Heard any good plane stories lately? I have a couple:
The first one involves former presidential candidate, Mitt Romney. Seems my man was trying to get his fly on from the Winter Olympics when a fellow traveler decided to get rude with him. Rather than move his seat upright for take off, the man decided to go all Mike Tyson on the former governor. My goodness! What ever happened to civility in A-merry-ca?
"The man seated in front of Mrs. Romney pushed his seat back, and when the GOP politician asked that he put his seat upright for take off, the passenger became "physically violent," according to Canada's The Globe and Mail.
The ex-gov did not retaliate, his spokesman said, as the airline crew intervened. The plane returned to the gate, the man was ejected, and the flight resumed."
[He became "physically violent", and Mitt didn't retaliate? Republicans!]
Look, I don't like anything about Mitt Romney, and he probably came off as a whiny jerk to the guy. But that is not an excuse to go punching out a stranger on a plane because he tells you to move your seat forward for take-off.
Which begs the question: Do you think the guy knew who Mitt Romney was? And doesn't he [Romney]have enough loot to fly in his own G4? What was he doing flying commercial? I guess he wanted to show that he is a man of the people. Mitt, men of the people don't get clocked by the people on planes. [Story]
And the other plane story involves weight. Seems film Director, Kevin Smith, was kicked off a Southwest Airlines flight because he was too fat. Yes, too fat. The pilot kindly asked one of Jersey's finest to take his ample behind off his plane. Apparently Mr. Smith failed to purchase two seats, which I think is the policy for overweight people.
Now I have seen pictures of Kevin Smith, and I have seen bigger people on planes before. I mean give me a break, it's not like the plane couldn't take off because Smith was in it. All those bags in the luggage compartment and they are worried about 300 more pounds? I bet the flight wasn't full, they could have moved him to another seat with an empty one beside him. Come on Southwest, that's not cool picking on big people. ( Actually, it's not cool picking on scantily clad people, either.)
The poor guy was embarrassed, which led to this Tweet:
"Dear @SouthwestAir - I know I'm fat, but was Captain Leysath really justified in throwing me off a flight for which I was already seated?"
No Kevin, he wasn't. But look at the bright side, you now have some material for your next movie.
And after all is said and done, this story might have a happy ending:
"Give Southwest credit for a quick response to a potential crisis. The airline apologized yesterday to Smith, gave him a $100 voucher, and issued a statement on its blog."
That was nice. I just hope that Kevin doesn't use the voucher to buy food. [Story]
@FN:
ReplyDeleteThat is precisley why I detest flying. People are too intense these days. This famine has folks all worked up...you never know when someone is going to snap.
I doubt he knew who Romney was (MHO). I think he was just another azzhole on the plane.
And...
I never fly southwest unless I have to go west. Worst service ever! (MHO)
Peace.
~agape2010~
got to love
ReplyDeletethe friendly skies
fat or thin
dumb or wise
rich or poor
or even famous
don't act up
do not shame us
we are on alert
looking for terror
if you're too fat
that is your error
please place seat
in upright position
not really that hard
it's no imposition
still acting dumb
while on a plane
in this day and age
you must be insane
take off the plane
then open the door
toss miscreant out
a problem no more
The original 727 had five seats across when the world was much thinner.
ReplyDeleteField forgive me but Unconstructive did something on your last blog that totally rewrote the history of a very important fight in black folks quest to become full and equal citizens in these United States. He also mischaracterized the stance and principled position of one of the most stalwart black abolitionist and one of our greatest black heroes and a real live great American, Frederick Douglass.
ReplyDeleteThe rewriting of history is part of the plan of those (esp. ultra conservatives) who would mislead everyday citizens to get them to back ideas and policies that are essentially antithetical to their own interests.
So begging your pardon I am going to do a little educating for some and a little reminding for those already privy to this info.
UCF quoted a part of Douglass' speech given in 1865 entitled, "What the Black Man wants." UCN wrote:
"You are a walking, talking violation of the words of the great Fredrick Douglass. (Do I need to go and get the full quote for you?) "“If the apples will not remain on the tree of their own strength, … let them fall! I am not for tying or fastening them on the tree in any way, except by nature’s plan, and if they will not stay there, let them fall. And if the Negro cannot stand on his own legs, let him fall also.”
He used the quote to pretend that Douglass was saying pull yourselves up by your own bootstraps, or if you failed at life its noones fault but your own.
The full context of what Douglass said, was,..
What I ask for the Negro is not benevolence, not pity, not sympathy, but simply justice. [Applause.] The American people have always been anxious to know what they shall do with us. Gen. Banks was distressed with solicitude as to what he should do with the Negro. Everybody has asked the question, and they learned to ask it early of the abolitionists, "What shall we do with the Negro?" I have had but one answer from the beginning. Do nothing with us! Your doing with us has already played the mischief with us. Do nothing with us! If the apples will not remain on the tree of their own strength, if they are wormeaten at the core, if they are early ripe and disposed to fall, let them fall! I am not for tying or fastening them on the tree in any way, except by nature's plan, and if they will not stay there, let them fall. And if the Negro cannot stand on his own legs, let him fall also. All I ask is, give him a chance to stand on his own legs! Let him alone! If you see him on his way to school, let him alone, don't disturb him! If you see him going to the dinner table at a hotel, let him go! If you see him going to the ballot- box, let him alone, don't disturb him! [Applause.] If you see him going into a work-shop, just let him alone,—your interference is doing him a positive injury. Gen. Banks' "preparation" is of a piece with this attempt to prop up the Negro. Let him fall if he cannot stand alone! If the Negro cannot live by the line of eternal justice, so beautifully pictured to you in the illustration used by Mr. Phillips, the fault will not be yours, it will be his who made the Negro, and established that line for his government. [Applause.] Let him live or die by that. If you will only untie his hands, and give him a chance, I think he will live. He will work as readily for himself as the white man."
con't.
ReplyDeleteWhat Douglass was actually responding to was the fact that, though slaves had been freed by the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, yet it was 1865 and freed slaves did not have the right to vote -that didn't come until 5 years later in the 15th ammendment, black folks didn't become citizens until 1868 with the passing of the 14th ammendment.
Douglass was upset because the state of Louisiana, which had been let back into the Union after 10 percent of the white population swore allegiance to the Union, had instituted a set of racist labor laws and they had failed to grant all freed blacks the right to vote.
They were the handiwork of one General Daniel Banks. These laws limited where freed blacks could work, what kind of jobs they could work, how much they could get paid - the minimum that was suggested was pitifully low and often the planters didn't even pay that but paid their field hands in vegetables and or meat, --and even set rules for punishment for the freed slaves who were considered "insolent." There was even a section that restricted the movement of the plantation workers. One part forbid the free association of newly freed blacks with the Free Blacks who were free during slavery.
In other words, it was slavery by another name. The labor laws also included vagrancy laws. If a black person couldn't prove he was working or a white person couldn't vouch for him he was sent to jail and forced to work for free for private business. They even limited the association of Free Blacks and the recently freed plantation workers.
It was a cynical attempt to keep blacks in a kind of neo-slavery and thus General Banks sent the message to white workers that he wasn't going to let the Negroes compete with them for work and it let them know that the best jobs were still reserved for whites only. It also let the plantation owners know that they were free to treat their so-called freed workers with impunity and of course underpay them and exploit them without fear of government interference.
However the previously freed blacks complained and petitioned on behalf of the former slaves. They also complained about the fact that the former plantation slaves did not have the right to vote. The only blacks allowed to vote were those who had served n the Union army and a number of previously freed blacks who were considered worth. However these long freed black people fought for the right of all blacks to vote and to sell their labor freely. The free blacks also set up schools and petitioned the federal government to help them in this effort which meant keep the whites from interfering. They complained so loud and often that too were threatened. Their complaints were heard by Douglass who confronted Lincoln and the other liberals in this speech. Lincoln refused to step in and right the situation. Nor was Lincoln in favor of enfranchising all blacks.
So Douglass in this great speech which everyone should read basically says leave us alone give us complete and total freedom let us educate ourselves give us equal opportunity and the vote and we will thrive like any other folks, but leave us alone to do it. In other words don't discriminate against or pretend to help us while you're hurting us. Give us everything the white man has and we'll thrive.
I think UCN got this from Thomas Sowell who was one of the first black conservatives to enrich himself while peddling lies about blacks being culturally deprived and quickly siding with other white conservatives in blaming blacks who had been victimized by racism institutonal and otherwise for their own victimization.
My understanding, field, is that Smith did buy two seats originally, but requested to standby for an earlier flight. When seats on that flight became available, they seated him, his wife, and their child, but couldn't give him two seats for himself.
ReplyDeleteI fly Southwest all the time, and have usually had great service and flight attendants with a sense of humor. The pre-flight instructions are laugh-out-loud funny sometimes.
Sounds like a missed a good discussion yesterday :(
oops - *I missed a good discussion.
ReplyDeleteThere is some disagreement about what actually occurred.
ReplyDeletehttp://silentbobspeaks.com/?p=393
It's those people with the "I'M ENTITLED!" mindset or who can't mind their business that start with people on the plane. I'm not worried about a screaming toddler, rather the self-centered typically, male, bully. From experience, I recommend that mothers flying with babies and toddlers never fly without a male traveling companion or a friend.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I'm reserving judgment in the Romney situation. It is possible that a powerful politician can be believed over an average joe and the truth can be fabricated in the media. The story could be true, but I'd like to see a video or hear the other side.
As for Kevin Smith, (I love every movie he did.) I read the he did buy two seats. Let's not forget that some people get off on pushing around weaker or "less desirable" folks.
finefroghair, I missed your poems. :)
ReplyDeletemellaneous, I love how you try to fight the good fight with the [un]constructive one. We all learn from the back and forth. But believe me, it's useless. The man is a tried and true partisan republican. If a dem says the sky is blue on a beautiful spring day, he will say that it's just an optical illusion caused by the sun. Trust me, I know a million guys like him, and it's fun to argue with him for argument sake, but you have to understand who you are dealing with.
"That is precisley why I detest flying. People are too intense these days. This famine has folks all worked up...you never know when someone is going to snap."
agape..you are right. I think if I had a lot of money I would get my own jet for that very reason.
JM, I will check out that link.
"I fly Southwest all the time, and have usually had great service and flight attendants with a sense of humor. The pre-flight instructions are laugh-out-loud funny sometimes."
RT,I don't like flying with them for that reason. If I want to go to a comedy show I will go to one. When I am flying I just need you to do your job and leave the comedy to professionals. But that's just me.
Damn Mellanoeous, :blink: :blink: :blink:
ReplyDeleteI didn't know that I had so much impact upon you for you to bring Fredrick Douglass over to this new threat from Filled Negro.
I will reply in the old thread. Do you figure that I have previously READ the entire speech? Do you think that I KNOW that Douglass was doing all of this in the context of the STRUGGLE for JUSTICE of Black people?
[quote]I don't like anything about Mitt Romney[/quote]
HEY FILLED NEGRO!!!!!
Can you make an itemized list of WHAT YOU DON'T LIKE ABOUT MITT ROMNEY?
* Was it his MA Health Care Plan that looks strangely like Obamacare?
* Was it that his religious sect brought tractor trailer loads of food and goods to New Orleans after Katrina from their warehouses?
* OR is it because he threatens to bump your boy Harry Reid from the "HMIC" spot in your mind? "Head Mormon In Charge".
Please detail your reasons for us Filled Negro.
(Anon - I am tough on my friend Filled Negro because he needs to be cross examined at every step of the proceeding. He is my pal though)
the whole kevin smith thing is clear as mud.
ReplyDeletepersonally, i see too many parents who don't buy a seat for their kid, which is dangerous --you wouldn't be able to keep the kid on your lap because of the g-forces. i tend to only fly around the holidays and folks seem pretty pleasant to me.
that said, i have tangled with the airlines a couple of times and won. you need to know how and be persistent.
once our flight made an emergency landing due to a windshield that shattered at 32,000 feet. the pilot came on and said we had to descend "before the windshield gives way." with that lovely vision in our heads for 25 minutes until we landed (to applause), we were rerouted and it took 8 hrs instead of two to get home.
the airline--usair--offered us nothing.
a few days later i contacted their community PR department, said what happened-even had a photo (the pilot somewhat stupidly allowed my daughter to photograph the cockpit as we were exiting!). i was first offered vouchers of $200 for the four of us. i said no, given no flights cost that and got 4 for $300.
recently i had to fight with united to get my frequent flyer miles back following a snow cancellation (and i had to rebook for $$). it took 5 phone calls and 4 emails--and THEN united took $150 out of my checking acct., which it returned several days later.
without me asking, the agent on the phone offered me 7,000 miles or $150 toward a united flight "for all my trouble." i took the $150.
moral of the story--be a vocal advocate for yourself when you are wronged or gypped or whatever. there IS stuff the airlines will do.
kevin should get year of free travel, e.g. but what he seems to want is some statement that he's "not too fat to fly."
correction--i didn't mean to say kevin should get. i meant, he could get...if the airline wanted. the airlines have the ability to be flexible in their response to consumer complaints.
ReplyDeletei don't know what kevin should get, if anything.
Unlike Obama, Mitt actually signed a bill for socialized medicine. Just trying to help. Too bad the Copenhagen crazies didn't fly commercial, would have saved a lot of jet fuel.
ReplyDeleteszpork
The attendants on SW airlines are rude, arrogant and are just plain filthy.
ReplyDeleteJMHO.
mellaneous,
ReplyDeleteThere is a concerted effort by the right and some libertarian factions to rewrite history, to misquote, to rehabilitate the Confederacy and to make Black folk something they are not. Here is another misquote.
Hathor
ReplyDeleteGood Link.
BTW I love your profile.
Barack Obama doesn't care about white people.
ReplyDeleteThomas Jefferson was a pretty fierce advocate of states' rights and limited federal government. He also wrote at length of how he thought Black people were inferior, ugly and smelled bad. So I think he'd be right at home among the Tea Parties today. =) I don't think McDonnell's summations of Jefferson's quotes quite rise to the level of distortion.
ReplyDelete"Barack Obama doesn't care about white people."
ReplyDeleteNot even his mom?
Shady_ Grady,
ReplyDeleteMy point had nothing to do with Jefferson per se, but to give an example.
How about this fake Jefferson quote, seen on Volvos and hippies all of over Blue State America: "Dissent is the highest form of Patriotism"? This bit of idiocy never passed Jefferson's lips.
ReplyDeleteAnd calling the Tea partiers racist is so lame. There is more diversity in the Tea Party movement than there is in the Congressional Black Caucus or over in the studios at MSDNC. Since when is limiting government and defending one's liberty racist? The conservative movement is embracing the post racial future, while liberals cling to their racialist past.
"And calling the Tea partiers racist is so lame. There is more diversity in the Tea Party movement than there is in the Congressional Black Caucus or over in the studios at MSDNC."
ReplyDeleteOOOOHHHH somebody has got their Sean Hannity talking points down pat.
How about showing us a black asian or hispanic tea-partier?
Just a bit of Tea Party racism.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/16/10-most-offensive-tea-par_n_187554.html
""Barack Obama doesn't care about white people."
ReplyDeleteNot even his mom?"
Especially his mom, who dumped his black ass on her parents so she could go on trying out new multicultural experiences and stay in college into her 50's. his black daddy was even worse, but somehow that didn't stop little Barry from dreamin' about him. That little boy grew up to be a man with mighty anger in him. Can't really blame him, can you?
Obama has agreed to handcuff himself with regard to Black issues which are of course American issues..Obama is so beholden to whites that he continues to pander and appeased them at the expense of the economic meltdown in Black venues..
ReplyDeleteObama's willingness to not acknowledge Black issues in our country is offensive on so many levels..Instead of giving Michelle an assignment that focus on our agenda he as her working on a secondary health agenda..
In our country where Black americans have confronted slavery, segregation, jim crow, disparate treatment, digital divide, profiling ect for a Black man to finally get in the white house and become a paleface is tragic.
On the issue at hand loss of civility is a result of a post industrial society
Thrasher: Are you saying fat kids aren't important? How offensive. Michelle Obama will never allow you to go back to your lives as usual, uninvolved, uninformed, cupcake frosting all over your face. Halle-fucking-lujah!
ReplyDeleteObama's willingness to not acknowledge Black issues
ReplyDeleteWhat current black issues do you refer to? Are they societal issues, or issues that we as a community should man up to?
"or issues that we as a community should man up to?"
ReplyDeleteSuch as what? Crime?
Isn't that societal?
Slavery, Jim Crow and "digital divide"?
ReplyDeleteWTF is that? Lack of high speed internet access? First slavery, and now no HBO in high def? You are absolutely hilarious! Liberlism has devolved into such complete self parody it is astounding anyone is dumb enough to keep going along. But there you are. Precious.
Hathor - thanks for that link. An excellent example of what I have been talking about. The newly elected Virginia governore knew exactly what he was doing. It was shrewd the way he left off governments responsibility to keep folks/ industry from doing harm. To continue to talk about the market correcting itself is just crap. The unregulated free market would make slaves of us all if it were totally unregulated.
ReplyDeleteIt makes sense for the upper classes and the ruling classes to talk about free markets but for working class folks a real free markets ultimate destination is to put them in Third World like working conditions.
The beauty of racism and anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim hysteria is it keeps the uninformed and willfully ignorant masses from paying attention to the logical conclusions of the policies they say they want.
Trust me we don't really want an unregulated free market.
[quote]How about showing us a black asian or hispanic tea-partier?[/quote]
ReplyDeleteWhiteBowieSteve:
How should we label the massive number of Black people who are filing petitions with their County Tax Assessors to DEMAND a reduction in the appraisal price of their property as a means of triggering LOWER PROPERTY TAXES?
Every dollar in tax savings is about $0.50 taken from the public school budget.
One DOES NOT NEED TO PROTEST to practice "TEA PARTY BEHAVIOR"?
WHY haven't any Educational Actor-vists come out swinging, attacking those who are "taking money from the mouth of babes? And not call out those of them with flat screen televisions?
DO YOU own a flat screen television that hangs over your fireplace Steve?
Anon: 10:03-- I don't understand why you won't get an identifying handle. Could this be a hint about how serious we should take your postings?
ReplyDeleteAnyway you said:
"And calling the Tea partiers racist is so lame. There is more diversity in the Tea Party movement than there is in the Congressional Black Caucus or over in the studios at MSDNC. Since when is limiting government and defending one's liberty racist? The conservative movement is embracing the post racial future, while liberals cling to their racialist past."
You may have a point we cannot prove necessarily that the Tea Partiers are racist. However they do make you go hmmmm! Especially when the attendance at their rallies are usually 99 if not 100 percent white, most are decidely against illegal immigrants who for the most part are comprised of brown skinned Mexicans, many have an issue with the rise of the primary yellow skinned Chinese, many support the idea of "States Rights" which allowed states to systematically undermine the rights of dark skinned folks with Jim Crow Black Codes, many carry signs relating the dark skinned president to images of monkeys, apes and witch doctors, while at the same time preachng about going back to the good old days of the Founding Fathers when blacks were slave and were written into the Constitution as three-fifths of a person and many of the crowd were opposed to any kind of health care program that would benefit the US's poor population which includes a significant number of black, brown and red and even white folks.
No you are right it would not be technically correct to say that the Tea Bag crowd is racist. Most probably aren't.
But have you ever heard the expression, "if it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, looks like a duck...."
[quote]In our country where Black americans have confronted slavery, segregation, jim crow, disparate treatment, digital divide, profiling ect for a Black man to finally get in the white house and become a paleface is tragic.[/quote]
ReplyDeleteThrasher:
I agree with you on that one.
I think I have a RACIST VIRUS on my computer!!
I need to call the IT department of the NAACP to get it off.
"How should we label the massive number of Black people who are filing petitions with their County Tax Assessors to DEMAND a reduction in the appraisal price of their property as a means of triggering LOWER PROPERTY TAXES?"
ReplyDeleteIs this another one of your negrophobic fantasies like when PA's BLACK ESTABLISHMENT of which you can't name anyone supposedly marched on the State Capitol to beg white legislators to save us from ourselves with gun control laws?
You get more bizarre with every post!
Anon:10:39 what do you mean, "First slavery and now....
ReplyDeleteYou say first it was slavery in a very dismissive fashion almost as if it has nothing to do with the present state of affairs. Almost as if history has no connection to the present.
Are you implying that slavery was no big deal?
Are you impling that it was a benign institution full of happy nappys?
Are you implying that Uptown Steve just made this up?
Are you a slavery denier? Thus denying a virtual holocaust of African humanity and a system that treated human beings as if they were animals and even developed ideology to support this fraud.
What on God's green earth is your point? Please give us a reason why we should take anything you say if you believe any of the above.
Anybody up for a ghetto party??
ReplyDeletehttp://www.10news.com/news/22588063/detail.html
But have you ever heard the expression, "if it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, looks like a duck...."
ReplyDeleteYou have ducks on the brain to the point it is all you can see. It is lazy and conceited to dismiss substantive debate with unsubstantiated charges of racism. The American people value the freedom that has made us so prosperous, and they will resist statist attempts to impose discredited wishful thinking on our common reality. Sure you can always find your "ducks" lurking on the fringe of a Tea party rally if that's what you want to focus on. Have you noticed all the anti-semites, thugs, truthers, race hustlers, and other loons on the edge of leftist "peace" or anti-capatalist, or Obama rallies? A few idiots do not negate the legitimate beliefs of the majority. Close your eyes if you want, but you'll still hear the quacking.
"Are you implying that slavery was no big deal?"
ReplyDeleteNo, you moron. The point was the absurdity of listing "digital divide" along such things as slavery and Jim Crow. Get it now?
You are such a stereotype of the humorless liberal. An absolute scream.
[quote]Is this another one of your negrophobic fantasies like when PA's BLACK ESTABLISHMENT of which you can't name anyone supposedly marched on the State Capitol to beg white legislators to save us from ourselves with gun control laws?[/quote]
ReplyDeleteWhiteBowieSteve - you are a fraud.
Dekalb County GA - Property Tax Uprising:
http://www.ajc.com/news/georgia-politics-elections/not-everyone-sold-on-293628.html
UTS,
ReplyDeleteThanks.
fn:
ReplyDeleteditto...shame!!!
i despise unassigned seating and thank god for corp travel on continental daily....
i love kevin and his films...
and i HATE southwest!!!
i agree with ks:
"Via his hilarious Smodcast, the Red Bank native and former Highlands resident elaborated why he didn't fly first class. "Southwest is basically the Greyhound of the sky. There is no first class."
The "Clerks" director said he always flies Southwest for the convenience of its quick and inexpensive flights to Las Vegas or San Francisco. "When I fly Southwest I like to buy two seats. ...I'm flying on the welfare airline. I like to indulge myself."
http://www.nj.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2010/02/kevin_smith_responds_to_southw.html
On the Kevin Smith thing:
ReplyDeleteA) He purchased two seats for himself, but flew standby
B) He was seated in a row where there was an empty seat (presumably the one he purchased) between himself and another large passenger
C) Flight attendants attempted to make the other large passenger buy the seat that was between the two of them, which would lead to SWA making twice as much money off one seat.
D) Kevin was seated, with both armrests down, belt buckled WITHOUT a seatbelt extender - which, according to SWA policy is enough to say that you fit within their safe to fly weight
E) The "apology" SWA offered was a classic corporate non-apology on their blog, which then listed his personal flight preferences, which, as a paying customer should NEVER have been revealed due to client confidentiality
F) $100 voucher for public humiliation, inconvenience, etc...not enough. And also, it was only issued because Kevin Smith has 1.6 million Twitter followers. If fat John Doe had been kicked off a flight in this manner, would he have gotten either the voucher or the apology? Nope. SWA was trying to make it right because Smith has a very vocal platform from which to make his displeasure known. What are they going to do about the hundreds of other people they kick off of flights for arbitrary reasons?
I am always the biggest defender against overweight discrimination. However, I personally never viewed the plane seat issue as "more weight on a plane", but rather a comfortable experience for everyone. In all fairness, it is very uncomfortable to sit next to a very "overweight" person, or even a husky top-heavy male on a plane. I can't deny that I do not appreciate that experience. So, I do have mix feelings on this issue. Yet, I don't think it's exactly fair to make "overweight" people buy an extra seat, at least not pay full price for it. Do they charge extra for wheel chair access? And yes, there are people who are "overweight" due to medical/illness complications.
ReplyDeleteHeck, they need to make the "economy" seats on the damn plane bigger and more comfortable for all that arm, leg and eyeball they still charge.
As for the Mitt situation, it pisses me off when sickening inconsiderate people become 'wrong and strong' and blatantly willful along with it. Even so, I wonder if arrogance and self-righteous taunting played a part on Mitt's behalf. Anyway, wrong is wrong.
Thanks for that breakdown info MayDarling.
ReplyDeleteAirlines have been shrinking the seats and reducing leg room for years right along with eliminating all the things that used to make flying a halfway tolerable experience. Fat people make a convenient scapegoat.
ReplyDeleteIt's pretty clear the "too fat" standard is purely subjective unless someone's really huge (as in Refrigerator Perry big) because it's amazing how quickly a "fat" person who has followed the rules, purchased two seats becomes thin if the airline has overbooked. Suddenly the person who was too fat to fit in one seat is small enough to have flight attendants asking that person to give up that second seat and allow someone else in right next to him or her.
OT fn:
ReplyDeleteseen this?
more racist campus antics
http://www.10news.com/news/22588063/detail.html
CF
ReplyDelete"WhiteBowieSteve - you are a fraud."
As God is my witness if anyone can view the link that CF provided and show me where it says that black property owners were asking county assessors to devalue their property so they could pay less taxes AS CF ASSERTED I will leave this board forever.
It has to hurt to be such a phony CF.
What Kevin Smith means for the future of PR
ReplyDeletehttp://news.cnet.com/8301-13577_3-10454328-36.html
if someone who is very large buys two seats, you might be more comfortable sitting near them. but the fact is obesity is an epidemic and people are getting larger and larger. and it is impacting all of society negatively, and it was right for michelle obama to take this on.
ambulances can't carry them, hospitals can't take care of them...and if you're on a plane that you have to scramble out of to save your life, you'd better hope the person in front of you can run.
a very large person can become threat to everyone's safety. i don't think an obese person is allowed to sit in an exit row, for example.
"and if you're on a plane that you have to scramble out of to save your life, you'd better hope the person in front of you can run."
ReplyDeleteThen you better hope that person isn't feeble and elderly, maybe they shouldn't be allowed on planes either.
@ Maria
ReplyDeleteAnd what about mothers with small children? They can't often jump up and start running if something goes down. It's a very slippery slope.
As to your claim that obese people are not allowed to sit in an exit row... not true. They are often encouraged to sit in exit rows because they often have the heft/bulk to shove an exit door open and exit rows have more space.
And for everyone throwing around the obese tag with such wonderful abandon, I present you with the BMI project link. It might redefine what you think of as "overweight" and "obese".
http://kateharding.net/bmi-illustrated/
naughty, Field. very naughty.
ReplyDeleteEven if you are not over weight, you are stuffed in the coach seats. The original planes like Southwest flies had five seats across. I guess the fifty extra seats is what produces the profit. Only when gas was really cheap was flying a profitable transportation option. Other countries developed high speed trains, but in the US they fly jets that are 7 feet across (3 Seats). It is like flying in a hallway with windows.
ReplyDeleteI have even flown with baby chicks behind the cockpit.
Anon said--
ReplyDelete"It is lazy and conceited to dismiss substantive debate with unsubstantiated charges of racism."
"Sure you can always find your "ducks" lurking on the fringe of a Tea party rally if that's what you want to focus on. Have you noticed all the anti-semites, thugs, truthers, race hustlers, and other loons on the edge of leftist "peace" or anti-capatalist, or Obama rallies?"
You missed my point on the racism question I didn't say the teabagger movement was racist I just pointed out that their general functioning and what they appear to be against leave them open for the charge.
And as far as substantive debate,thats just the point there is no substantive debate coming from the tea bag crowd. And you are wrong it is not the fringe of the ultra right that has narrow minded ideas it is the main body.
They were formed around the health care town hall forum, but they seldom talked about health care. Most people can attest -- thats right go back to any newsmagazine article, CNN or MSNBC and not one of them could articulate what they stood for-- to the fact that they have little idea what the tea baggers really stand for. There were some folks interviewed who were on Medicare and Medicaid getting great health care coverage complaining about the possibility that the government might help someone else get free or affordable access to health care.
The only thing I hear --and yes I have listened to the speakers --is anti-immigration hysteria and talk of a return to the days of the founding fathers, who ironically were not thinking about most of you (poor and working class whites or anybody else) when they framed the Constitution. Hell if you weren't a property owner you couldn't vote.
So you can call me names on this site all you want but the truth is that ultra conservatives -- who I believe are probably decent people who are just being mislead-- come off as narrow minded,selfish, bigots.
Its right there for all to see, no matter how much you try to deny it. And by the way I am not a liberal.
And BTW I you are right I have participated and even spoken at rallies opposing unjust wars, police brutality, foreclosure, bank bailouts,gentrification, unequal public education and racism in general. But I don't recall any, birthers or thugs in the crowd, And where did the anti-Semite comment come from? That was a real stretch, but I guess that would fit your crowd as well.We were usually protesting the "real"thugs.
"I have even flown with baby chicks behind the cockpit."
ReplyDeleteIs that some veiled pedophilia reference? I smell a duck.
Mellaneous:
ReplyDeleteThe thugs are mostly on the left. Just ask Ken Gladney about his encounter with Obama's Purpleshirts.
If you aren't aware of the overt anti-semitism rampant on the modern left, then you are fairly clueless.
Ahh Ken Gladney, the lone black tea bagger.
ReplyDeleteThat fool deserved to get his ass kicked.
Field, Uptown,Hathor, Granny, Jody check this out.
ReplyDeleteThanks AB for that link on the fraternity party called Cookout in Compton at the University of California at San Diego.
"February marks a very important month in American society. No, i'm not referring to Valentines day or Presidents day. I'm talking about Black History month. As a time to celebrate and in hopes of showing respect, the Regents community cordially invites you to its very first Compton Cookout.
For guys: I expect all males to be rockin Jersey's, stuntin' up in ya White T (XXXL smallest size acceptable), anything FUBU, Ecko, Rockawear, High/low top Jordans or Dunks, Chains, Jorts, stunner shades, 59 50 hats, Tats, etc.
For girls: For those of you who are unfamiliar with ghetto chicks-Ghetto chicks usually have gold teeth, start fights and drama, and wear cheap clothes - they consider Baby Phat to be high class and expensive couture.
They also have short, nappy hair, and usually wear cheap weave, usually in bad colors, such as purple or bright red.
They look and act similar to Shenaynay, and speak very loudly, while rolling their neck, and waving their finger in your face.
Ghetto chicks have a very limited vocabulary, and attempt to make up for it, by forming new words, such as "constipulated", or simply cursing persistently, or using other types of vulgarities, and making noises, such as "hmmg!", or smacking their lips, and making other angry noises,grunts, and faces.
The objective is for all you lovely ladies to look, act, and essentially take on these "respectable" qualities throughout the day.
Several of the regents condos will be teaming up to house this monstrosity, so travel house to house and experience the various elements of life in the ghetto.
We will be serving 40's, Kegs of Natty, dat Purple Drank- which consists of sugar, water, and the color purple , chicken, coolade, and of course Watermelon.
So come one and come all, make ya self before we break ya self, keep strapped, get yo shine on, and join us for a day party to be remembered- or not. "
This is distressing because these are young people. I always hope that young people would be idealist and compassionate and empathetic. But not this group.
This is what they thought was entertainment:
la -- did i saw they "shouldn't be allowed on planes?" did i say anyone shouldn't be allowed on planes, "either?"
ReplyDeletethat was a predicable response and takes what i said to a typical, illogical extreme. even when you agree with me, you simply choose not to. sad.
i am a mother and i had three kids, including a set of twins. what is your point?
i'm using the word obese because i'd get slammed even more if i didn't. not sure what your point is, either, "may".
seems like you used to be someone else on this blog, perhaps?
I do not reply to intellectual cowards who post under anonymous...I got standards..
ReplyDeletemel:
ReplyDeleteditto!
many try to absolve white elders like harry reid by stating that they simply reflect the racist norms of their bygone days...
yet, consistently, the most rabidly racist people i meet are WAY under 30....
any brief perusal of internet blogs etc proves that racism is MOST alive and well among youths and these perpetual campus charades prove that to be so!...
and THE most racist of all are young wfs who exclusively date black boys like that infamous slut kim k...go figure!....
ie
i love the bay area of cali!
but
i am shocked by the increasingly frequent brawls at ca high schools...latinos v. blacks etc
_____
re: "obesity"
lena horne/dorothy dandridge
marilyn monroe/mae west/...ALL would be considered "obese" by today's anorexic celeb standards
shame!
ie
models who are size 4 are considered fat now
sizes 0-2 ONLY are now mandatory for most major modeling jobs
shame!!!
http://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/fashion/2010/02/16/2010-02-16_sick_world_where_size_4_is_too_fat.html
uptownsteve said...
ReplyDelete"Ahh Ken Gladney, the lone black tea bagger.
That fool deserved to get his ass kicked."
As do all that oppose the will of Dear Leader. Uptownsteve is apparently a closet thug. Ever actually kick anyone's ass, or do you just fantasize about it? I'll bet you have more hands on experience tea bagging than you do fighting.
@ Maria
ReplyDeleteThanks for putting "May" in quotes. That's deflection if I've ever seen it. I am a long time reader, first time poster here. I don't post under anons or other names. My handle is my google account, which is linked to my gmail account because I have nothing to hide.
I took issue with a few of your comments and instead of responding with a reason, you choose an ad hominem attack (accusing me of being someone else when I am not, therefore my claim {or opinion} is false).
With regards to the use of the word "obese", my point of responding with the link to the BMI Project was to show that what most people think of as "obese" is such a statistical outlier in actual, physical terms.
I think the the fact that you automatically assumed that I was attacking mothers with children on planes is bad is you missing the point. The point is that you can't assume something (physical fitness, agility, etc) based on outward appearance.
To your point about "ambulances can't carry them, etc." People who are so fat that they can't be taken care of with "normal" sized equipment and facilities already know that they are severely obese. They can't leave their houses most times and when they do, it's usually to get some medical treatment for their obesity.
You're lumping one group in with the other, which is not what this argument is about. And as for people getting "larger and larger everyday", what about those of us who are getting taller and taller? It is a known fact that as nutrition improves, people get both bigger and taller. Should I mock, ridicule and make a task force for people over 5' 10" (such as my boyfriend and many of my family members) because they can't fold their long bodies into a tiny airplane seat? Even I, at 5'2", have problems sitting in an airplane seat for too long - and no, it's not because I am too fat to sit in the seats. It's because those seats are damn uncomfortable. There are many unfit thin people just as there are unfit fat people. Others fall somewhere in between.
Not all fat people are fat because they are lazy, eat too much, etc. Not all thin people are thin because they eat healthily, work out, etc. But all people are people and should be treated as such - not subjected to public shame and humiliation based on a physical characteristic.
"Ever actually kick anyone's ass, or do you just fantasize about it? I'll bet you have more hands on experience tea bagging than you do fighting."
ReplyDeleteAt least I post under an actual name beeatch.
"At least I post under an actual name beeatch."
ReplyDeleteYour momma named you uptown?
Maria said: "did i saw they "shouldn't be allowed on planes?""
ReplyDeleteYou didn't have to spell it out. So then what was your point?
MayDarling, well said.
ditto md!
ReplyDelete"obesity" is fluid and subjective...
my fear is that once someone is arbitrarily labeled "obese" by any entity...where will it stop?
ie
will airlines be as hard as those who judge runway models someday?
Not all fat people are fat because they are lazy, eat too much, etc. Not all thin people are thin because they eat healthily, work out, etc. But all people are people and should be treated as such - not subjected to public shame and humiliation based on a physical characteristic.
ReplyDeletei never said any such thing about fat people being lazy; i don't think ANY fat people are lazy.
i never said why people were thin, or not thin.
i haven't shamed or publicly humiliated anyone, fat or thin.
the rest of your comments are such exaggerations of what i said that i'm not going to respond.
you might want to read what i actually wrote.
anon 2:41,
ReplyDeleteThat is no veiled reference. I flew on a 20 seater prop commuter flight from Atlanta to Chattanooga. This flight was literally transporting recent chicken hatchlings and they placed them behind the cockpit. They chirped the whole way.
Apparently you do not have airline horror stories.
"Apparently you do not have airline horror stories."
ReplyDeleteWell, there was that time I was seated next to a guy named Uptown. He said he was going to Chattanooga to find some chicken hatchlings for behind his cockpit, which apparently is NAMBLA code for something you don't want to know exists. He wound up getting thrown off the plane after he wet his pants during the seatbelt talk.
Awww did I hurt widdle Anonymous' feelings?
ReplyDeleteThis is usually around the time you start posting bs under the name "uptownsteve" but that ruse doesn't work for you anymore.
So you're reduced to hurling third grade insults.
Were you picked on a lot as a child?
[quote]"February marks a very important month in American society. No, i'm not referring to Valentines day or Presidents day. I'm talking about Black History month. As a time to celebrate and in hopes of showing respect, the Regents community cordially invites you to its very first Compton Cookout.[/quote]
ReplyDeleteMellaneous:
What characteristics about the WHITE PERSON who:
* Opened up the cover of his laptop HP laptop
* Used his 10 fingers to type out this flyer
* Printed this out on his Epson printer
* E-Mailed it to his friend
What SPECIFICALLY about HIM that you found more OFFENSIVE than when a "HIP HOP - VOICE OF THE STREET PIRATES"
uses the HATRED and VIOLENCE that he has in his mind to write something that has MILLIONS Of people listening in?
GRANNY - When I make such a challenge PEOPLE LIKE YOU THINK that I am seeking to PROTECT the White Offender.
I AM NOT!!!!!!!!!!
I am merely calling out the FAUX OUTRAGE shown against WHITEY - all the while the IGNORANT Lyrics that tap into the same SET OF IGNORANT THOUGHTS go on to receive a Platinum Record.
Do you know how many Black people stand up and DANCE to people who:
* Threaten to Kill them if they STEP TO the rapper and diss him?
* Call Black women out of their names and refer to them as Sexual Objects
* Brag about the money received from their drug sales in the community. (Unlike the CIA they don't hide it -they brag)
Mellaneous IF you didn't mention this - how many of us would have KNOWN? How many of our lives would have been impacted?
Now I have to sleep with my gun under my pillow for fear that a White kid from UCSD kicking in my door.
CF
ReplyDeleteDo you show the same outrage toward Hollywood which indulges in rampant violence, sexism, racism, mysogyny??
Probably not. Hollywood is primarily white folks.
I seriously doubt that you live in daily fear of a gangsta breaking into your house.
But you have to find some way of rationalizing your astounding self-hatred and contempt for your own people.
Gosh Maria, can you do anything right? You are a FATTIST. People do not randomly gang up on your because of your intelligence. People set you straight cause you are ignorant as evidenced by your posts.
ReplyDeleteAnon 2:46 - you are the reason that its difficult to have serious conversations and debate.
ReplyDeleteUnder no circumstance would Obama be considered a leftist. Do you know what the term means? Who told you that? This is why you can't be taken seriously in this discussion.
And you saying that folks on the left are thugs, which left are you talking about the ones from your made up definition or the real leftist. Either way its not true.
And on anti-semitism. Its obvious you read this somewhere because this is the smear that pro Isreal folks do to try to get folks who have a problem with Isreal's oppression of the Palestinians to shut up. Its not working.Being opposed to what Isreal does is not the same as being anti-Jewish.
You really should try another blog. Its really hard to take you seriously.
I mean your non-sensical statements and your blanket accusations scream loudly that you are a rookie at debate and that you have only been listening primarily to right wing pundits and other conservatives like Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh and others who make millons, while getting small time dupes like you to oppose your own best interest.
You are starting to remind of the saying that, " a little bit of knowledge is dangerous"
mel:
ReplyDeleteditto!!!
obama is called a socialist and a leftists by his elitist neocon peers...to distract morons who refuse to see his BLATANT turbo cloning of gwb...
socialists and leftists do not overfeed bankers/slay the poor/ignore blacks etc!
http://www.obamadeception.net/
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6223232123104914517
http://aliciabanks.vox.com/library/post/the-fall-of-the-republic---obamas-fleecings-continue.html
mel/fn:
ReplyDeletethis bro is my new hero!!!
http://www.theloop21.com/news/us-army-specialist-jailed-after-distributing-angry-rap
i will post him to my blog asap
hey lac:
ReplyDeletethis bro is another "invisible radical"...hard to be seen inside gulags...
fyi!
Mellaneous @ 5:32:
ReplyDeleteAh the stumbling rantings of an incoherant liberal, struggling to spell Israel, accusing people who use big words of ignorance....you're like a talking dog, I don't know whether to correct your foolishness or simply be amazed that you can form words at all.
A leftist is someone who nationalizes banks, appropriates car companies, steers billions to unions who act as campaign muscle, initiates redistributive economic policies, sets up quasi-governmental outfits loyal only to him (like ACORN and OFA) and tries to sieze control of the healthcare industry. Leftism is all about statist control and the concentration of state power in the hands of a ruling elite. That's our guy in a nutshell - Chairman Soetoro.
AB thanks for the ups.
ReplyDeleteThat soldier gives me hope that more young men and woment will see the folly of these wars and begin to protest them. It would be great if more were willing to sacrifice even jail time to make their points. There are still lots of witnesses against these unjust wars who would embrace them.
Anon 6:06 said;
ReplyDelete"A leftist is someone who nationalizes banks, appropriates car companies, steers billions to unions who act as campaign muscle, initiates redistributive economic policies, sets up quasi-governmental outfits loyal only to him (like ACORN and OFA) and tries to sieze control of the healthcare industry. Leftism is all about statist control and the concentration of state power in the hands of a ruling elite. That's our guy in a nutshell - Chairman Soetoro."
I didn't think you knew what a leftist was and I suspected you were one of those misinformed or misguided know nothings.
Thanks for making my point with this foolish downright assinine post. I rest my case! I won't be responding to your foolishness any more. I don't talk to mislead right wing dupes.
I keep trying to tell Field and others that folks like you are dangerous because you are the kind of simpleton that the ruling class will use to shut down dissent and usher in fascism. Thats what all these right wing groups represent and many of them get funding from the kinds of organizations they say they resent.
And when you realize that you have been used to further the cause of exploitation you will be in the paddy wagon with a stupid look on your face!
I don't understand why you come to this blog. Is it your arrogance or you despise black folks and other forward thinking working people, so much that you won't even let them have a discussion among themselves. I mean I don't go on to your sites messing with you when I know you disagree with me, so what's the point.
Oh and BTW I do know how to spell Israel its spelled, A-P-A-R-T-H-E-I-D S-T-A-T-E!!!!
alicia banks said...
ReplyDeleteOT fn:
seen this?
more racist campus antics
http://www.10news.com/news/22588063/detail.html
This is the same old tired script:
***BEGIN SCRIPT***
White folks find the most extreme negative aspect of black folks and magnify it as the embodiment of blacks. In a knee-jerk reaction, blacks claim racism over the magnification of negative aspects normally attributable to them (I say normally. However, any negative aspect can be found among any race of people).
***END SCRIPT***
This does not surprise me. This is another example of white entitlement. Since whites are the majority, they feel as though this is their country (house) and they can do whatever (within the parameters of the law, of course) they damn well please. Many of them possess the notion that minorities are just renters or tenants-- they have no ownership in this great country built by white men, so where do they get off by being offended? They could be living in that squalor called Africa; hence, they should shut up and stop complaining.
That's the price whites believe that blacks should pay for living in the "greatest" country in the world.
I do not subscribe to the above notion. I believe people should show decency. Alas, some allow their egos to obstruct their ability (assuming they are capable) of showing decency toward others.
alicia banks said...
ReplyDeletemel/fn:
this bro is my new hero!!!
http://www.theloop21.com/news/us-army-specialist-jailed-after-distributing-angry-rap
i will post him to my blog asap
The man has some skills.
http://media.namx.org/audio/nan_radio/2010/02/stoplossmono.mp3
@field - I've never been a particularly comfortable flyer; I find SW attempts at humor relaxing. If they can joke while giving me the safety rundown, maybe I can relax my grip a little bit :)
ReplyDeleteThe "Clerks" director said he always flies Southwest for the convenience of its quick and inexpensive flights to Las Vegas or San Francisco. "When I fly Southwest I like to buy two seats. ...I'm flying on the welfare airline. I like to indulge myself."
True, true. This public school teacher can usually only afford the "welfare airline."
@MayDarling
I am a long time reader, first time poster here.
Looking forward to reading more from you.
One never knows, Governor Romney could have been prepared to talk shit and then realized that the gentleman in front of his wife was a pretty big mofo, that could have been why he didn't retaliate. Of course, it could have been that the former presidential candidate was indeed turning the other cheek.
ReplyDeleteAs far as Kevin Smith is concerned, he looks like he's about a biscuit away from exploding so I'm gonna say that I wouldn't have wanted to sit next to him. I've sat next to my share of fatties on flights and that's never fun. He was probably really upset that he missed the in-flight meal.....fat bastard.
[quote]
ReplyDeleteBut you have to find some way of rationalizing your astounding self-hatred and contempt for your own people.[/quote]
WhiteBowieSteve:
Help me out on your rationalization.
While YOU say that I have "SELF Hatred" when I call out those who are KILLING BLACK PEOPLE, yet who enjoy less focus from YOU or Filled Negro than does Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh or the White Kids at UCSD.........YOU actually appear incensed when someone like me challenges YOU to affix the same diagnosis upon those who HAVE ACTUALLY KILLED BLACK PEOPLE - hating what they saw so much in the sights of their pistol that they PULLED THE TRIGGER.
Say it WhiteBowieSteve: "Constructive Feedback's WORDS bother me more than do the BULLETS or clinched fists of the Street Pirates, used to assault other members of their community".
Signed ________________________
[quote]Under no circumstance would Obama be considered a leftist. [/quote]
ReplyDeleteMellaneous:
I will yield to your analysis yet offer a better VIEW of Obama.
Based upon my understanding of Obama upon many Progressive-Fundamentalists AND the common attacks used on various AfroSpear blogs - here is what I would like to offer to you.
President Barack Obama is NOT A LEFTIST.
Instead President Barack Obama is a "Progressive-Fundamentalist CATCHER".
Think about it Mellaneous - IF Black Republican Michael Steele is called a "Slave Catcher" on AfroSpear sites such as "Jack & Jill Politics" for his attempts at ensnaring Black voters for the Republican Party (its a shame that they initiate the label of Black people as "slaves").....then we should make note of Barack Obama's prowess at his craft.
* Despite doing what Alicia Banks has noted - President Obama STILL has a 91% Approval Rating with Black Americans
* Barack Obama STILL has a 60%+ approval rating with self-described Progressives and Democrats. This despite the fact that he is not the "Anti-War" President that they had hoped for. Obama has dropped more bombs on Afghanistan than did evil Bush
* After Obama reversing all of the "Low Hanging Fruit" Evil Bush policies throughout 2009 - with great fanfare from the Progressive Fundamentalists who got their just due against Bush (Stem Cells, Removing the Abortion Gag for Intl Funding, Canceling "Abstinence Only", Regulating CO2) now Obama has to GOVERN upon the HARD CHOICES. Thus he has pissed many leftists off.
Despite this the Progressive-Fundamentalists know that if they were to strike against Obama for doing the same things that pissed them off when evil Bush did the same - they'd risk helping another Evil Republican to get into office.
Thus, in their "trapped state" they remain SILENT - figuring that people like Alicia Banks will SHUT UP and simply go along with the program.
While I don't agree with AB on everything I commend her on her CONSISTENCY. Can we say the same about Steve, Gregory, Ernesto, Granny, BlackGirl #1 or LAC?
"Say it WhiteBowieSteve:
ReplyDelete"Constructive Feedback's WORDS bother me more than do the BULLETS or clinched fists of the Street Pirates, used to assault other members of their community"."
A false choice CF.
A coonservative specialty.
Along with lies, distortion, misrepresentation and buckdancing.
cf
ReplyDeletethanks!
ditto!
lac is the LEAST consistent obama nazi on this blog
lac:
ReplyDeletei stand by everything i claim about obama...always!!!
ie
when did anyone herein disprove my claims about obama's blatant and incessant lies about jobs/war/race etc?????
i missed all that magic i guess while distracted by your perpetually "personal" rants about "radicals"....
http://aliciabanks.vox.com/library/post/political-pablum-pavlovian-praises-perpetual-patronizing-promises.html?_c=feed-atom
http://aliciabanks.vox.com/library/video/6a0123ddb39306860b01240b9e8bcb860e.html
http://aliciabanks.vox.com/library/post/obama-drama-the-poor-are-getting-poorer-the-middle-class-becomes-the-new-poor.html