"Sitting next to a smelly fatty:" Good Samaritan steps in after mom body-shamed on airplane

[Demovictory9]

The mother said she always preferred to sit by herself in flights because she was self-conscious about her weight, and feared others would feel uncomfortable sitting next to her.

A man she described to be in his 60s with yellow sunglasses who claimed to be a comedian sat next right next to her.

Her post stated,"As soon as I got buckled, he sat back down...his phone was maybe 12 inches from my face and he proceeded to text someone that he was sitting next to a "smelly fatty." I don’t even know what the rest of his text said. I turned my head away as fast as I could. I was shocked and it was like confirmation of the negative things I think about myself on a daily basis. Before I knew it, I could feel hot, salty tears coming down my face."

https://www.cbs58.com/news/sitting-next-to-a-smelly-fatty-good-samaritan-steps-in-after-mom-body-shamed-on-airplane

[Gothmog]

1. Thanks for posting

This is a great story

[Adrahil]

2. Thanks for posting. Plenty of fat-shaming on these very forums.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

3. Thank you for this beautiful story! We need stories like this, now more than ever. n/t

[mcar]

4. Something in my eye

[pnwmom]

5. This is beautiful. Thanks for sharing! n/t

[redwitch]

6. She's beautiful.

So is the man who made her feel better, what a good guy!

[tblue37]

8. She is quite pretty, and she isn't even particularly heavy for an American. Barely above average

weight, I'd say.

[dalton99a]

9. She's fine.

What an asshole

[uponit7771]

14. +1, some people have a very narrow view ... they're missing out

[Soxfan58]

26. Pretty lady

He can go screw himself

[dhill926]

12. yes...and yes...

[Quixote1818]

38. She is stunning. Pretty much my perfect type. nt

[smirkymonkey]

7. That is a lovely story.

The ONLY person I fat shame is Donald Trump and that is because he is so incredibly judgmental of other people's looks and bodies, especially women. I do not do this to other people unless they are fat and fat shame others at the same time. I want him to know that he is in no position to criticize anybody for what they look like.

[calimary]

13. And his thoughtlessness and vulgarity have

given some assholes permission to be thoughtless, inconsiderate, and utterly heartless. Just like the petty, mean-spirited schmuck they support.

[ProudLib72]

10. Overweight people are well aware of their weight issues. They don't need to be ridiculed

Especially by a complete stranger sitting next to them on a plane. What a jerk!

[hlthe2b]

11. that story made me cry too...

Thank heavens for the good guys like that one who intervened.

[MRDAWG]

15. Don't be looking at someone else's private matters and

you won't be offended.

[Wednesdays]

16. Well, aren't you a bundle of compassion.

[whathehell]

24. +100

Agree totally.

[liberalmuse]

18. Gross.

[uppityperson]

25. Seems like victim blaming going on here.

[MineralMan]

27. Nice. Victim-shaming. Love it.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

28. So don't write things in a way that they're clearly not intended

to be private or concealed. A guy writes mean things about somebody on a phone a foot away from that person's face you know damn well he either wanted her to see it or didn't care if she did. It's not like she leaned over to see it or took it from him, FFS.

And how about a little more compassion and a little less victim-blaming?

[backscatter712]

29. You, sir, are an asshole.

Have a nice day.

[LuckyCharms]

31. Maybe he shouldn't have been looking at her then,

long enough to comment on his perception of her appearance. Right, boss?

[Dalida]

33. Nothing wrong with her looks

But yeah, if neither her nor the man behind had been snooping on what someone else was writing on their phone, they wouldn't have had to become sad or upset.

[TheBlackAdder]

37. No different than the guy viewing kiddie porn from his phone on a plane, who got busted for it.

That guy probably wanted his texts to be seen, just because he comes off as a dick in the first place.

Are people supposed to turn away when someone is texting, when they are occupying so much real estate to one side?

If they text the whole flight, does that mean you must lean away from the guy the entire time?

[Raine]

39. Kind of hard to avoid

Last edited Sun May 20, 2018, 03:31 AM - Edit history (1)

when you're crammed in like a sardine on a plane and the asshole next to you has it inches from your face!

[liberalmuse]

17. The old guy should be deeply ashamed.

I'm so glad this young man did the right thing and stood up for this beautiful lady. It took guts to do the right thing here, especially since most people will back down from confrontation and stay silent. He deserves all the good things coming his way. As for the old man, he is not wiser and stands as a glaring example of how not to behave. Good Lord, what an asshole.

[PatrickforO]

19. I intensely dislike air travel and try never to do it. Why?

Well, back in the day, the seats used to be bigger and the people nicer. They served meals. The planes were more comfortable.

Then they began crowding the seats closer together with less legroom and herding us like cattle.

So, no...they can do without my money...forever.

[Dalida]

34. I don't know if the seats were bigger

...but the legroom sure sees to shrink with every passing year.

[Stuart G]

20. Thanks for posting....

[rurallib]

21. It is a damned shame she has been so self-conscience no doubt due

probably to people's comments and American media's obsession with some nearly impossible to meet ideal.

Her self image has been beaten down by others. She looks fine to me.
Hope that person who made the guy move helped her understand that the one whose opinion counts is hers.

I think probably 90%+ plus of Americans have a low opinion of themselves due to comments and media.

Oddly it is people like the clown that dissed her and Donny Trump who think they are perfect.

[Hortensis]

22. How nice. But huh? How come males don't have that hangup?

Lol. I'm remembering having a small aisle seat on a small airplane, which since I'm small myself fit well enough. I was already seated when two, uh-oh, large, well-built men in business suits came up the aisle, and sure enough their seats were middle and window in my row.

To my amazement and amusement, one asked very nicely and courteously if I'd like to trade and take the middle seat, i.e., whatever leftover space guys didn't slop into from both sides. I got the distinct impression from his expectant air that this wasn't his first time, but I wasn't born yesterday and just as pleasantly declined. I also surprised him by staking a claim to the arm between us; I told him firmly he could have the front half and I'd have the rear half (works for petite women).

I don't know what was going on in his head, but it certainly wasn't shame at needing to slop into space smaller people had paid for and make them uncomfortable. I think it was just...tall male privilege? What this woman needs is to feel some privilege for herself. Maybe by the time she's my age she will.

Btw, I have no idea how they squished themselves together on the other side, but he stayed scrupulously in his own seat and honored my arm division, and I read perfectly comfortably the entire flight. Since his head was above mine, it was rather like sitting next to a wall.

[whathehell]

23. Geez, what a dick!

For fuck's sake, she's pretty and barely overweight -- I wish the poor soul had the strength to call out this nasty pig.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

30. Even if she'd been very overweight, he would still have been a dick.

[Bettie]

32. Thanks for saying that

the guy wasn't wrong for doing this because the woman is conventionally pretty and not particularly fat, he was just wrong for being nasty to another human being who did no harm to him.

From some of the responses, had she been ugly or fatter than she was, he'd have been right to do what he did.

So thank you for this.

[whathehell]

36. I certainly didn't mean that he was only "wrong" because

she wasn't particularly fat -- The fact that she wasn't, just added an especially odd twist to the whole incident -- The man sounds like a POS.

[whathehell]

35. I agree wholeheartedly.. n/t.