Viral Essay Explains How It Feels To Be The 'Fat Person On The Plane'
One writer shared the anxiety, stress, and harassment that comes with being the ‘fat person on the plane’
A writer recently penned an eye-opening article that is now going viral about how it feels to be the “fat person on the plane,” and it is an excellent reminder that people need to show some compassion and stop being terrible to each other.
“I flash back to my last flight on JetBlue, when a passenger loudly complained to a flight attendant while I sat next to him, about how he couldn’t be expected to travel like this,” the post reads. “She moved him to another seat, switching with another passenger. She wouldn’t make eye contact with me for the entire flight. Neither would the other passengers in my row. I was so big, and so invisible.”
The unnamed writer used the byline “Your Fat Friend” for the post on Medium that was published two days ago. It is now going viral. The post is hard to read because the things we, as a society, do to heavy travelers are heinous and unacceptable.
“Someone pulls out their phone as they pass,” the post reads. “I remember the countless, surreptitiously filmed youtube videos of fat passengers on planes with titles like ‘Gross Obese Fat People on planes overweight’ and ‘fat man slobbering on airplane, sleeping, snoring, drooling’ and ‘BAN DISGUSTING FATASSES.'” Despite this being a deplorable thing to do, it isn’t surprising that a bunch of idiots made these videos since comedians push this gross behavior and call it humor all the time. Ricky Gervais, Daniel Tosh, and Bill Burr all have minutes worth of fat-shaming jokes mashed together with their ridiculous opinions. They insinuate that overweight people shouldn’t have the audacity to travel by plane. As if someone’s weight should limit their rights.
Most plane seats are uncomfortable, and traveling does tend to suck in general. But it is way worse for the people who are traveling with babies, kids, pets or a few extra pounds. Don’t believe it? Here are just a few examples from the post, “Southwest famously let director Kevin Smith board, then publicly escorted him off the plane for looking too fat for his seat. United will refuse to board you unless you agree to purchase an additional ticket at the day-of price.”
Read the full piece to see how stressful it is for an overweight friend, family member, or coworker to board a plane. It’s a sobering reminder to be kind to other passengers. Traveling is aggravating for everyone. Let’s not make it worse by being cruel.
