i just flew in from logicville and boy, are my arms tired.

[stitchtowhere]

it's been a long while since i've had to fly anywhere, and it's very much by design. the main reason i was so into us obtaining vehicular transport--i have a license but i despise driving and find cars to be mostly cumbersome and redundant and socially/environmentally irresponsible when you live in an urban centre--was that it would allow us to do

Comments

[chavvah]

I know we've discussed this before, but I also have considerable anxiety related to travel--in part related to the increasingly hostile attitude towards fat folk on airplanes (I have had people ask to switch seats rather than sit next to me), but also due to the fact that my mother (who has dual nationality) is consistently and relentlessly harassed every time we cross a border, be it by air or on land.

What frustrates me more than anything is that the spaces where this harassment occurs are deliberately constructed to engender feelings of panic. Essentially, customs personnel and the like want you to freak out because then it justifies the brutality of their actions. And despite my best intentions, I walk into it every time. When I see my mother walk into that little room, there is always a moment when I honestly wonder if she is going to come back out. Which is ludicrous... and yet not

[stitchtowhere]

nothing like getting the laser eyes from someone when they realize they're sitting next to you. ugh, i am so NOT looking forward to flying!

and thanks for upping the analysis ante on the physical space in the airport; it really is about creating a discipline and punish situation.

and didn't we have someone working on the transporter? aren't dirigibles poised to make a comeback? (just in case... i challenge you to a race around the world!)

[pyroclasticgrub]

What frustrates me more than anything is that the spaces where this harassment occurs are deliberately constructed to engender feelings of panic. Essentially, customs personnel and the like want you to freak out because then it justifies the brutality of their actions.

Yes, this. And the people who are truly bad and actually want to do harm know how to get past these spaces of panic, leaving the rest of us who just want to get on the fucking plane feeling frightened. Which inevitably appears suspicious.

[angiereedgarner]

Thank you. May I link?

[stitchtowhere]

thanks! and feel free to link (this post is public, so you don't really need to ask but i appreciate the courtesy!)

[thepresidentrix]

I have this sudden, delirious vision of starting our very own Fat International Airline! 'Fat People in the Sky With Diamonds' works for me as a business name, LOL. It would be the swinginest airline of all, and we would make the seats big enough and the aisleways big enough and the dresses big enough for any flight attendant of any size who wanted one! And we would serve all the beverages in martini glasses and there would always be Two Whole Cakes! (In fact, I am picturing the flight attendants wearing bellhop/pillbox hats with cherries and frosting on top, though that may be taking it a little too far...)

[stitchtowhere]

there can be no talk of taking this too far! cake hats for the flight attendants are totally non-negotiable!

Airplanes

[ext_138287]

I'm with you. I hate to fly because of my size and feel very self-aware and can't wait to just get seated and bury my face in a book and not make eye contact. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

Re: Airplanes

[stitchtowhere]

i mostly hate the stink eye i get from seat-mates when i'm not flying with my partner or friend. ugh.