A woman was left in wonder on a plane as she watched a stranger’s actions. A normal flight turned ugly really fast. A passenger began to bully an innocent lady, but there was one man who wasn’t going to deal with it. But the way he handled the situation left passengers in disbelief. The man was a hero for helping out a damsel in distress.
Savannah Phillips was a confident woman, but one thing did shake her confidence a little bit. Savannah was always considered to be plus sized. She definitely wasn’t the biggest woman, but she wasn’t the smallest, either. So every time Savannah would fly on a plane, she would make sure to book a seat that had no one around her. But on this day, Savannah was running late. There was one seat left, but it was next to another passenger. A person that Savannah never wished to meet.
Savannah spent most of her life struggling with her weight. She was constantly the target of stares and ridicule, which took its toll on her self-esteem. Even though there are plenty of overweight Americans, people are still mean. Body shaming others has become a huge problem as of late, and Savannah has definitely been subjected to it, as well. Regardless, Savannah wasn’t prepared for what happened on that plane.
Because of her job, Savannah traveled quite frequently. She hated being away from her family, but she was a businesswoman striving for success. So Savannah did what she had to do. Savannah usually made sure she was at the airport on time because she understood her weight might be a problem for some people. So she always tried to get there early to book a seat by itself. But one day, Savannah was running a little late. When she finally arrived, she received bad news.
As soon as she reached the counter, Savannah heard the worst news possible. All of the seats had been taken. She began to plead with the check-in assistant, but she wouldn’t listen. Sadly, Savannah only had one option: she had to accept the situation, but she had no idea how bad it was going to be. When she met the person she would share the flight with, Savannah would be changed forever.
Savannah had to accept defeat. As she walked onto the plane, she began to accept her current situation. There was nothing that she could do, but she was still extremely nervous about how things would play out for her. She began to think about how her flight companion was going to act towards her. Unfortunately, Savannah was in for a rough flight. Luckily, one man would help change the situation, but not in your typical way.
Savannah could feel her heart pounding as she walked onto the plane. She looked ahead at her designated seat and then spotted her flight companion. She had a window seat next to an elderly man who was wearing bright yellow sunglasses. As she approached her seat, she began to feel anxiety. She would have to squeeze past the gentleman to get to her seat. But the old man did something she was not expecting.
When Savannah got to her aisle, the elderly man stood up. This stunned her a little. She was expecting to have to awkwardly scoot next to him to get by. But she was wrong to assume that. Little did Savannah know, the elderly man detested overweight people. She noticed that he took out his phone. She wasn’t the only one watching, there was a passenger behind the old man watching too.
The old man had his phone in his hand. She didn’t think much of it but then she noticed what he was doing. He began adjusting the screen settings. First, he increased the brightness. Next, he increased the text size so it was large. When Savannah saw the real reason he did this, she couldn’t keep herself from crying.
The old man mentioned that he was a comedian. That was when the pleasantries ceased. He began texting on his phone. It was then that Savannah realized why he made all of those screen adjustments. She could clearly see his oversized text messages because he made no attempt to hide it. He texted, “sitting next to smelly fatty.” Savannah began to cry. She turned her face towards the window and felt her tears streaming down her face. But then someone tapped the old man on the shoulder.
The man was vigorously tapping on his shoulder. As the old man turned around he was told, “I need to speak to you. NOW.” Confused, the old man got out of his seat and followed the young man. Along with some profanities, Chase Irwin told the old man that they were going to switch seats. Surprised by his actions, the old man cooperated. Once he sat down, Chase noticed that Savannah had been crying. That was when Chase truly became a hero.
Chase and Savannah began to chat on the plane ride. She couldn’t contain her appreciation for what he did for her. All she knew was his name, profession, and that he was a parent like her. When the plane landed, Savannah felt compelled to share her experience but she couldn’t find Chase on social media. She composed a powerful Facebook post and urged her friends to share it until Chase was found. After some time, Chase finally replied.
No question that Chase Irwin was definitely the hero. During an interview with the local news, he mentioned how much he hated discrimination. When he saw what the old man was texting, he had to do something. “I told him he was a heartless person. I told him that there’s a girl crying there because of your texts.” That certainly kept the old man’s mouth shut. But there’s more to this story.
As soon as he had seen the cruel text, Chase began planning his move. He told the stewardess about his plan and she was fully supportive. Once he returned to his seat, Chase quickly took action. He wasn’t about to let this old man get away with hurting someone like this. He had no idea what a difference his act of kindness would make.
Thanks to his kind act and Savannah’s post, the two raised awareness on social media. Even though the experience was a nightmare, it ended in a very good way. Body shaming is a practice that should be stopped. And hopefully, with more people like Chase Irwin, it’s definitely a possibility. Chase will always be a hero in Savannah’s eyes. One small act of kindness changed a life and made the world a better place.