News Anchor Stands up to Weight Bullying

Unfortunately, unhealthy choices manifest as physical appearance. Including her double-chin, thick waist, etc.

She may be a successful working mother of three - but she should focus on being there for her kids for as long as possible by improving her lifestyle. Hell - I bug my mom to exercise all the time, and I bug the rest of my family who eats fried food 90% of the time when it would be just as easy to grill.

I'm not suggesting she starve herself, and I'm not suggesting she go down to a size 0. But if she's obese according to her BMI, (as she says in the video) she is at greater risk for a majority of health problems which are preventable. She doesn't have to starve herself, but dropping the pint of Ben & Jerrys and eating a salad instead of a bucket of KFC for her lunch might do wonders toward improving her overall state of affairs.

I guess the overall point is that her appearance is her choice in a lot of ways - but her health is key and if she still looked the same after getting into a normal weight range I'd say more power to her. But if she's going to be a public figure and whine that pointing out her obesity is akin to pointing out the color of her skin or sexual orientation she's going off the wall worse than the guy who emailed her.

As for your point here: "Does it look like that tactic is working? "

Counterpoint: Look at what site you are on after all of that treatment in your youth.

Unfortunately, unhealthy choices manifest as physical appearance. Including her double-chin, thick waist, etc.

Unhealthy choices can manifest themselves in physical appearance. However, many unhealthy choices don't manifest themselves physically or they manifest themselves as society's desired traits -- i.e. many people treat their bodies terribly and are thin. Many people are thin because of the terrible way they treat their bodies. Look at all the thin people who post on here about their starvation tactics, fad diets, or diet drugs. People will do anything to be thin, whether it's healthy or not.

She may be a successful working mother of three - but she should focus on being there for her kids for as long as possible by improving her lifestyle. Hell - I bug my mom to exercise all the time, and I bug the rest of my family who eats fried food 90% of the time when it would be just as easy to grill.

How is it that you know so much about her lifestyle? You are making a lot of assumptions based on ONE piece of information. There is a difference between suggesting lifestyle changes to someone who's lifestyle you know something about and making judgments about a complete stranger about whom you know nothing.

I'm not suggesting she starve herself, and I'm not suggesting she go down to a size 0. But if she's obese according to her BMI, (as she says in the video) she is at greater risk for a majority of health problems which are preventable. She doesn't have to starve herself, but dropping the pint of Ben & Jerrys and eating a salad instead of a bucket of KFC for her lunch might do wonders toward improving her overall state of affairs.

Did you see her eating a bucket of KFC for lunch? Did you see here eating a pint of Ben and Jerry's? Do you know the last time she ate a salad? Again, how do you know this? I am obese by BMI standards and I haven't eaten fast food in years. Nor do I like ice cream. I also exercise regularly and walk everywhere. But you would look at me and judge me in the same, false, way that you are judging this woman.

I guess the overall point is that her appearance is her choice in a lot of ways - but her health is key and if she still looked the same after getting into a normal weight range I'd say more power to her. But if she's going to be a public figure and whine that pointing out her obesity is akin to pointing out the color of her skin or sexual orientation she's going off the wall worse than the guy who emailed her.

The whole "I am concerned for your health" is the biggest BS I've ever heard. I would prefer it if people would stick with "You are fat and I find that unattractive and therefore I am going to harass you about it" than have it covered in this veneer of "concern." Do you not notice how many young, thin, girls post on here asking about how they can starve themselves to be "healthy", stating that they are eating 800 calories a day because they need to be "healthy". Healthy is a word that has almost lost all meaning in the weight context. It has become a euphemism for thin just as unhealthy has become a euphemism for fat. Is this guy going to write to the thin anchors at that station to ask about their daily habits? Or is he just going to assume that anyone who is thin arrived that way by healthy habits?

As for your point here: "Does it look like that tactic is working? "

Counterpoint: Look at what site you are on after all of that treatment in your youth.

Wow. You completely missed my point with that. I am not on this site because judgmental jerks shamed me into wanting to lose weight. Quite the opposite. It is because I feel good about myself *despite* hateful ignorant jerks who think I eat a bucket of KFC every day that I am here. I look back at pictures of myself in high school and see a beautiful young girl who thought she was disgusting and worthless because she was a few pounds overweight and I wish I could go back and tell her different. Or that she had had a role model like that t.v. anchor -- someone to show her that she didn't have to be brought down by the ignorant bullies of the world, whether their hatred is manifest as straight up attacks or as "concern" for her "health."

The person who wrote the email seemed respectful and concerned. If they had been talking about smoking the point would have been the same.

It isn't an "attack" or "bullying" to show concern for someone. He didn't say "Hey fatass!" or anything like that. He used very clinical terms even used by the FDA. She is right though - she's got very thick skin - but not metaphorically.

I look in the mirror when I'm lifting weights and call myself a fatass if I think about giving up before finishing my planned sets.

A large majority of my region of the country is obese. I wish more people would point it out.

We are overly concerned with image - and not people. That is bullying.

Woo! Thread #6 of the same topic!

Well said, Dr. Liu, I applaude you!

I'm a former TV news anchor myself, and I actually took the time to write a comment and left it on the FB page for WKBT-TV/Jennifer Livingston (see a copy of my comment below).

Guess what? My comment was deleted within less than an hour of me posting it there. What does that tell us? Ms. Livingston (and her husband, Mike Thompson - who was the first to illegally post the private email online, without the sender's consent!) should both be fired from their respective jobs, because their behaviour violates everything you hold dear as an ethical journalist. Both of them are a disgrace to our profession!
And Jennifer L. also seems to enjoy her little private vendetta against her alleged "bully" - when by definition the only bullies are she and her husband! And WKBT-TV, her employer, letting her run with this bogus bully-spin just to get ratings....

MY COMMENT (as I posted it):

Having been a TV news anchor myself, I can certainly attest to this: if you are working in the public eye you WILL get critique (positive as well as negative) for how you look, or behave et cetera. And pretty much nothing is off limits for some people (unfortunately). And if that bothers you, please QUIT YOUR JOB (and work in an back office where you are not running ANY chances of being exposed to this). Fact of life, and my own experience. BTW, let me quote Nietzsche: "What doesn't kill us, makes us stronger!"
That being said, here are my 2 cents:
+ Mr. Krause's (private) email was condescending, unsolicited and not "nice", but true and NOT bullying in any way.+ Mrs. Livingston's response (made possible by her employer, WKBT-TV) WAS bullying because she took a privately sent email and PUBLICLY exposed the sender's name (without his consent, I would assume) - which is literally one of the most deadly sins a(n actual) journalist can commit (and yes, that means that she is IMO not a journalist). To be frank, and without knowing anything about Mrs. L.'s career background, I highly doubt she learned journalism from the ground up anyway - seeing how dilettantish she handled this whole situation.+ In my humble opinion she blew this whole incident totally out of proportion, and (with the help of her husband and her employer, WBKT-TV) tried to turn this into a "news" story ("dear viewers, bullying week is coming up": my *kitten* - talking about "giving it a spin")!!! Bad journalism, and self-righteousness at its best, Mrs. Livingston. Bravo! + If your ego gets hurt because a viewer sends you an disapproving email lecture, you are WRONG for this job. As simple as that!+ Fact is: Mrs. L. is fat (or highly obese - whatever word you prefer). But (sorry to have to point this out) if you are promoting drinking beer/Oktoberfest and similar life style choices on your PUBLIC social media page, one might just come to think you did "invite" viewers like Mr. Krause to call you (in a PRIVATE email) out on your weight... - or not?!
If I would have been in Mrs. L.'s situation, here is how I would have handled the situation: I would have picked up the phone, called the sender of this email (after having my assistant research his phone #) - and invited him to come into the TV station to do an interview with me, discussing his email and the underlying issue (obesity, and being a role for children and others). Heck, I even would have put in a request to have Michelle Obama and Rosie O'Donnell JOIN us for the segment!
Done right, this would have shown you are not only the bigger person (and human, honest, as well as self-confident!)... but it also would have actually been a great opportunity to educate viewers of any age about the challenges and rewards in battling obesity. Plus, you Mrs. Livingston, would have come out of this smelling like roses all around.
Right now, as it is, your reaction to Mr. Krause's email only shows that his critique most of all put a big dent in your ego (understandably so)... but does that mean you have to publicly take a sledgehammer to crack a nut? Absolutely not. Very disgraceful, and not worthy of your (very public) job and all that it entails.
PS. ...and just in case I misspelled or incorrectly used any expressions/quotes et cetera: English is unfortunately not my first language. But I appreciate any and all critique to help me improve it (and I simply don't care if your comment is condescending or not)! Promise....