Now, there may be safety issues involved w/a flight attendant who’s overweight to the point that s/he cannot easily navigate the aisles, or respond effectively in an emergency situation. But a) it’s the airline’s responsibility to demonstrate this; and b) it has NOTHING to do with the uniform policy, which is strictly about APPEARANCE, and applies to the female flight attendants only.

Beyond that – as I was watching the debacle unfold – the thought occurred to me: “why on earth is ROTH bloviating about this? Why not someone from Delta and/or the union, with actual knowledge about what flight attendants do?” But inserting herself into various debates is Roth’s M.O., and since she’s cute and telegenic, it gets her plenty of face time with the cameras.

What’s irritating to me is that there are FAR more credible spokespeople out there, who’ve actually helped people lose excess fat and improve their health, and know what the score is (Tom Venuto, anyone?). But being outrageous sells these days – unfortunately – so assertive concern trolls like Roth get airtime, and knowledgeable people get shoved into the background.

The analogy to White Goodman popped into my head because – like him – her “crusade” has its roots in her own insecurities and irrational fear of fatness. I found the story about her mother particularly disturbing, because that’s NOT normal behavior. And retelling it is cynical as hell: she’s exploiting the “childhood innocence” angle to suggest her “obesity is shameful” attitude is natural.

Nuh-uh. No way.

IMHO, it’s one thing to be concerned (rightly or wrongly) about the health of those you love. It’s quite another to be ashamed of them: that’s an incredibly self-centered POV. Sure, young children ARE self-centered, but – in the course of normal social development – they outgrow it. So she was wrong to be ashamed… but her inability to acknowledge this says a lot about where she’s coming from on the issue.

I like the movie “Dodgeball”. White Goodman is the perfect a**hole. I really hate to think there is a person in the real world that thinks and acts that way.

My mother, wife & son are all very overweight, but I can never ever ever remember being ashamed of any of them.

I feel sorry for MeMe Roth. I think she will go through the rest of her life a very lonely person.