Fatties bite back

The Sunday Telegraph ^ | June 23, 2002 | David Wastell in Washington

[Lazamataz]

Was that you?

(stands too close to you)

What do you mean?

[Chad Fairbanks]

Have you seen that new Saturn commercial, about 'honesty'??? It cracked me up... "You're about an inch from my face, and it's really freaking me out..." ;0)

[Redcloak]

I was just going to apologize for the "outburst". (Must have been the burrito.)

[Lazamataz]

Actually, I don't get all uncomfortable... I react in odd, unusual, and sometimes unpredictable ways... it dependsd on how long I've been off my meds ;0)

Nature's way of saying "Don't Touch"

[Bogey78O]

Let me guess, your nickname ain't "slim".

[Tired of Taxes]

This story reminded me of an incident I had on a subway years ago. When I boarded, there was only one seat remaining... well, actually only half of it was remaining because the guy in the next seat was overlapping half of it. So, rather than perch on the edge of a bench seat, I opted to stand. Amazingly, and loud enough for me to hear, the guy told a woman near him that I wasn't sitting next to him because I was intimidated by his skin color (race). I didn't want to be rude and tell him the real reason. But, in hindsight, I wish I had. :)

[Chad Fairbanks]

Ah... an obscure Far Side reference... personally, I prefer the raincoat, duck pool toy, and rocket launcher ;0)

[arm958]

Life is very cruel to the overweight

That's an idiotic statement. "Life" presents you with options. If you choose to stuff your face and drive around the parking lot for 10 minutes so you can be 10 feet closer to the entrance, then that is your problem.

[Bogey78O]

Never heard of Big Blue. I have a feeling 60% of the country has yet to hear of it either.

[Itzlzha]

Maryanne Bodolay, 46, the administrator of the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance, weighs 25 stones. She said: "I'm a big girl because I am genetically programmed to be so - ...

That, and the 10,000 calorie a day Twinkie Diet I'm on...

A good exercise for these porkers (having been one after an almost crippling accident last year until now...thanks Dr. Atkins!) is PUSHING AWAY FROM THE TABLE at regular intervals.

"My metabolism is bad" is the current rallying cry for the weak-willed sheep that occupy America today. I'm not discounting people with bad metabolisms...but why is it that the worst offenders are in line at Burger King for 4 Whoppers, 3 fries, dessert and a DIET COKE?!?!

Maybe Maryanne Bodolay should learn that the food pyramid foitsered upon the public by ADM is a crock, and read the ingredient labels on the food she buys.

Nothing in this world needs it's first ingredient to be "High Fructose Corn Syrup"!

[Glenn]

Let me guess, your nickname ain't "slim".

I'm average size, jerk. But I used to have a brother who was a year younger. He had juvenile Cushing's Syndrome. Inconsiderate asses, much like you, tortured him his entire life until he finally ended it by hanging himself with a belt at age twenty. If you don't know what it is, look it up. It has big words, though. You may need to get help with them.

[Angelique]

I find this entire situation rather curious. There are CONSEQUENCES for our actions, and if someone can't stop shoveling it in spills into another seat, then out of respect for the person in the next seat, they should volunteer to pay for the extra seat.

[Lazamataz]

If I had the time, I would have changed the clown's whip into a sword, and put a rocket launcher strapped across his back.

[Glenn]

Never heard of Big Blue.

I'm not surprised. It isn't mentioned on the sports page or in the comics.

[Chad Fairbanks]

What? For free? Some would PAY to see that ;0)

[Bogey78O]

I'm sorry to hear about your brother but I specifically said I'm not talking about large overweight people who don't impose on others. Someone who crowds me and gets in my face then demands I apologize and grovel deserves a nice verbal beatdown.

No one on here is even talking about people with physical or genetic diseases. Get your damn emotions out of the argument.

[pepsi_junkie]

If you think airlines are doing this because they care one tiny bit about the comfort of their customers you are surely and gravely mistaken. Airlines have been compressing the seat space for years, no concern then. You read occasionally about people dropping dead from blood clots after sitting in coach for transatlantic flights, no horror in the airline industry pops up as a result. I read recently that a transatlantic passenger today has less room that people on slave ships did. Of course, I cannot verify that but it wouldnt shock me.

This is a business decision, plain and simple.

[Bogey78O]

Doing a business search....still coming up sparse.

[Freebird Forever]

If they start a class action suit, some lawyer really needs to fire back with a suit against them for infringing on the rights of normal sized people.

If the "Persons of Size" win this legal issue, and the airline is prohibited from charging for the extra weight, what happens if one of these people is seated next to a sufferer of Haephephobis (fear of being touched)?

Could the Haephephobic then sue the airline, and maybe the heavy passenger, under the ADA?

I strongly agree with both of your lines of thought!!!

It needs to be clearly established where the rights of these obese whiners end and their personal responsibility starts!!!