WEIGHING THE TWO SEAT FOR FAT PASSENGERS RULE: WILL IT FLY?

By now, we have all heard of Kevin Smith, the film director of "Clerks" getting kicked off a Southwest Airline flight because he was too fat. Who was at fault: well, this is a no-brainer in my book. Passenger already seated, he flies. Otherwise, Southwest, ask height and weight when you book the ticket. Case closed.

A number of disabled people are overweight people. They pack on pounds because it is hard for them to move around. Getting to that airport and in that seat may have taken more effort than it takes an Olympian athlete to perform. Yes, I know this because I am handicapped. Getting out is a biggie--a challenge. We are not flexible. If you promised us a seat, we may not have not have the energy for you to change your mind once we are in it. So, if you are talking safety passenger--you have already risked our health.

Ok, Smith is able bodied--but a rule is a rule. The fact that Southwest made one fat passenger miss a funeral because he didn't measure up once seated makes me mourn the good sense of a corporation. This should have been settled before hand, not after the fact. I say, thanks, Kevin, for tweeting away your frustration. Now, I know NOT to fly Southwest on principle alone--and to ask the policy of other airlines before I turn over my cash. Why do I think they would hold on to it tight, if they needed the booking unless you weighed enough to sink the plane..

People come in all shapes and sizes. Fat people are used to being rejected in our size two, super-model airbrushed world. The happiness quotient of an overweight teen is equal to that of a cancer patient undergoing chemotherapy. Don't take their plight lightly. Please, don't boot an overweight, underage kid off a plane if you already sold them a seat. Even if you don't believe it takes a village--it doesn't take a village idiot.

Who really knows for sure what causes every person to either be thin or heavy--and if someone is an addictive overeater, as Overeaters Anonymous says it is a disease. But don't attempt to sell fat-acceptance to Americans. That's like trying to ask our society to not reject old people. Young and thin are in. No fat or old need apply. People who have noisy children annoy other passengers too. Should they be forced to exit with a crying baby before take off? Not in my eyes. I'd offer the mother or father a compassionate glance instead.

I have looked at web site comments about the fight over fat passengers--and the majority of opinions are anti-fat people in one seat. Hey, it's a democracy. Majority rules. But if we can't be kind, let's at least state the rules upfront. Let's cast our vote for fair--not fare.

What's next--the flight attendant telling the unpleasantly plump to "Call Jenny?"