Without wanting to stir anything up and without commenting on the individuals mentioned in Post 1:

In order to sit in an exit row, you have to be able to assist in emergency situations, ie. lift an emergency door that weighs approximately 20kg. Not everyone can do that, and ergo, not everyone can/should sit in an emergency exit row.

To look at both sides of the argument: Overwhelming chances are nothing will happen, so who cares.