Kevin Smith dares Southwest to prove he's "too fat". Do you think he is going too far now or is he justified in continuing this?

Being told you are fat (or even too fat) is a very tough thing emotionally, even if it is not done publicly. In this case, it seems the victim has the capacity, and the inclination, to fight back. According to Mr. Smith, SWA does not have a specific policy with clear limits on weight, or even a test as simple as "can you bring down the armrests".

This makes it up to the specific flight crew to decide if they will allow a person to fly or not. If true, I'd say he is not taking it too far at all. Mr. Smith's challenge appears to be very reasonable.

He is willing to let SWA prove on the air, at no expense (at least they do not need to pay for the TV appearance) that the decision made by their employees was correct. If they do, he promises to donate $10k to the charity of their choice. S requirements in return if they cannot prove their action justified also seem to be very reasonable.

They only need to admit their statement that he is too fat to fly was not true (aka a lie), and change the policy (assuming the issue here was orders from the SWA management) or retrain their staff (assuming it was the local staff that made the error). Of course either way this is a losing proposition for SWA - a public relations gaffe of a very high order. Either they prove that a person who does not appear to be far above the (unfortunately overweight) American male norm of these days cannot fly on their airline, possibly prompting legal action for discrimination, or they prove that he is not too fat, in which case they open themselves up to litigation by Mr. Smith for breach of contract.

IMO, the best thing for SWA in this case would be to cut their losses, come to some private accommodation with Mr. Smith, and by the by, change their policies in a way they can defend legally, and in the court of public opinion. As a ditty I learned as a kid says: "be careful of the words you say, keep them soft and sweet. You never know from day to day, which ones you'll have to eat."

It appears some of the words uttered by SWA employees in this case were not very soft and sweet. Hopefully SWA (a highly regarded business) doesn't choke on them.

I think he should pursue this and use his celebrity to increase his celebrity and raise money for charity..

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.