commentary Sara on 04 Nov 2007 05:10 pm
We are all fatties
I am prejudiced. I think by admitting it it might help me change my unconscious reaction. I don’t know why, but I don’t like fat people. And I don’t mean people who are just chubby or think they need to lose a few. I fall in that category too. I mean the really fat ones.
It is not that I don’t like them, but I often judge them before I have a chance to decide. Once I get to know them I normally like them, as I like most people, but I definitely have a prejudice against fatness.
I confirmed this awhile back with some high-falootin’ Harvard project that created a web based-prejudice detector. This test told me, for example, that I have no prejudice for either white or black people, but that I have a significant prejudice against fat ones.
There are quite a number of fat people (really fat) in my own extended family. And I know that often people can’t help it. I just happen to have the genetic make-up, which allows me to eat whatever I want whenever I want. While writing this from the Phoenix airport, I ate a bag of Doritos and a greasy Pizza Hut personal pizza and plan to eat the two cookies I have in my bag. Today when leaving a conference that was sending us off with a boxed lunch, I packed away two, because I can’t resist (and I still ate the Doritos and pizza a few hours later).
I am, in the truest sense of the word, a complete glutton. I would never deign to buy fat free anything, I think diets are stupid and I exercise far far less than I’d like to. SO what gives? How can I not like fat people?
But I don’t. On the flight here to Phoenix from Kansas City I had to share my seat with a woman who had the armrest up so that she could share half my seat. While I didn’t expect her to say anything like “I’m sorry I’m taking up your chair” I would have expected a “hello” or “how are you?” from the person who would have her butt cheek pressed up against me for the 3 hour duration. Simple manners is surely to blame, instead I felt that “ism” in me blaming it on her fatness. Completely unfair.
I also know that a lot of people are just like me. Fat people are teased as kids, not given jobs they deserve as adults. I know obesity is now considered an “epidemic” and a lot of it is socio-economic. Being from the South, I have seen this first hand; poor families eating KFC nightly. Partly because they don’t know any better. The lawsuit brought against McDonalds by the obese 16-year old a few years back? Yeah, I believe she didn’t know it was bad for her.
I know all of these things. So why am I a fatist? I have no idea.
on 05 Nov 2007 at 11:42 pm 1.Don said …
well, here’s my take on fat:
let me start by saying that you will likely get in trouble for this post! truth often brings a strong reaction.
but you said what you said in a kind way, i think.
like many others, i feel the same way about fat people. i generally dislike them on sight.
by the way, i think your take on obesity is pretty correct, too.
most fat people are fat because of sloth and unrestrained, constant gluttony. the deal about ‘oh, i’m fat because of my gene pool’ is just not true. people are Big because of genetics - not Fat. people are fat because they are eat too much.
an actual medical anecdote: years ago, one of my md friend’s patients told him ‘oh doctor, i just can’t lose weight; it’s genetic; I’ve been on a 900 calorie a day diet for 6 months and i haven’t lost a pound’. my friend, a specialist in internal medicine, looked at her and said ‘lady, hitler fed those jewish captives at auschwitz 900 calories a day - did you ever see a fat one on the newsreels?’
personally, i’ve known lots of people who dug their graves with a fork.
Saludos,
on 18 Nov 2007 at 1:09 am 2.Nancy said …
I believe that possibly you are bigoted against fat people either because you have your father’s genes or you have been listening to him all of your life and subconsciously it all sunk in.
)
on 27 Dec 2007 at 11:59 pm 3.sues said …
What I find unbelievable is the way some people dress, and ‘yes’ mostley those who are overweight. When the put on the miini skirt, or mid dridt outfit, dont they look in a mirror. I do not understand why people like it (fat) all hanging out.
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