Thursday 18 February 2010

Ejector seat


I've had virtually nothing to say on the whole Kevin Smith got thrown of the plane furore.

To be frank, I felt no real emotional involvement whatsoever until I read this.

The story of KH's sister racing to their mother's deathbed by car, because of not wanting to deal with airplane trauma was truly shocking, that's what makes this whole thing real for me.

One point being missed by fatphobes is that 'watching your weight' can look like Kevin Smith. Because he is fat it's assumed to be a weight loss refusenik, when in fact he has in the recent past seen himself as someone who can lose weight .

Whilst I applaud anyone's raised consciousness I'd actually like him and others to begin to make connections between his attitude towards being fat and the contempt with which he is being treated. I'd like him to understand that his stance of appeasement doesn't make any difference to the way you're treated or indeed encourages this kind of dismissal. I just feel like hanging back making him a spokesman for FA, for now.

I don't know if he will see it as another pressure that doesn't necessarily reflect how he feels. However disingenuous that accusation is when thrown at us, I want him to come to it on his own terms. It's one thing to complain about ill treatment and another to join the dots and reject certain positions. From past experience, I'd like him to come to that understanding in his own time, rather than feeling like it's been foist upon him.

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