Woman reveals how stranger refused to put up with passenger who was body-shaming her on flight: 'He was my hero'
As humans, being supportive and understanding of each other is a character we primarily need. A woman named Savannah Phillips shared how a stranger on a flight stood up for her when she was body-shamed. The woman’s experience has inspired her and others to reach out and be kind. The woman explained that she had constant flights and due to unprecedented issues, she had to hop on a different flight and was given a seat she didn't choose.
“I’m not the biggest person on the airplane but I’m not the smallest. My worst nightmare is someone being uncomfortable because they have to sit next to me,” Phillips recalled. The passenger she had to sit beside was a man in his 60s who was a comedian. “He got his phone out, his phone was maybe 12 inches from my face and he proceeded to text someone that he was sitting next to ‘a smelly fatty,’” the woman mentioned. She wasn’t sure about what the rest of the texts were but knew it was something offensive. “I was shocked and it was like confirmation of the negative things I think about myself daily,” Phillips remarked.
The woman was hurt and felt demeaned and began to “silently cry.” She tried to avoid conversing with the man to avoid any further bitterness. To her misfortune, the flight was delayed by half an hour and she was understandably more uncomfortable than ever in that plane. “I sat there, unable to stop silently crying. I was scrunching myself up against the wall as far as I could,” she recounted. The flight had been a disaster for Phillips so far until hope stepped in. “All of a sudden, someone from behind us taps on the guy’s shoulder and says, ‘Hey, I need to talk to you,’” she wrote. The stranger approached the man and said, “We are switching seats. Now.”
On further inquiry, a passenger didn’t hesitate to stand up for the woman and say, “You are texting about her and I’m not putting up with that.” The man stood up and sat beside the woman and pushed the comedian to another seat. He noticed Phillips crying and even comforted her with supportive words. After mingling in a conversation, they discussed what pushed him to switch seats. “He said he just happened to see that guy’s text messages and he started shaking. He was so mad and knew he had to do something,” the woman explained.
The passenger even informed the flight attendant and Phillips was impressed with his kindness. “What he did meant the world to me. The flight attendant kept trying to give him free drinks and told him that he was her hero,” she exclaimed. The woman added, “He wasn’t her hero—he was mine.” She recalled a talk she’d heard that said, “God sees you.” “Good times, bad times, in a mess, your fault or not, God sees you. And God saw me today. I told him that he was a blessing sent to me and how thankful I was that he was there,” she concluded the thought-provoking post.