Fat shaming and making fun of fat people

Pebbles91909

My system won't let me watch the video but I have coincidentally been thinking about this lately... I honestly think that there is such a DISEASE in our culture with the HUGE corporations that market unhealthy things to eat to us, and the constant brainwashing of commercials who make us believe happy healthy people eat fast food and drink tons of soda...

My 9 year old daughter just got a little "chubby" and started getting picked on in school. I have worked her whole life to make her understand how beautiful she is and it has been undone by 3rd grade boys in a few months...

I have decided to IGNORE the "Fat" comments and focus with her on "health." We are focusing on packing fruits instead of crackers and taking a walk instead of watching TV. I am talking to her about her heart, circulation, lungs, skin and hair cells and how they need the nutrition from good food as opposed to focusing on what's fattening or "bad."



It's been a few weeks in this mission and the difference is visible. Not only has she slimmed down a little (NOT MY MAIN GOAL HERE) but she feels confident again and isn't hanging her head in shame.

I wish everyone had somebody to make them feel beautiful and help them by buying healthy food and explaining how it heals the body. I know the government can't be our "parent" but I wish something could be done in the positive direction to educate people and stop the corporations from making people believe bad food is OK...

You are a beautiful Mama and I crown you Mom of the year. Good way to teach your daughter about her self worth and health.

I 100% agree.

marciebrian

And if you assume that I have not been bullied, ever, let me assure you i have. I was bullied through middle school AND high school. I was called horrible names by several different boys. Did it permit me to slap them? NO. Did it affect me for a long time afterwards? YES. Words hurt, and verbal abuse is wrong. But somehow justifying your behavior with physical violence is 1000 times WRONG.

Well I'm going to go ahead and disagree with you there because I actually do think that physical violence, or the threat of it, is justified against bullying on occasion.

Take my friend. She has a beautiful 15yr old daughter who stopped going to school because she'd been bullied so much she had to be treated for anxiety. Some little cow in her year at school wasn't happy that a boy she fancied liked my friend's daughter so her and her equally sad little friends started a campaign against her. They started up rumours on Facebook that she slept around, they even photoshopped a few naked images and pretended they were her. They picked on her at every opportunity at school and it snowballed until even kids from other schools were attacking her on Facebook. My friend did the 'proper thing' - she went to the school and they followed their procedures.

Shall I tell you what the school's procedures consisted of? Well first there was a 'no blame' policy enacted where they got the ringleaders together in a room with the victim and said "Sarah (that's not her real name) is feeling very upset, what can we do about it?" The ringleader replied "Smack the **** out of her". The ringleader got a letter home to her parents and the 'no blame' policy ended. Next came 'Restorative Justice' and when sitting in the waiting room for that little meeting to go ahead my friend was treated to verbal abuse by the little cow's Father (who felt she was a little angel) and the little cow herself sat smirking the entire time. The meeting got nowhere. My friend then reported the harassment to the police, who very helpfully suggested she talk to the school and perhaps contact Facebook to get report abuse.....about as much use as a chocolate teapot then. Back to the school - well they decided to remedy the situation by taking the victim out of the class and putting her in a different class....nice going, let's ostracise the victim. This went on and on and on for nearly a year with this poor girl going from a bubbly teenager to a withdrawn, stressed lass who stuck to her Mum's side like glue. It ended when my friend happened to see this girl on her own one evening and she took the opportunity to push her up against a wall and tell her that if she continued destroying her daughter she wouldn't rest until the girl's every day was a living misery. THEN it stopped.

Sorry, but if school policies are ineffectual and the police won't get involved then I can't see any reason why a kid would go through something that, you yourself admit, can effect you for years when quite often a short, sharp shock is enough to both stop the bully and restore some of the victim's self-esteem.

I ridiculous comparison if that is what you were going for??? where is the equivalent behavior? are you kidding me... a stupid man makes one stupid comment and you feel it is appropriate to use physical violence against him. A mother, after a year or more of torture of her beloved child from a bully (who I believe you called a COW) finally has had enough and pushes her against the wall (don't remember hitting or kicking in your absurd post)? what is wrong with you?

Lupercalia

And if you assume that I have not been bullied, ever, let me assure you i have. I was bullied through middle school AND high school. I was called horrible names by several different boys. Did it permit me to slap them? NO. Did it affect me for a long time afterwards? YES. Words hurt, and verbal abuse is wrong. But somehow justifying your behavior with physical violence is 1000 times WRONG.

Well I'm going to go ahead and disagree with you there because I actually do think that physical violence, or the threat of it, is justified against bullying on occasion.

Take my friend. She has a beautiful 15yr old daughter who stopped going to school because she'd been bullied so much she had to be treated for anxiety. Some little cow in her year at school wasn't happy that a boy she fancied liked my friend's daughter so her and her equally sad little friends started a campaign against her. They started up rumours on Facebook that she slept around, they even photoshopped a few naked images and pretended they were her. They picked on her at every opportunity at school and it snowballed until even kids from other schools were attacking her on Facebook. My friend did the 'proper thing' - she went to the school and they followed their procedures.

Shall I tell you what the school's procedures consisted of? Well first there was a 'no blame' policy enacted where they got the ringleaders together in a room with the victim and said "Sarah (that's not her real name) is feeling very upset, what can we do about it?" The ringleader replied "Smack the **** out of her". The ringleader got a letter home to her parents and the 'no blame' policy ended. Next came 'Restorative Justice' and when sitting in the waiting room for that little meeting to go ahead my friend was treated to verbal abuse by the little cow's Father (who felt she was a little angel) and the little cow herself sat smirking the entire time. The meeting got nowhere. My friend then reported the harassment to the police, who very helpfully suggested she talk to the school and perhaps contact Facebook to get report abuse.....about as much use as a chocolate teapot then. Back to the school - well they decided to remedy the situation by taking the victim out of the class and putting her in a different class....nice going, let's ostracise the victim. This went on and on and on for nearly a year with this poor girl going from a bubbly teenager to a withdrawn, stressed lass who stuck to her Mum's side like glue. It ended when my friend happened to see this girl on her own one evening and she took the opportunity to push her up against a wall and tell her that if she continued destroying her daughter she wouldn't rest until the girl's every day was a living misery. THEN it stopped.

Sorry, but if school policies are ineffectual and the police won't get involved then I can't see any reason why a kid would go through something that, you yourself admit, can effect you for years when quite often a short, sharp shock is enough to both stop the bully and restore some of the victim's self-esteem.

I ridiculous comparison if that is what you were going for??? where is the equivalent behavior? are you kidding me... a stupid man makes one stupid comment and you feel it is appropriate to use physical violence against him. A mother, after a year or more of torture of her beloved child from a bully (who I believe you called a COW) finally has had enough and pushes her against the wall (don't remember hitting or kicking in your absurd post)? what is wrong with you?

She's either fantasizing about all this stuff, or she is truly living her life as some second rate reality tv show.

badmoose

There is a delicious irony here in that we have posters shaming and bullying one another over their responses to shaming and bullying.

MsPudding

But you know what? I'm not a thug. I'd shrug it off as the ramblings of an idiot desperately trying to justify their criminal act and walk away.

I'm not a thug and calling me an idiot doesn't exactly cover you in glory sweetheart.

I ridiculous comparison if that is what you were going for??? where is the equivalent behavior?

That wasn't a comparison, it was an example of a situation where I believe violence, or the threat of it, is justified in dealing with bullying. It was in response to a posting saying that violence is never justified when dealing with bullying. I don't know about you, but I tend to find that actually looking at what people are quoting in their response helps to get a sense of the context.

are you kidding me... a stupid man makes one stupid comment and you feel it is appropriate to use physical violence against him.

Ok, clearly some people aren't reading properly before jumping on the opportunity to demonstrate what fine, upstanding, morally robust paragons of virtue they are. I'll tell you what, I'll bullet point it:

1. Throughout my life I've dealt with such comments by slinking away, not saying a thing and then spending a good amount of time feeling terrible about myself.
2. That particular day, which was a few years ago now....not last week, not yesterday.....an idiot made a comment and with no forethought, with no premeditation I flipped out, kicked him in the danglies and whacked him round the head with a dog lead. I exploded. I wasn't thinking, I wasn't even seeing straight (tunnel vision) and when I got home I puked.
3. The guy was NOT injured - he was shocked (obviously), but he got up, threw a few choice words about what he'd do if he ever saw me again and walked away with his friend.
4. The guy still lives in our small town - in fact he's an unemployed, tracksuit wearing plonker who, when he's not breeding, seems to spend most of his time hanging around outside the pub smoking dog-eared looking roll-ups with his mates and delighting passers-by with his towering wit and intelligence.
5. Although what I did was totally unplanned and obviously not a smart thing to do given he's bigger than me, younger than me and fitter than me, I have no regrets because that one act gave me the confidence to not worry what people think of me. NOW when I get a comment (which is rare), I have enough barbs in my verbal armoury to cut deep and make that person think again about picking on people for no good reason.

...and lastly...

6. I really don't care if my actions get a few random people on MFP in a froth of moral outrage....it's not as though you have any significance to me or my life. The outrage makes me smile frankly, because it's not my blood pressure going up whilst frantically hammering away at the keyboard in an all-fire rush to tell me what a 'thug' I am :laugh:

FlaxMilk

Your bullet points don't change anything you've already said. People can read what you are saying just fine. You don't have any regrets about assaulting someone. Your puking may be relevant if you felt bad about it later, but you've told us a few times now that you don't. The guy continuing to be an idiot is also irrelevant. You saying that you don't regret it because it made you stronger basically says, "Well, I got mine."

I haven't expended any of my frothy moral outrage on you, no worries. I am saving it up for something else. I do think you are wrong.

FlaxMilk

6. I really don't care if my actions get a few random people on MFP in a froth of moral outrage....it's not as though you have any significance to me or my life. The outrage makes me smile frankly, because it's not my blood pressure going up whilst frantically hammering away at the keyboard in an all-fire rush to tell me what a 'thug' I am :laugh:

If you weren't bullet pointing things you've already said, I may believe this. If you think the responses to your post indicate blood pressure raising, all fire rushes, and frantic hammering away at the keyboard, you haven't been reading enough topics. The responses to your posts have been pretty lukewarm. If you want to upset people, you should tell us about how you eat at 1199 calories and don't believe in starvation mode.

mrdexter1

Lets get real folks...

Anyone his weight and staying there has to be dramatically overeating on a daily basis and if he doesnt like the way society collectively treats him the simple answer is to package and send his daily surplus to a country where kids are lucky to get food on a daily basis...

No sympathy what so ever.

123tryingtobefree

I cried...

missjojo31

*edited* forget it....

Shetchncn1

I choose to workout early in the morning (I get up 4:00 am) because I used to go for walks after work when it was cooler. Everyday the same man in the same truck would drive by me and yell very unflattering things about me. Did I cry? Yes, but not where or when he could see me. Did I stop walking, no. Just readjusted my schedule to save myself the embarrasment. Did I change my mindset? Yes. I actually feel bad for this man that his life is so miserable that he has to try to tear me down to make himself feel better. I'm doing this for my health, for me and for the people who love me. Any other opinion doesn't matter.

WTG kaihunter42!

OddballExtreme

As someone who used to be big (192 lbs. in 2010, 132 now), the only people who really shamed me about being fat was my family. Type 2 Diabetes changed everything for me last year, and I'm no longer fat. When I look at someone, though, who is bigger, I don't say anything because seriously, it's not my place to do so. On top of that, I'm more concerned about that person's health rather than how he/she looks. My thinking is as follows:

1. Will being fat affect their overall health in the long run?
2. Will a serious diagnosis make them change their habits to get healthy?
3. Do they care about themselves?

When I lost the weight, my co-workers wanted to know the secret, so I gave it to them. Watch what and how much I eat, drink a lot of water, and exercise. I won't force someone into doing it, though. That person has to be the one to take that important first step.

Finally, if I see someone big doing his best to lose the weight, I'll just calmly say, "I've been there, buddy. You can do it if you really want it."

ihateroses

He said a lot about hating his body and not ONE THING about how he will change. Fat shaming is wrong, but honestly he talked about how much other people make fun of him and "hate" him.....while he himself tells the world how much he hates his body.

jmarie1967

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3maqt7KRd14

here is a response from a young man that protrays how I feel about the video initially posted. I have been obese all of my life, and there are times I am sure there have been comments made or stares....I let it bother me more when I was a teenager, and I am aware of it and even a little self conscious now. I try hard to dress well and present myself well and people generally see me as a compassionate, caring, hardworking person who happens to be obese. I do not eat more because of what other people do or say, I eat because I like food, I have gotten to this weight by making my OWN personal poor choices with food and lack of exercise. I am now choosing to DO something about that, to TAKE ACTION. Everyone who is obese doesn't come to this decision to change until they are ready, shaming them will never work, it only helps to further hurt someone with already poor self image.

I frankly think bullies are cowardly people who were raised poorly or never learned good manners or have poor self esteem themselves and feel the need to attack others to help themselves feel better or look good. In reality, the majority of humanity looks down on bullies, and anyone who thinks it's okay to judge/shame/ridicule others, doesn't have a very Christian heart.

Don't let what other say or do define you, if you are miserable and hate your body enough to post a video on YOu Tube, then I would think it's time to take action and make positive changes in your life.

jmarie1967

He said a lot about hating his body and not ONE THING about how he will change. Fat shaming is wrong, but honestly he talked about how much other people make fun of him and "hate" him.....while he himself tells the world how much he hates his body.

Exactly!

ihateroses

Well I'm obese and frankly I used to hide away, slink around in the shadows and generally live my life like a bloody great apology for existing. If you're obese you absolutely will have had comments shouted at you at some point. In my case, I'm pretty active for an obese person, I've always had dogs and I've always walked a lot. I use to walk with my eyes glued to the floor hoping nobody would notice my passing...particularly if I was passing youngish blokes who do seem to be the ones who like to comment on a female's relative attractiveness to them.

Then one day I was out with my Mastiff, and as I was walking towards 2 guys who looked to be in their mid-20s, I heard one say to the other "Look at the size of that dog, it's enormous!" and the other looked at me and snickered "Which one do you mean?" Up to that point in life I would have slunk away, eyes to the ground and felt a bit teary. That day I had a total 'Falling Down' moment, and despite being a 5ft4" middle aged woman, I felled the guy with a full force kick to the crotch (yay for Brashers' walking boots...they're heavy beasts) and a smash round the head with a plastic retractable dog lead for good measure.

Since the day the worm turned, I rarely get a comment. I've lost a bit of weight since then, but that's not the reason because I'm still obese. The reason is that I walk with my head-up and instead of looking like prey, I'm guessing I'm giving off predator vibes because I feel 100% confident that if anyone thinks they can try to ridicule me they're not coming out of the situation unscathed.

So yup....though it's not politically correct, I do feel that the first step to losing weight is to feel good about yourself as you are and the first step to doing that is to stop taking shyte from idiots who feel that they have to validate their place in this world by making others feel insignificant and unworthy.

I'm sorry, were you expecting praise for acting like a child and assaulting someone? If this situation was reversed (a guy assaulting a woman) you'd be in jail right now...luckily for YOU the guy didn't call the cops.

You should be ashamed.

jmarie1967

I've seen other videos done by this guy. All he does is complain. It's hard to take him seriously when you've seen him yell and scream at Blizzard for making their video game too hard. It's all about taking responsibility for yourself. Something he doesn't do. A few weeks ago, I weighed 320 lbs. I've been heavier. I don't leave my home much, but I have managed to take off 20 lbs in that time. Because I finally took responsibility. I finally felt the need to change. All I did was change my diet and start light exercise routines in my own living room. No, shaming doesn't help. At all. What made me do it? I was inspired by 2 beautiful women who were changing their own lives. They told me I was beautiful, not that I was fat, or unhealthy or any such thing. That I was beautiful. So I decided to find the beauty that they see. You want to see changes in someone? Don't degrade them, uplift them! It works much better than hurting their feelings.

So true! Way to go on your loss! Keep up the great work, I don't know you, but you ARE beautiful! You can do this! Take back your life! I am doing the same and I love the support of others on MFP, it truly helps!

CrazyTrackLady

But you know what? I'm not a thug. I'd shrug it off as the ramblings of an idiot desperately trying to justify their criminal act and walk away.

I'm not a thug and calling me an idiot doesn't exactly cover you in glory sweetheart.

I ridiculous comparison if that is what you were going for??? where is the equivalent behavior?

That wasn't a comparison, it was an example of a situation where I believe violence, or the threat of it, is justified in dealing with bullying. It was in response to a posting saying that violence is never justified when dealing with bullying. I don't know about you, but I tend to find that actually looking at what people are quoting in their response helps to get a sense of the context.

are you kidding me... a stupid man makes one stupid comment and you feel it is appropriate to use physical violence against him.

Ok, clearly some people aren't reading properly before jumping on the opportunity to demonstrate what fine, upstanding, morally robust paragons of virtue they are. I'll tell you what, I'll bullet point it:

1. Throughout my life I've dealt with such comments by slinking away, not saying a thing and then spending a good amount of time feeling terrible about myself.
2. That particular day, which was a few years ago now....not last week, not yesterday.....an idiot made a comment and with no forethought, with no premeditation I flipped out, kicked him in the danglies and whacked him round the head with a dog lead. I exploded. I wasn't thinking, I wasn't even seeing straight (tunnel vision) and when I got home I puked.
3. The guy was NOT injured - he was shocked (obviously), but he got up, threw a few choice words about what he'd do if he ever saw me again and walked away with his friend.
4. The guy still lives in our small town - in fact he's an unemployed, tracksuit wearing plonker who, when he's not breeding, seems to spend most of his time hanging around outside the pub smoking dog-eared looking roll-ups with his mates and delighting passers-by with his towering wit and intelligence.
5. Although what I did was totally unplanned and obviously not a smart thing to do given he's bigger than me, younger than me and fitter than me, I have no regrets because that one act gave me the confidence to not worry what people think of me. NOW when I get a comment (which is rare), I have enough barbs in my verbal armoury to cut deep and make that person think again about picking on people for no good reason.

...and lastly...

6. I really don't care if my actions get a few random people on MFP in a froth of moral outrage....it's not as though you have any significance to me or my life. The outrage makes me smile frankly, because it's not my blood pressure going up whilst frantically hammering away at the keyboard in an all-fire rush to tell me what a 'thug' I am :laugh:

Me thinks the lady doth protest too much.

In other words, you still seem pretty bitter and angry, and now, because the majority of us haven't jumped to your defense and praised you for your actions, now you're getting angry at us. What exactly would you like us to do or say to you at this point?

Yeah, I'm not so worried what you think of my opinion, either. I'm just not the one frothing and snarling at others while trying to explain how I got away with a crime.

And you still haven't answered the question: if the tables were turned and that man attacked you physically, would you be cheering him on for what HE did to a woman?

MyChocolateDiet

This thread is a mess. "Clean up aisle nine!"

ObtainingBalance

I'm just angry that people make fun of each other based on weight, race, religion, age etc. Not based on their personality. It makes me sad and angry.

Just so I understand...

...when I meet someone with a crappy personality, then it's okay to make fun of them...

...right?

That's how I read it.

Lol.

ObtainingBalance

Were you charged with assault & battery for your physical response to verbal abuse?

Nope and frankly the consequences of my actions were the last thing on my mind because here's the thing.....it's a 'camel's back' situation. A person can take nasty comments week in and week out for a long time (in my case it stretched back to school where I was bullied badly for my weight), but everyone has a breaking point and when they reach it they're either going to implode or explode. I exploded and at the time I absolutely, 100% wanted to hurt him as badly as I'd been hurt down the years. I literally had tunnel vision. I had so much adrenaline pumping through me I puked when I got home!

So that's my words of advice to people who do fat shame....have a care because people do have breaking points and you don't know if you're going to be the straw that breaks that fat camel's back.

Of course the other thing is that the guy would never have reported me - how would that conversion have gone? "Hi officer, I want to report being beaten up. Can I describe the attacker? Yes, she was short, fat and middle-aged" Would he wait around for the sound of a police officer snickering to stop?

Personally, I think what you did -- whether he deserved it or not - was physical assault, and the guy should have complained to the police. And whether or not the police would "snicker" at the guy, they still should have charged you with assault and battery. It doesn't matter if you're obese or not, what you did was wrong. Nobody has the right to put their hands, or their feet, on another person's body part in an act of violence.

It sounds like you're still harboring some serious anger regarding how you've been treated. I think your energy and efforts would be better put to use in getting rid of some of that, instead of bragging about how you turned a verbal assault (which is abusive mentally but not physically) into a physical one.

And, if you're a mom, I do hope you haven't shared this story with your kids, who would read that as: "Mom says it's okay to kick a man in a very sensitive area if he verbally assaults me." No, the words HE said did not justify the reaction you gave.

ETA: I have a black belt degree in Tae Kwon Do. While I thankfully have never had to use it, I do like to think that I can really hurt someone if they deserved it. What self defense training taught me is this: verbal abuse does not justify physical abuse. Only when the verbal abuse turns physical does it deserve to be returned in kind. AND, kicking a man in the crotch is the best way to get him even angrier and potentially more violent towards you. If you REALLY want to damage someone, go for the eyes, the throat, the shins and the kneecaps. THOSE are the "sweet spots".

Totally. It's wrong to assault someone like that, even if they teased you.

southerndream24

Were you charged with assault & battery for your physical response to verbal abuse?

Nope and frankly the consequences of my actions were the last thing on my mind because here's the thing.....it's a 'camel's back' situation. A person can take nasty comments week in and week out for a long time (in my case it stretched back to school where I was bullied badly for my weight), but everyone has a breaking point and when they reach it they're either going to implode or explode. I exploded and at the time I absolutely, 100% wanted to hurt him as badly as I'd been hurt down the years. I literally had tunnel vision. I had so much adrenaline pumping through me I puked when I got home!

So that's my words of advice to people who do fat shame....have a care because people do have breaking points and you don't know if you're going to be the straw that breaks that fat camel's back.

Of course the other thing is that the guy would never have reported me - how would that conversion have gone? "Hi officer, I want to report being beaten up. Can I describe the attacker? Yes, she was short, fat and middle-aged" Would he wait around for the sound of a police officer snickering to stop?

Personally, I think what you did -- whether he deserved it or not - was physical assault, and the guy should have complained to the police. And whether or not the police would "snicker" at the guy, they still should have charged you with assault and battery. It doesn't matter if you're obese or not, what you did was wrong. Nobody has the right to put their hands, or their feet, on another person's body part in an act of violence.

It sounds like you're still harboring some serious anger regarding how you've been treated. I think your energy and efforts would be better put to use in getting rid of some of that, instead of bragging about how you turned a verbal assault (which is abusive mentally but not physically) into a physical one.

And, if you're a mom, I do hope you haven't shared this story with your kids, who would read that as: "Mom says it's okay to kick a man in a very sensitive area if he verbally assaults me." No, the words HE said did not justify the reaction you gave.

ETA: I have a black belt degree in Tae Kwon Do. While I thankfully have never had to use it, I do like to think that I can really hurt someone if they deserved it. What self defense training taught me is this: verbal abuse does not justify physical abuse. Only when the verbal abuse turns physical does it deserve to be returned in kind. AND, kicking a man in the crotch is the best way to get him even angrier and potentially more violent towards you. If you REALLY want to damage someone, go for the eyes, the throat, the shins and the kneecaps. THOSE are the "sweet spots".

Totally. It's wrong to assault someone like that, even if they teased you.

I agree with the above comments. Nasty comments never ever justify violence. People are going to talk about you until the day you die and there's nothing you can do about it. Whether it's you're too fat, too skinny, too tall, too short, too happy, too smiley, too gorgeous, too ugly. The list goes on and on. It's not what they call you but what YOU answer to. I have never been in an obese state so I can't imagine what you have gone through. I have, however, been mean-girled by a nasty group my freshman year in college. They didn't like how cool I was with the guys they wanted to date and that those guys liked me (this is what I was told by my guy friends) so they spread awful rumors about me being a slut. It hurt and I'd never experienced such nastiness in my life. I didn't lash out, I didn't physically assault anyone. I just dug deeper into my studies and found a new group of positive people to surround myself with and I made myself happy. I'm now more successful than those girls could ever hope to be. That's how I got even.

I've encountered nasty mean girls since, but I let their words and vicious gossip roll off me and go on living my happy life. It's too short to let people who don't matter bother me. Their words have no power on me whatsoever. By putting your hands on someone else you gave them the power to absolutely ruin your life and you're lucky they didn't press charges. Also, I find the fact that you're proud of yourself for assaulting someone disgusting.

MSeel1984

I honestly think that there is such a DISEASE in our culture with the HUGE corporations that market unhealthy things to eat to us, and the constant brainwashing of commercials who make us believe happy healthy people eat fast food and drink tons of soda...

But nobody makes us consume these things...

Don't get me wrong, the food is priced cheaply so lower income populations are more prone to consume it which puts them at an automatic disadvantage to those that can more easily acquire fresh fruit and vegetables...however, food stamps also cover produce and there are ways to buy cheap produce (farm stands, etc), but many people just have a taste for unhealthy food.

Evil corporations or not, nobody makes us consume foods that are bad for us. I see McDonald's ads all the time...the last time I ate at one was over two years ago...and I'd say I consume it less often than every three years...It's a matter of making a choice over one thing versus something else.

That being said, there are people with poor self esteem or other problems that they self-medicate with food. All of us have our own issues, whether it's choosing to work out a whole bunch because we're afraid of getting fat, eating that pack of oreos because we are overweight or finding we don't know how to have a healthy relationship with food because we're afraid of both ends of the spectrum...

I don't think fat-shaming is right...I don't think that condoning behaviors that are unhealthy is right either.

All we can do is look at our choices and move forward, making the choice to be healthy isn't always easy...but if you can't accept that there is a problem that needs to be fixed, nothing will change.

Cherry_T

I think it`s all in the eye of the beholder. You could use it as fuel to lose weight or let it destroy you. Your call. They aren`t gonna change their ways, afterall.