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Tired of traveling overweight? Try Tonga!
I just read a great article in the San Francisco Chronicle about overweight travelers and a way for them to get away from the judgmental eyes of the "skinny finicky foreigners." The answer? TONGA.
Apparently, in Tonga being overweight is not quite the disaster that we as Westerners say it is -- to the contrary, being larger in the island nation is a sign of "wealth and social standing," kind of like 17th century France. Perhaps they have yet to get the memo on heart disease and diabetes.
I don't mean to sound critical, but the whole idea of traveling to a place where you can be accepted for being overweight seems kind of like circumventing the real issue. The problem is still there; you've just gone to a place where people won't bother you about it. Is that helping you resolve the matter?
But my favorite part of the article is a quote from NAAFA, the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance:
"When you get to your seat during pre-boarding, raise the armrest between seats. This may give you the inch or two of extra space you need. The chances are that the passenger who will be seated next to you won't say anything; if he does, smile pleasantly and say that you'll both be more comfortable if the armrest is up."
Will you be more comfortable?
Read Catherine's article on why Disneyland had to shut down It's a Small World After All this year here.
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Space most definitely isn't an issue in the new Singapore Airlines A380! Check it out:
Gallery: Singapore Airlines' Airbus A380
| Yes! | |
|---|---|
| No... | |
| I'm not overweight | |
| I'm overweight, but I'll travel where I want regardless! |
Reader Comments (Page 3 of 5)
LS Feb 7th 2008 10:31AM
The author of this article should find another job. This is very unprofessional work. It must have taken all of 3 minutes to write. To top it off, it is very prejudicial, that I call disgusting.
Checkmoot Feb 7th 2008 5:06PM
There is such a thing as average. When a person is widely out of the average range, whether extremely tall, short, skinny or fat people will look at them. Thats normal. As to the armrest question ? If the person next to me raised it so they could ooze into my seat, that I would not allow. If it became a problem I would ask the flight attendant to take care of it.
ginkins Feb 7th 2008 10:34AM
Obesity is not a crime---- but it gross to try and imply that it is anything other than negligent and a bad example for our children. There SHOULD be a stigma associated w/ being obese- its as bad as smoking or drinking to excess. As the world faces a food crisis, Americans continue to show the rest of the world how we gobble up the worlds resources- gas,and food- and make the place a little grosser w/ our pollution and our obese. Abroad- when a fat person is sighted, they are assumed to be American. How sad is that. And as for the airline issue- I have been (literally) stuck next to a fatty during a flight. I got squished as they oozed over their alloted space into mine. Yuck! "Excuse me, but your paniculus is on my leg". Come America- shape up. The impending medical/insurability crisis is terrifying!
pk Feb 7th 2008 10:58AM
How do you know the "fatty" sitting next to you didn't thing YOU were disgusting? Being fat is setting a bad example? What about the intolerance YOU show? Is that a GOOD example? When you pay my bills, you can tell me what to eat. Until then, butt out.
kawfytawk Feb 7th 2008 10:53AM
Grant Martin, the so called author of this tripe, is a snarky, shallow turd. He wrote this while sitting in his underwear eating macaroni and cheese, snorting to himself with each key stroke.
Francisco Juarez Jr. Feb 7th 2008 11:14AM
i think the new America is so intolerent of anyone who is different. like a person who leaves his money to his cat or dog, or a non-relative. that person is criticized by all those damn green do-gooders democrats who think everyone should of one mine, one race.
i on the other hand, everyone should be there own person and lead their own parade. if you want to leave your money to anyone you want, leave it. it is your money. if you want to be fat, hey! that is your cross to bear. i have known some real fat people who lived to the ripe old age of 80. i have known people who drink and smoke and they are at the age of 90 plus. i know i see them at the casino. i have also, known people who followed every diet, take vitamins and slept eight hours a day, lived a glorious religious life and they died early at the ripe age of 30 or less. and don' tell me that the good die young. i'm sure as at that person was dying he was saying to himself. i'm a righteous person because i am dying young. believe you me, he was probably praying to god that he did not want to die so, young.
i don't think of fat people as being annoying. but people who think they are perfect...now they bother me immensely. like Redd Fox said, i have a friend who was in the hospital, he had no diseases, nor bad heart, nor stroke. he never drank he never smoked, and he never went out with a woman. he was still dying. He exclaimed, "I'll be damned if i will be lying in a hospital bed, dying of nothing."
let people, live and let live.
kindy24 Feb 7th 2008 10:59AM
Wow...
I really can't believe that we still live in a world where this type of thinking exists! It's almost like the Civil Rights movement didn't even happen at all! Granted, that was concerning racism rather than obesity, but the message is still there.
I was at 340lbs. and am now at 245lbs. and 5'10". I have seen both sides of the fence. How is it fair to an obese person to pay the airlines for an extra seat? They are not only paying for the space, but for the staff labor and fuel as well. You can't convince me that for 1-2 inches of extra space is going to burn off THAT much more fuel, and require THAT much more labor from the staff. Basically, I see this type of "solution" as a punishment to the obese... you're fat, so you're gonna pay more because no body really wants to deal with you.
How about having the planes retro-fitted for new LARGER seats so that they can accommodate EVERYONE comfortably?
Just my 2-cents...
-Kindy
www.aguevalue.com
smarteepantz Feb 7th 2008 10:58AM
you people who having a coronary over the armrest: are you the type of people to do "elbow wars" as well? entitled little princesses much?
personally, i don't see this as being any different than catering to gay tourists, or wealthy tourists, or animal lovers, or any other niche market. if you're so offended by the idea, DON'T GO THERE.
alrighty, problem solved!
mdbiggs7 Feb 7th 2008 11:17AM
We have visited Tonga for months at a time. Wonderful place, beautiful people. A child told me I was "big, fat", I asked "Is that good?" He said "Yes". Gotta love it!
fivestartt Feb 7th 2008 11:05AM
15 years ago I had a nasty experience with an airline seatmate.
I was in my center seat and the window seat was also occupied. The aisle seat was empty until about 10 minutes prior to departure, when a VERY large woman filled it.
She didn't raise the armrest between us, but it wouldn't have mattered. Once she got settled into her seat, no one could have located the armrest. This woman literally bulged out, over, under, and around BOTH armrests and a full 1/3 of the way into my seat, and fell the same distance on the other side into the aisle around THAT armrest. Honestly, the flight attendants could not get the cart past her without her physically lifting part of herself out of the way with her left hand - and even then the cart became WEDGED one time!! Besides the obvious safety issues (there was no way she was leaving her seat with less than a five-minute lead time), there were two other problems...
1. While we were taxiing out the runway, she began perspiring. Heavily. She perspired straight through her clothing all along where she was JAMMED up against my left side, and THROUGH MY CLOTHING within an hour of takeoff. It was disgusting. (I felt badly for her but there were no other seats available. I didn't feel badly enough, though, to avoid being extremely angry that she hadn't purchased an extra seat!) I didn't know the person in the window seat and he was adamant that I not raise the armrest between us or touch him in any way. My clothes were quite wet and less than halfway into the five hour flight I was reduced to being wedged, silently weeping, sideways in my center seat. I could not even hold a book.
2. When the meal/snack was served, this woman COULD NOT LOWER HER TRAY TABLE - seriously, it would not drop more than 8 inches down from the seatback. She requested an extra meal and ate both with the containers propped on her chest and belly. Food fell to both sides and I wore what she couldn't catch.
After landing, she asked me to help her get up...
The airline was apologetic but would not refund me any of my ticket price. I have never flown them again.
Sarah Feb 7th 2008 5:21PM
Articles like these are always so interesting to me. This one in particular reeks of intolerance and an underlying disgust for people that are overweight. Its one point to make a suggestion for a travel destination and pointing out cultural differences/practices that may appeal to people. Pardon the metaphor, but I'm sure you wouldn't dare suggest to someone with a missing limb to travel to a destination where they would feel comfortable. Couldn't they just find a prosthesis, make themselves look "more normal" according to whatever standards are 'acceptable' and stop "circumventing the issue"? And no, I am not overweight so those comments can't come my way. The point is, if people spent more time worrying about themselves and their OWN words, actions and behaviors - the world may be a little nicer of a place live.
LisaS Feb 7th 2008 11:26AM
When I was young, I was super-skinny. I have grown heavy over the years because of genetics and health issues. It really pisses me off that there are so many people who are so obsessed with my weight, that every conversation ends up being about dieting or exercising. Get over it already. I am fat and I enjoy my life. I am so sick of the dirty looks and the snide remarks about my weight. I guess now that we can't discriminate against people for other things, then we can express our hatred towards a group of people that no one cares about. I don't care if you don't like the way I look...just keep your comments to yourself!
Squeezed Feb 7th 2008 11:34AM
I'm an armrest lifter. The seats on airplanes are simply too small, but merely raising the armrest can do wonders. Do I then "spill over" into the next seat? Probably. Do I crowd you out of the seat you bought? No, even though I'm very obese. If you can still sit comfortably, what's the beef?? I do everything I can to minimize my impact on other flyers. I don't recline my seat back so that I'm practically resting in the lap of the flyer behind me. I sit quietly and only get up to use the restroom. I don't smell, I'm clean, and quite obviously a lot more polite than the crowd who "won't give up an inch of the space I paid for" to help accomodate another human being. Now, the day the airlines allow me to purchase just an extra inch or two, I'll gladly pay it, but why should I have to purchase an entire seat when I don't need two whole seats? If you need slightly less than your whole seat, allow the armrest to go up and quit your bellyaching. It's not going to kill you, and it's a whole lot better than being stuck with someone who's sick/drunk/loud/puking/or underage and crying/screaming.
MsMonica Feb 7th 2008 12:12PM
You know some of you are killing me about the armrest! If the armrest wasn't made to come up to be more comfortable then they would have never made it possible for the armrest to come up. No one uses it anyhow because it would be infringing on the other persons space. And then what really kills me is how you try to recognize it as a dividing line. No one can tell me that they have really been on a place where someone was spilling over onto their lap. Shut up! If you are so skinny to begin with you would have an inch or two on each side and you would be totally comfortable. What about tall husky men who are not overweight who have wide shoulders? What about people who do like to lay in your lap by letting their seat all the way back? If you complain about the person next to you then complain about everyone around you. Everyone knows that planes are made to accommodate as many as possible. They never claimed to be bucket seats like where you have all your own space. Get over it or don't travel at all. Besides if you don't travel then the rest of us have more space on the plane. Especially head space!
prete ryback Feb 7th 2008 11:48AM
fat people listen less in and more out, that means no ore junk food and lots of exercize if you are really fat they should make you buy two seats, the formula has not changed go join weight watchers and do not quit
jessica Feb 7th 2008 12:01PM
"I don't mean to sound critical, but the whole idea of traveling to a place where you can be accepted for being overweight seems kind of like circumventing the real issue"
are you kidding me?! i've never heard of anyone equating "going on vacation" with "going to rehab" for an eating disorder or any other issues they may have for that matter! while yes, most of us know it's unhealthy to be overweight, it's also nice to know that there's an alternative to being gawked at and laughed at by everyone on the beach (all of whom weigh a whopping 95 lbs)....it would be like an alcoholic choosing to go somewhere other than say......miami, cancun, or any other "party spot" where everyone is drinking all the time. screw it...i'm packing my bags. TONGA, HERE I COME!
Barb Feb 7th 2008 3:56PM
I am also one of those little people. Hey grandma was only 4-9. What can you expect? Sorry.
Whether the arm rest is up or down, sitting next to a large person who is spilling in to my space is darned uncomfortable. What makes anyone think I'll be more comfortable without an arm rest? I still get to curl my arms in front of me and be squished for a couple of hours so the other person can be comfortable? If you are so large that you can't fit in the space, you have choices -- lose weight, buy two seats or fly first class. And if you think buying two seats sounds outrageous, just think about it -- you are already borrowing half of my seat without paying for it.
Bill Feb 7th 2008 12:16PM
Researching Tonga it seems that most of their people aren't fat. They seem healthy and some chubby to american standards. Obese people remember there isn't a McDonalds on Tonga.
suzanne Feb 7th 2008 12:30PM
BELIEVE YOU ME...FOREIGNERS ARE NOT LOOKING AT US WITH HATRED OR DISGUST BECAUSE OF OUR WEIGHT ISSUES...THEY ARE DOING SO FOR POLITICAL REASONS, WEIGHT SHOULD BE AT THE BOTTOM OF OUR LIST OF PRIORITIES, WE HAVE A REPUTATION AS HUMANITARIANS TO RESTORE. WE ALSO NEED TO TRY AND KEEP TRAVEL LIMITED TO OUR OWN COUNTRY AS OUR OWN TOURISM AND ECONOMICS ARE EXPERIENCING DESPERATE TIMES.
castawaydreamer Feb 7th 2008 12:39PM
leave it to america to create an organization that has the attitude "being a gross,sloppy, blobass is cool"
ummm here's an idea.........buy "REAL" food rather than the pre-packaged fatpacks,.....eat THE SAME OR LESS CALORIES THAN YOU BURN ETC. !
ever think about the emt's, police men and women, lifeguards, etc. that umust deal with us in an accident?
i'm sure they just LOVE pulling up to a scene to be greeted with 400 pounds of flab to deal with!