit in 'em for all to see on TV.
If I don't fit, I'll donate $10k to charity of your choice. But when I do (& buckle the belt as well)? 1) You admit you lied. 2) Change your
policy, or at least re-train your staff to be a lot more human & a lot less corporate when they pull a poor girl off the plane & shame her.
Via @YoPaulieNJ " @GMA is running the story w/o u - talking about the safety issues" My safety issue: GMA showing up at my house last night.
You think I wanna fuck around on an airplane? I was right: I fit in that seat. But I can't risk not complying: I'm more afraid of AirFeds.
I've read this massive chunk of misinformation a lot today: "Kevin Smith usually buys two seats when he flies commercial airlines." Proof?
They're personal travel details they blogged without asking for my permission. So heads-up: @SouthwestAir is casual with your personal info!
(1/2) @joshmparks "Is there ANYTHING @southwestair could do to make you reconsider?" They could start by blogging the stuff Linda told me. I
(2/3) told her I'd sign any document promising I'll never sue @SouthwestAir - all they have to do is tell the truth. I'll go back to using 2:01 PM Feb 15th from web
(3/4) @SouthwestAir if they just nut-up and admit a) they did, indeed, fuck up and it got out of control, b) I (& y'all) were misled by the 2:03 PM Feb 15th from web
(4/4) the blog posting on @SouthwestAir: I was not, in fact, ejected because I couldn't fit in my seat/was Too Fat To Fly. Just be honest. 2:04 PM Feb 15th from web
# Everyone's so scared to admit to fault/fuckup, for fear of getting sued. In front of y'all, I say this: I'll never sue @SouthwesternAir, no 2:04 PM Feb 15th from web
There are two really sad moments in his Audio Smodcast which he recorded immediately upon returning home after the flight and is otherwise Hella Funny. One moment where he establishes eye-contact with another person of size whose even bigger than he is jammed packed into a seat, and getting away with trying to pass as a "Normie" whose expression clearly shows "Please don't RAT ME OUT Dude!"
"I'm not throwing a fellow FATTY under the Bus - or Plane"
Another moment is on his return flight when he sits next to a girl of size who the flight attended pulls aside and scolds for not buying two seats, like a school marm calling out a student for tardiness. (She now has a Smodcast of her own up) This isn't just about Kevin, it's something that is apparently a matter of habit and Policy on Southwest and is occurring on a regular basis.
"Why don't you just lose some weight you FAT FUCK!!?" - as some of Kevin's own twitter followers have said.
Yeah, OK - "Why don't you stop complaining about the Insurance Company denying your claim - Sickie!"
"Why did you think you deserved not to have your interest rates tripled, simply because you qualified for this loan or credit card - you think you're Special?"
Or - "Why don't you just Marry Someone of the Opposite Sex you don't love - Faggot?"
Or - "Why don't you just stop whining about those cops pulling you over for NO DAMN REASON - AGAIN - Negro! You know thas just how it is in the city?"
"And what makes your Foreign Muslim Ass think you should get Mirandized and Habeas Corpus like an American?"
Or how about this - "Why don't you stop worshiping that Slavery excusing, Gay Hating GOD of yours if you want to be treated like everyone else, Ms. Prejean?"
If there's a last virulent vestige of outright open unbridled bastion of scorn, bigotry and hatred against any particular group left in this nation - it's against people of size. NOBODY gets embarrassed by calling out a Fatty unless you've been one - or like me live with one - they don't even think twice. They don't even BLINK!
We talk a whole lot about "Freedom" in this country, we have people staging big protests and big rallies complaining about how Big Government is taking our Freedom Away.
Folks, You're Freedom is LONG GONE!
Look at when about Corporations do the exact same thing to people who don't have 1.6 Miliion Twitter Followers? People who aren't going to get an invitation to Good Morning America and Larry King (even though Kevin turned those both down) to tell their side of the story.
And the really sad part is where Kevin has finally ended up in this story - He Apologizes to Southwest, because it was his mistake to try and pass as a normie on a "Thin Person's Airline". He's not "Too Fat to Fly" - he's just Too Fat to Fly on SouthWest Airlines and their Skinny ass seats.
It's like Mr. Buckshot Face Apologizing to Dick Cheney for getting in the way of his gun.
Looks like "The Man" really got into his head. Or maybe it was the Near Death Threats? The "Thin Person's Airline"? I'm a person of color and I've flown Southwest literally Hundreds of times - NEVER AGAIN - when I hear this it's like listening to someone say "Separate but (Un)Equal is fine by me". Geez, why not "Segregation Today, Segregation Tomorrow, Segregation Forever!?'
No, not in "My America" is this cool. Fuck Those Fat Muckitty Cat Muck Corporate Overlords of SWA, their lying weasel minions and the 767 they rode in on. Southwest is DEAD TO ME!
Vyan
Update A lot of you aren't getting the point that Kevin isn't "Too FAT" - he DID FIT in the seat and Southwest - eventually admitted this Here.
I had the chance this afternoon to speak directly with director Kevin Smith. I let him know that in my 18 years here at Southwest, I have never dealt with a situation like what has been unfolding in the last 48 hours. I let Kevin know we have refunded his airfare. I told him we made a mistake in trying to board him as a standby passenger and then remove him. And I told him we were sorry.
Now, 48 hours later, after talking to many involved, we know there were several things going on that day and that our Employees were doing their best to get his flight out safely and on time, including finding seats for everyone and trying to accommodate standby passengers. The Captain did not single Kevin out to be removed, but he did ask that the boarding be completed quickly. At that time, our Employees made the decision to remove Kevin after a quick judgment call that he might have needed more than one seat for his comfort and those seated next to him.
This is contrasted with what Linda (who wrote the above) told Kevin on the Phone.
Linda told me that, before I got anywhere near the plane (remember: I was hoping to get on standby), they were having a space issue on board with another passenger who’d purchased two seatsM, and they were having a problem moving already-seated passengers to accommodate this person. Enter me, who - Linda admitted - WAS NOT A PROBLEM. She fully acknowledged that I wasn’t bounced by the Pilot... BECAUSE THE PILOT PROBABLY DIDN’T EVEN SEE ME.
According to Linda, with the melee surrounding boarding and finding a second seat for the other passenger, the Pilot called for a quick settlement of any outstanding issues so that they might take off. And even though I was already planted in my arm-rest lowerable, seat-belt-buckleable seat, I got the hook.
So the Pilot DIDN’T bounce me because I couldn’t fit in the seat. In fact, it sounds like the Pilot had very little to do with bouncing me at all. And Linda said she just found this out today, as they gather info from all involved.
The ongoing problem is that even though SWA admitted this to Kevin on the phone - Linda wrote this in her blog.
Southwest, like most carriers, has a policy to assist passengers who need two seats onboard an aircraft. The policy is an important one for the comfort and safety of all passengers aboard a plane, and we stand by that 25-year-old policy. This has our attention, and we will be reviewing how and when this delicate policy is implemented.
If Kevin wasn't too big, and wasn't kicked off for being too big (and that's all Kevin has asked them to admit) - why are they rationizing this by talking about a policy that didn't apply to his being ejected? The point isn't that the dumped him for being too fat, They Didn't - the point is they unnecessarily lied about it, the doubled-down on that Lie in print, twice..
Vyan