Sizists or People who hate fat people

I periodically go to other cyber community to check out things out.

To my dismay I found a thread called "Fat Girls" on a myspace forum.

God, there were thousands of comments on why "fat chicks" suck...It was scary and disgusting how these young guys justified there hatred for fat women. This one idiot even went on to say "I'm on a mission to eliminate every fat chick from the nightclub scene".

What is this? sounds like fascism at its best, ladies. And there were even a few women who agreed with them that fat women need to be eliminated from the earth. Wtf is going on. And what's worse is that these people seem pretty deplorable as people too. But they think they are superior because they don't tip the scale.

I don't know about you but I find this type of behavior increasing and I'm downright disturbed about it.

What about you? and what can be done about this?

Mon. Oct 15, 8:50am

you can always lose weight if you choose to. You can't change your race, gender etc.

Monday, October 15, 2007, 8:56 AM

So do you think it's okay to ridicule fat people just because it can be changed?

It's flat out discrimination/prejudice that we should not tolerate. There are plenty of heavy people that really can't change their chubbiness. So what should we do? club 'em all? would that be acceptable?

Monday, October 15, 2007, 9:00 AM

It's the same old story, and an unfortunate facet of human behavior: the need to feel superior. We're more familiar with the kind that's based on religion or skin color, but insecure and unattractive men are targetting us chubbies more and more because they're resentful that the alpha females don't even acknowledge their existence.

Monday, October 15, 2007, 9:40 AM

Dangerous topic to raise. There are more than a few nasty teenagers (and I'm talking about mental age, not necessarily chronological) in this forum who like to poke fun at "the fatties" on this website. And I don't think they're boys.

Monday, October 15, 2007, 9:43 AM

There is also the phenominon of the 'internet tough guy' - you know, the martial artist/military commando/incredibly nice guy/perfect lover/etc??? It's easy to talk smack online and say stuff you would never utter out loud in the pressence of others (or even yourself sometimes). Mostly because people would take one look and laugh out lound - it's usually the pot calling the kettle black.

And us humans have an incredible capacity to hate large, faceless groups of people based soley on arbitrary criteria.

Monday, October 15, 2007, 9:58 AM

Fascism? Wow. You are taking this far too seriously.

I know it isn't exactly right that these kids have an entire discussion board about how much they hate larger people, but getting so extremely upset about it just gives them the power in the situation. Do you realize how pathetic they must be to actually spend their time discussing the "elimination of fat people?" And really, more than likely, it's a joke to them. Not an overall funny one, I will admit.

If you'd like, you can always contact MySpace administrators, I think there's a contact us type of link or maybe something about reporting content that is in poor taste. Let them know that you find this board offensive and that many other people would, too. Maybe they'll delete for you.

Monday, October 15, 2007, 10:01 AM

Not to worry. Given the types of food and (in)activity young people enjoy these days, it will catch up to them. One day they'll be big fat sloppy men with guts hanging over their belts, and maybe even have man-boobs. All in a matter of time...

Monday, October 15, 2007, 11:04 AM

pullease! deal with the fact that there are pages on myspace that offend you. move on. you can't decide that someone else is not allowed to have a myspace page dedicated to material that you find offensive. you don't own myspace and you are not required to become or remain a member of that site. i am not entertained by sex, so i don't visit myspace pages that are filled with sexual material or references. it's easy to do. live and let live and don't expect others to conform to what you believe is the right way to live anymore than others can expect you to live the way they would like you to.

Monday, October 15, 2007, 11:06 AM

11:06...Hate is hate...not very enjoyable topic but must be discussed to clear the air. Sorry if you can't understand this.

Monday, October 15, 2007, 11:35 AM

I'm right there with you 11:04!

Monday, October 15, 2007, 11:36 AM

what can't i understand? that it's necessary to write about what bugs you on myspace? "must be discussed to clear the air"??? what is changed, now? you are entitled to share whatever grievances you have, of course. and i am entitled to disagree. getting oneself in a tizzy about offensive myspace pages is silly and non-productive. the op's time would be better spent reading positive-energy filled pages/websites. do you even know how many offensive topics are covered by the different myspace members/groups???

Monday, October 15, 2007, 11:40 AM

I don't know if anyone else here ever reads Fark.com, but at least once a day they have a thread about some actress/model/porn star in which half the posts are all about how this woman is really not good looking at all.

To which the reply is always a jpeg of an overweight, unwashed, unshaven basement-dweller kind of guy sitting at the computer typing, "She is way below my standards.... "

I wouldn't get too upset at what immature idiots post in anonymous forums. Half the time it isn't even what they really think, they are just typing something to pass the time or get a rise out of someone else.

Monday, October 15, 2007, 1:04 PM

Taking it a little far to call it "discrimination" or "fascism", although I do agree it is wrong.

At the same time, however, people are often dscriminated against for unjustified reasons they cannot change - race, disability (i don't consider being heavy a disability because i consider things that are not changeable to be a disability...such as blindness or not having legs).

On the same token, some people actrually are heavy for medical reasons...medication..slow thyroids...etc.. but how masny obese people are there who are obese because they eat mcdonalds 4 times a day? as snacks? plenty.

personally, i have no pity or sympathy for those people.

Monday, October 15, 2007, 4:31 PM

You may have no sympathy for those people, but you can't usually tell the difference between the overweight person who eats McD's 6 days a week, or the overweight person who has health problems responsible for their weight.

It's so easy to judge others for not losing the wieght once we ourselves have. I mean, I admit, I cringe when i see some of the things people put into their shopping carts, but I don't know if a) they're buying it for a spouse, b) it's for a child's bday party, or if they just don't know any better. That person you see in McD's who's overweight- maybe he's been good all week and just one day wants to have a Big Mac and fries like the old days. I mean, so many people here say nothing is forbidden, just make sure you balance calories. There is virtually NO way that anyone has enough info to pass judgement of anyone eating at McD's- ESPECIALLY if you're eating there too.

With the amount of processing, additives, preservatives, hormones, anti-biotics and god-only-knows-what else in our foods these days, more people are finding that mere calorie counting isn't working for them. (Isn't Kate also having probs because of meds?)

I'm no longer overwieght, but I know it wasn't easy to get to this point, and for all I know the 300lb man I could look down on might have been 450lb last year, and really is deserving of my respect, not my contempt. The problem is size, unlike religion or sexuality is there for everyone to see.

And FYI- what do you mean we can't change our gender? That's totally possible nowadays.

Monday, October 15, 2007, 6:05 PM

4:31, so obese people with no medical justification aren't deserving of sympathy or pity.

So the woman who was raped as a teenager, or the man who was molested as a child, or the girl whose sisters physically abused her with their parents' full knowledge, all of whom now pack an extra 100 lbs because food was their only dependable comfort are worthy of ridicule rather than compassion because their weight can't be classified by your judgmental ass as "medical"? These are not random examples plucked out of thin air. You never know the backstory, and there's ALWAYS a backstory. Consider yourself fortunate for being in the dark about this and stfu.

Monday, October 15, 2007, 6:25 PM

My question is this: with obesity being such an epidemic when are the excuses going to stop? Lots of bad things happen to lots of people and not everyone handles their problems with food. This is a relatively new problem so what has changed in society that it is becoming the "norm" to be 20, 50, 100 pounds overweight?
I think there is a fine line between making excuses for weight and just finally taking control, responsibility and DOING something about it.
And congrats to everyone for being here, it's the first step!

Monday, October 15, 2007, 6:35 PM

You're right, 6:35, not everyone self-medicates with food. Plenty of others reach for prescription painkillers, alcohol, nymphomania, illegal drugs. They get our pity. People who reach for cookies, not so much. Enjoy that pedestal you put yourself on, knowing that there are people out there to laugh at you if you ever slip.

Monday, October 15, 2007, 8:36 PM

Winners are pretty, fit and wealthy. Losers are ugly, fat and poor. Most of us try not to let these viewpoints be absolutes, but it's still there at some level for most of us. In certain situations we have empathy for the losers of the world, at other times they are laughable.

Monday, October 15, 2007, 10:42 PM

4.31 poster back.

A lot of people have been through tough times. Reaching for a candy bar doesn't make you worthy of 'compassion' in my eyes. Neither do reaching for drugs or anything else that you named.

Some very obese people can't walk because of their weight - because they DID that to themselves in 99.99% of the cases. I've been through tough times too...and you know what, food IS tempting...but not the answer.

Now what about children born with muscular dystrophy who can't walk? Or with disformed legs/limbs that are beyond medical help?

Not exactly the same.

I would give up my seat on a bus for a disabled person in a heartbeat - no matter how tired or sore I was feeling, and believe me I've done so after vigorous track work outs.. But for an obese person? Nope. Nor do I appreciate people so obese they need to take up two seats.

I'm not saying I'm a pixie. But at least I keep my weight in check enough that I am not at the point where I expect others to cater to my self-disabling habit. I think that's where the resentment starts for obese people. The fact that it's now a 'disability' that we're supposed to feel sorry for.

Well, personally, I'll keep my pity for the person who didn't have a choice in the matter.

Monday, October 15, 2007, 10:56 PM

Right on 10:56pm!

Tuesday, October 16, 2007, 6:00 AM

until you walk in another's moccassins, do not judge the discomfort of another's feet.

Tuesday, October 16, 2007, 9:33 AM

What goes around, comes around.
Nasty, unsympathetic people die alone, and their darling cats eat their corpse.

Tuesday, October 16, 2007, 11:45 AM

Geez 8:36PM

Why so angry??
I wasn't putting myself on a pedestal just making an observation about the obesity epidemic. Which IS real if you haven't noticed...
I'm sorry if you are someone dealing with emotions through food, I hope you find the help you need to get it under control.
And yes, I know plenty of people who have had bad things happen to them and they don't medicate with ANYTHING, myself included. Oh, maybe I medicate with healthy diet and exercise...

Tuesday, October 16, 2007, 11:52 AM

Wow, for a site that focuses on supporting people in their attempts to adopt a healthier lifestyle, there are an awful lot of high-and-mighty types who enjoy kicking people when they're down.

Tuesday, October 16, 2007, 12:06 PM

welcome. you must be new, here. there are many snide and rude, demeaning comments made and few apologies written, but ultimately there is still a lot to be gained from the site. most of us here are supportive and defend others who are seemingly in need of a pat on the back...don't let a few awful comments deter you from returning!!

Tuesday, October 16, 2007, 12:10 PM

Why in the world would anyone need to have sympathy or pity for someone obese or overweight. They are human beings and deserve to be treated the same way as anyone else. So what they have a weight problem, don't we all have some sort of problem? Would you look at a cripple or blind person with pity? NO, most of us would admire their accomplishments not pity them. I think the underlying issue here is really about fear. People will always fear what they don't know or what they can't imagine. When I see an obese person I don't sit there and think, OMG if they'd just stop eating so much nor do I sit and judge them. I smile and say hello as I would any other human being with feelings and respect for others.

Tuesday, October 16, 2007, 12:21 PM

Well put 12:21, I agree with you.

Tuesday, October 16, 2007, 12:24 PM

I find it poor logic to say or think judgmental things about others through the lens of your personal experience. To measure anyone against yourself is never accurate, nor fair. To say to yourself, as you clearly are when you are only willing to feel sympathy for people as long as they fall into your categories of worthiness, "well I've had horrible things happen to me and I didn't go to the same place they did," is wrong. It's unfair to that person, and it lessens your humanity. You can pity the person but still not condone the behavior.

Also, there seems to be this prevailing notion that fat people all eat too much are are active too little. I'm thin and I eat whatever I want and I never exercise, EVER. My best friend, and roommate eats nothing but veggies and fruit (sometimes I wonder if she eats enough to be honest) and works out like a trooper every single day and goes weeks and weeks without losing anything. And she's always been this way. Her doctor has told her that as we learn more about genetics (which is still a fledgling field of medical science), it's clear that a lot of overweight people can attribute (as in explain, not blame, blame is a useless thing) their extra weight to their genes. And you know something? Even if it is because someone doesn't eat right and doesn't work out enough, so what? Does that make them not a human being? They're fat people, not Nazis, for crying out loud, if you don't find it attractive, well then don't find it attractive, there's absolutely no need or reason to take it beyond that to some moral place. The only way this is a moral issue is when you don't treat every human being as a human being deserves to be treated.

Sunday, August 31, 2008, 10:40 AM

FAT is a choice

Every day we are confronted with countless choices. Every time you choose to do something that DOES NOT weight managment you are choosing to be fat.

Fat is NOT attractive to most normal people.

Sunday, August 31, 2008, 10:56 AM

I don't disagree 10:40a.m., however (which probably just invalidated the first part of the sentence...) we didn't have this 'genetic' problem 25 years ago. To focus on the external and to look for 'causes' elsewhere and to diminish the idea that people are in control of their lives and their health (which is very empowering) helps no one.

Sunday, August 31, 2008, 11:14 AM

We didnt know much about DNA 25 years ago either. Science is finding a lot of things connected to genetics. Not all is. The possibility is there that some people are heavier due to over eating and / or lack of exersize as well as genetics.

Monday, September 01, 2008, 1:37 AM

Who decided to drag this thread out of the crupt and start it up again?

Monday, September 01, 2008, 1:38 AM

However, genetics haven't changed in 25 years - at least not the extent it can account for the size of people now. Eating habits and the food indunstry has change tremendously, however, as has the size of your average American...

Monday, September 01, 2008, 9:16 AM

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