Airlines must now provide obese with extra seat for FREE!

[rubecube]

My friend and I were at the Saddledome for a Willie Nelson concert one evening. All of a sudden a smelly fat guy that looked like Kenny Rogers after three weeks at bacon camp sits down beside us. The guy was disgusting. Sweat leaking out of every pore and the most god awful BO. Well this jolly fellow decided that his love handles, 3/4 of his left ass cheek and 4 of his chins needed to occupy the majority of my buddy's seat.

My friend was incredibly uncomfortable but decided to be polite. We were having a quiet conversation during the first opening act, mostly because we found them terrible. Fatty leans over to my friend and bellows "If you're going to have a conversation, why don't you go to the concourse?" Now my friend, who had been a good sport thus far, was pushed over the edge by the guy's brutal Edmonton breath (some weird hybrid of vomit, pork rinds and mustard) shouts just as loudly back "If you're going to take up two seats, why didn't you buy two tickets!"

Kenny shut his mouth after that.

[Daradon]

This is disappointing. I'm looking at this in two ways and it's still disappointing.

1. Yes I'm aware that some people are physically unable to keep their weight down, but I'm sure most would agree with me that this number is probably much much smaller than the people who claim it to themselves because they can't be bothered to fix their life and whatever the real problem is. And then of course, they get coddled by society.

2. Even for those that actually do have a serious medical problem that is not self inflicted, why does that mean they get a free pass? Air travel is not a 'right'. We're not all born with the freedom of air travel. If you take up two seats, PAY for two seats sorry.

Everyone wants everything now, no one takes responsibility.

And I only say this because I have a serious medical condition I was born with and I don't expect to be able to do everything everyone else can or have all the benefits of a healthy body. I don't expect for someone else to pay for inconvienances I might have.

Health care is one thing, and yeah I'm glad I live in Canada. If I lived in the States, I'd probably be screwed.

But this is AIR TRAVEL. Not the right to health care. It's completely different.

Should we be more caring and try to help out when possible. Hell yeah. Should we make every logical effort to make every space more accessable to those that may have problems? Yes! But we also gotta retain a little common sense and responsibility too.

It's still accessible to them, it's not like people are saying you CAN'T fly. Just pay for the space you are taking up. That's all.

Life's not always fair. Suck it up.

(/rant)

[Ducay]

Originally Posted by Daradon

This is disappointing. I'm looking at this in two ways and it's still disappointing.

1. Yes I'm aware that some people are physically unable to keep their weight down, but I'm sure most would agree with me that this number is probably much much smaller than the people who claim it to themselves because they can't be bothered to fix their life and whatever the real problem is. And then of course, they get coddled by society.

2. Even for those that actually do have a serious medical problem that is not self inflicted, why does that mean they get a free pass? Air travel is not a 'right'. We're not all born with the freedom of air travel. If you take up two seats, PAY for two seats sorry.

Everyone wants everything now, no one takes responsibility.

And I only say this because I have a serious medical condition I was born with and I don't expect to be able to do everything everyone else can or have all the benefits of a healthy body. I don't expect for someone else to pay for inconvienances I might have.

Health care is one thing, and yeah I'm glad I live in Canada. If I lived in the States, I'd probably be screwed.

But this is AIR TRAVEL. Not the right to health care. It's completely different.

Should we be more caring and try to help out when possible. Hell yeah. Should we make every logical effort to make every space more accessable to those that may have problems? Yes! But we also gotta retain a little common sense and responsibility too.

It's still accessible to them, it's not like people are saying you CAN'T fly. Just pay for the space you are taking up. That's all.

Life's not always fair. Suck it up.

(/rant)

Im all for going after obese people, but for fuk's sake, how can you be so rude to disabled people? I think they deserve the extra free seat. If I can do something to make their lives even 0.01% better, go for it.


I agree with the airlines on this one, if they didn't require notes, they'd have so many people looking to get that extra free space. I can't see this impacting the health system too much as I doubt many people are willing to get a note unless they actually need it.

[Daradon]

Originally Posted by Ducay

Im all for going after obese people, but for fuk's sake, how can you be so rude to disabled people? I think they deserve the extra free seat. If I can do something to make their lives even 0.01% better, go for it.


I agree with the airlines on this one, if they didn't require notes, they'd have so many people looking to get that extra free space. I can't see this impacting the health system too much as I doubt many people are willing to get a note unless they actually need it.

Well I meant disabled as in 'obese', I wasn't talking like handicapped or paralysed or anything like that. (Though I'm not sure what you might be afflicted with that might cause you to take up two seats).

Being classified as obese, is technically a disability (even though in most cases it's just people who can't take care of their own bodies and not really a true glandular problem or whatever might cause you to retain or put on weight)

[calgaryred]

Seriously, this is really a small number of people that will take advantage of a situation like this.

Its embarrasing enough to weigh that much, then to sit in two seats. If a person is that big id rather have him or her have an extra seat for free its my comfort then thats not being compromised. Besides I fly usually twice a month unless its December I dont usually have someone sitting beside me anyways, its not that big of a deal.

Certainly not going to lose sleep over it

[NuclearFart]

Originally Posted by Ducay

Im all for going after obese people, but for fuk's sake, how can you be so rude to disabled people? I think they deserve the extra free seat. If I can do something to make their lives even 0.01% better, go for it.


I agree with the airlines on this one, if they didn't require notes, they'd have so many people looking to get that extra free space. I can't see this impacting the health system too much as I doubt many people are willing to get a note unless they actually need it.

I think you'd be very surprised what actually goes on in a doctors office. The sense of entitlement to health care in this country is absurd, as alot of people think it's their god given right to a huge slice of pie whether they need it or not. Aside from an hour of time, they lose nothing from trying.

Fat people in general don't take care of their health, and just come to the doctor to fix the long list of problems from being fat. When there is minimal accountability for treating your body like an amusment park, why not? And now with the prospect of gaining two seats for the price of one, we've actually given an incentive to get fat.

[fatso]

Originally Posted by calgaryred

Seriously, this is really a small number of people that will take advantage of a situation like this.

Its embarrasing enough to weigh that much, then to sit in two seats. If a person is that big id rather have him or her have an extra seat for free its my comfort then thats not being compromised. Besides I fly usually twice a month unless its December I dont usually have someone sitting beside me anyways, its not that big of a deal.

Certainly not going to lose sleep over it

No kidding. You just know a ruling like this is going to get all the PC-Conspiracy-Theorists going mental. Oh no! Someone got something I didn't get.... that can't be right! It's not fair! waaa, waaa...

Seriously, how many people will benefit from this? And of that group, how many have a medical condition. I know obese people who do their best to keep their weight down but have physiological conditions they can't overcome yet. It's difficult and embarassing for them. It sucks.

Are some obese because of their greed? Of course. This isn't a ruling to reward those people. Their ability to benefit from a ruling designed to implement substantive equality for the medically obese is unfortunate and annoying. But it's also the cost of trying to move towards a society of inclusion. And i'd say it's a pretty minor cost to endure for having a tolerant society.

I know, I know... I'm a PC whackjob.

[FlamingLonghorn]

New reports in the US show that there are now more Obese people in the US than simply overweight. It is a much larger number than I thought with Obese people around 35% of the population.

[Displaced Flames fan]

Originally Posted by Daradon

Well I meant disabled as in 'obese', I wasn't talking like handicapped or paralysed or anything like that. (Though I'm not sure what you might be afflicted with that might cause you to take up two seats).

Being classified as obese, is technically a disability (even though in most cases it's just people who can't take care of their own bodies and not really a true glandular problem or whatever might cause you to retain or put on weight)

Hmmm. How come we can make judgements about how obese people became the way they are (you are bang on with yours I think) but it is assumed that handicapped people are that way through no fault of their own?

There are a lot of disabled people out there that don't have any better excuse than the obese people.

Comments not directed at you personally Daradon, but the notion that obese people are disabled of their own actions and other disabled folks are just unlucky souls.

[GreenTeaFrapp]

Originally Posted by Sowa

New reports in the US show that there are now more Obese people in the US than simply overweight. It is a much larger number than I thought with Obese people around 35% of the population.

You've obviously never been to upstate New York. You can tell you're not in Canada anymore just by looking at the people. And the amount of XXXL stuff you can find in the stores is frightening.

[Dion]

Weight gain is a well-recognized side effect of antipsychotic medications, especially "atypical" antipsychotics, such as quetiapine (Seroquel), olanzapine (Zyprexa) and risperidone (Risperdal). The cause of such weight gain isn't fully understood. But it is likely that genetics and biochemical changes in the brain caused by antipsychotic medications play a role.

Some people who gain weight when taking antipsychotic medications may have inherited a particular gene variant that makes them more susceptible to antipsychotic-induced obesity. Animal studies also suggest that antipsychotics increase the activity of an appetite-regulating enzyme called AMPK. In addition, some researchers question whether certain antipsychotic medications may impair the body's ability to use insulin (insulin resistance).

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/ant...ations/AN01685

[flip]

Originally Posted by Dion

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/ant...ations/AN01685

Not sure what you're trying to say with that, but what percentage of the population can blame their obesity on antipsychotic medications? Like 2%? The other 98% of fat people just eat unhealthy food and don't get enough exercise.

And other than my beliefs on health care costs, and that they should reflect your lifestyle, I have absolutely no problem with people being fat. It is their choice, through their lifestyle habbits that it happens.

The problem I have is that our PC, stupid mother effing courts and their overly sensitive, lets eff over the majority, just so the minority can be happy laws.

Requiring airlines to give free seats to fat people? What a joke our judicial system is. (I'm just assuming this was a court decision and not a parliamentary one)

[NuclearFart]

Originally Posted by Displaced Flames fan

Hmmm. How come we can make judgements about how obese people became the way they are (you are bang on with yours I think) but it is assumed that handicapped people are that way through no fault of their own?

There are a lot of disabled people out there that don't have any better excuse than the obese people.

Comments not directed at you personally Daradon, but the notion that obese people are disabled of their own actions and other disabled folks are just unlucky souls.

Apples and oranges. Most medically recognized handicaps are born that way, the progression of a genetic deficiency, or result of an isolated wrong place/wrong time event. The control is frequently external and the results are irreversible.

Obesity takes years to develope, and is primarily the summation of repeated lifestyle choices despite known consequences. Furthermore, once obese, much of their predicament is actually reversible, well before it reaches endstage. Patients often look for external factors (medication side effects, hormone problems, mental issues..etc) as an excuse for their problem, rather than accepting responsibility for their situation. Can those external factors play a role? Rarely, and even if so, you still play the biggest role with your own behaviour, and this is what gets ignored. The control is there for the taking, both in terms of prevention and redemption.

[Displaced Flames fan]

Originally Posted by NuclearFart

Apples and oranges. Most people medically recognized handicaps, are born that way, the progression of a genetic deficiency, or result of an isolated wrong place/wrong time event. The control is frequently external and the results are irreversible.

Obesity takes years to develope, and is attributable to repeated lifestyle choices despite known consequences. Furthermore, once obese, much of their predicament is actually reversible, well before it reaches endstage. Patients often look for external factors (medication side effects, hormone problems, mental issues..etc) as an excuse for their problem, rather than accepting responsibility for their situation. Can those external factors play a role? Rarely, and even if so, you still play the biggest role with your own behaviour, and this is what gets ignored. The control is there for the taking, both in terms of prevention and redemption.

Sigh.

Try reading my post in the context of the thread and the posts that generated it.

Thanks.

[Locke]

The fat people and chip companies are winning.

They should load a plane half full with these people and see if it takes off.

[NuclearFart]

Originally Posted by Displaced Flames fan

Sigh.

Try reading my post in the context of the thread and the posts that generated it.

Thanks.

Well that might be because I disagree with your assessment that "there are a lot of disabled people out there that don't have any better excuse than the obese people." I'm also justifying why we can judge fat people on a different level.

You're welcome.

[Dion]

Originally Posted by flip

Not sure what you're trying to say with that, but what percentage of the population can blame their obesity on antipsychotic medications? Like 2%? The other 98% of fat people just eat unhealthy food and don't get enough exercise.

And other than my beliefs on health care costs, and that they should reflect your lifestyle, I have absolutely no problem with people being fat. It is their choice, through their lifestyle habbits that it happens.

The problem I have is that our PC, stupid mother effing courts and their overly sensitive, lets eff over the majority, just so the minority can be happy laws.

Requiring airlines to give free seats to fat people? What a joke our judicial system is. (I'm just assuming this was a court decision and not a parliamentary one)

Just pointing out that not all people have a choice with obesity. Wanted to dispell some of the generalizations.

[Displaced Flames fan]

Originally Posted by NuclearFart

Well that might be because I disagree with your assessment that "there are a lot of disabled people out there that don't have any better excuse than the obese people." I'm also justifying why we can judge fat people on a different level.

You're welcome.

I don't know the numbers, but I am willing to bet that the following group makes up a relatively large % of disabled people.

-Paralysis due to car accident in which victim was a drunk driver
-paralysis due to shooting in which victim was involved in illegal or risky behavior.
-amputations due to advanced diabetes or kidney issues brought on by repeated abuse of the victims body.


You're willing to simply imply that these people don't exist making all disabled folks innocent. I'm not.

[NuclearFart]

Originally Posted by Displaced Flames fan

I don't know the numbers, but I am willing to bet that the following group makes up a relatively large % of disabled people.

-Paralysis due to car accident in which victim was a drunk driver
-paralysis due to shooting in which victim was involved in illegal or risky behavior.
-amputations due to advanced diabetes or kidney issues brought on by repeated abuse of the victims body.


You're willing to simply imply that these people don't exist making all disabled folks innocent. I'm not.

And this is where you need to reread my post.

The point was the difference between repeated actions leading to a cummulative, yet largely reversible result, versus a sudden event leading to an irreversible result. The first 2 situations you list reflect this without an opportunity to change after the insult. And diabetes and renal failure? I'll let you figure it out what the number one cause of both of those are (hint: it involves buffets), but you are supporting my statement.

Regardless, I'm not implying these people don't exist. But I am telling you that the % of disabled people you specify, relative to obese people, is absolutely minute in comparison. There are far more obese people than criminals/drunk drivers, in both incidence and life span. Obese people are invariably unhealthy, whereas the same is not true of the other group.

[Nancy]

Not sure if this has been raised yet, but... do you really want one of these people trying to cram themselves into a single seat right next to yours because they don't want to pay for a second seat? This policy isn't good for just the fatties, it's good for the rest of us also.