Comments on Big Trouble

I'm fat phobic. There, I said it.

Sure, if you're afraid of being smothered by some mountain of flesh, it's phobic. Justifiably so.

Just a realist.

Hell, this happens to me all the time at MacDonalds

Well, I also pray that I don't have to sit near a baby or small child on a plane. Doesn't mean I'm "kid phobic."

Just because you're fat-phobic doesn't mean some 350 passenger isn't gonna sit next to you, flob over the armrest into your seat, and smother you against the cabin bulkhead while the flight attendants resolutely refuse to acknowledge your helplessness and distress.

Or crochet, Napoleon.

Jesus Christ Dan, stop clogging my feed reader.

i'm not homophobic. i just don't want to have to sit next to some perfumey gay lisping to me about shoes while hoping to get some.

i take it back. nevermind. sorry. not a good comparison.

Neither do I, Infrequent.

Yes. A fear of having a portion of the already-small airplane seat you paid for occupied by the ass flab of the person next to you is a kind of phobia. But not a particularly irrational one.

@9

"lisping to me"

Lolol

but it felt wrong to even say it.

New journalism rule: everyone already knows that flying on airplanes sucks. The following statments are now declared boring:

1. there might be someone fat and/or crying
2. you might have to sit in the middle seat
3. there is no leg room
4. it is crowded
5. security rules are inconvenient
6. the food is bad and it's not free anymore

Ok - so some of us are too fat to travel, and we all have to have someone to whom we can feel superior, right? I mean Paris Hilton is the perfect body size and we should all aim for that - or at least starve ourselves down to where we fit in an airline seat, right?

It's not just the size of the passenger, you know. Know how wide a coach seat is on British Airways? 17 inches. I defy anyone to be comfortable in that for 10 hours.

Europeans consider all Americans huge.

Bauhaus-you don't need to starve yourself in order to fit in an airplane seat. You just need to not be obese.

The average size for a woman in the US is a size 12 (my size), which is a bit on the fat side, we are big by normal standards.

And god, I'd never want to look like Paris Hilton. Face, body, anything.

Size 12 is NORMAL by normal standards. Geeze. It's only the media's unhealthy focus on eating-disorder-skinny that makes a size 12 seem "big."

A size 12 or 14 is usually a healthy, ripe, fertile, sexy woman. I wish that all of them could glory in their lovely bodies.

I think a reasonable solution is to charge large passengers more (they're using up more fuel in addition to more space) and to give anyone of relatively average size a partial refund when they wind up squashed into the bulkhead.

Re: #4: Is Shaniqua Jackson someone's real name? Granted I haven't been slogging recently, but I don't recognize her. I have a comment, but I'll hold back for a minute...

@ 18-- EXACTLY!! Well put.

@ 20-- WTF is that supposed to mean? I dare you to finish that thought...

Size 12 or 14 being healthy....maybe on some people. I felt healthier when I was a bit smaller. I'm not trying to shit on myself or American women, but I wonder what the average size for a woman is in other industrialized countries.

a.m. @ 21--

Here's my thought. Shaniqua Jackson sounds like a Black American name. Shaniqua is a common first name for Black American girls (and was made famous in Martin Lawrence's TV Show).

Because it is common--and Martin used to ridicule fat Black women--it is often used to make fun of Black people, much like someone might make fun of an Irish man by calling him Paddy or a rich white woman by calling her Ashley or Blair. Same goes for the last name Jackson--common and therefore used to describe a sterotype of a Black person.

When I see the name Shaniqua Jackson and the person posts about liking Mc Donalds it sounds a lot like a racist sexist joke--bullshit, mean-spirited and racist.

So, if this is someone making fun of me and other Black women--fuck you and your racist friends.

If Shaniqua Jackson is a real person and especially if you are a Black woman--Hi Shaniqua, I'm so excited that there are other Black women posting on Slog. I'm sure there are more than two of us, but it is hard to tell when we are not face to face.

@15: Amen.

fuck hambeasts and fuck hambeast defenders. When you're so fat that your facial features are those of a fat person not of a unique individual, you cede your rights to be left alone from being made fun of.

also, fatties need to stop thinking they have something in common with a woman that is 150-180 lbs (which I find to be the most attractive range) when they are in fact 250 lbs themselves. look tubs, you arent simply thick, or curvy, you're grotesque and in dire need of health care. I say as a public service to my eyes, and to all the people that care about you: get help now!

Wow,
What a bunch of stuck up PA Seattlite drivel.

Ladies and gents, let's all try to just eat better and exercise more. Or not. At least "make an effort" to feed your kids well and keep them active.

If only Mama Cass and Karen Carpenter had shared that sandwich.

This is to Bellvue Ave @26 (who probably won't read this since I'm typing it the day after the post). I fall into that 150-180 lb category. My husband finds me to be the sexiest woman on earth (or so he says). He's tried to find girls my size online, but to no avail...it always ends up being really obese girls, which, like you, he's not interested in. We feel you!