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About a week ago I wrote a post titled: Fat shaming in 2019. Really? The post did okay. Some understood where I was coming from and then you had others who believed my opinion was a sign of entitlement. There are many things I would like to say in this post, but I fear that I won’t be able to say exactly what’s on my mind and get everything out as need be.
The problem with people these days; they believe everything is up for debate. True, you may have an opinion but that doesn’t mean mine is any less valid. There are people everyday who are ridiculed and criticized for the way they look, think, eat, wear; you name it, someone is always going to have something to say about something. So in many cases, your damned if you do and damned if you don’t.
When I wrote that post, it was to shed light on the way people look at someone who is obese, fat a.k.a a lard ass; as I’ve seen put a time or two. I know people may think of fat people as lazy, unmotivated, and or not living life to the best of their ability. That’s one way of seeing it. But if you really want to get to know or understand the mind of someone who is obese get to know them as a person first, before you start passing judgement. Everything isn’t as black and white as it may seem.
What kills me is people can more readily except someone who has an addiction; such as drugs or alcohol before they could except someone who has an addiction to food. 9 times out of 10 the person with the drug addiction will be met with more sympathy than someone who eats away their problems. What makes this even worse is when you have others who believe because they’re dietary preferences don’t involve animal based products that their reason for calling you out is justified. Incase some of you did not know; there are plenty of fat vegans out here. I’m sure when you think of a vegan, you think of someone who is thin, bubbly and pleasing to the eye.
News Flash: That’s not always the case.
What people fail to realize, is those who are over weight and who have been fat all their life, know nothing about how it feels to be thin. Although, that may be something the want desperately; they have no idea how to get it and maintain it. What many fat people want, is to be excepted for who they are. Not to be changed because they are not visually appealing… to you!
People don’t think about this, but many times people who are fighting a food addiction are dealing with more than being fat. Remember, there was a reason for them to turn to that cheeseburger or to that birthday cake ice cream in the first place. I’m sure everyone deals with something. For some, they believe being fat is a result of being lazy. When the truth for some of us is, not that we’re lazy. It’s that we have gone through things such as rape, domestic violence, mental and emotional abuse, molestation and the list on. Often some of us choose to be a little bigger because we don’t won’t to be looked at; for fear of being taken advantage of.
As we know, everyone is, has, or will be criticized for something in this lifetime. I’m not going to say or even act like being fat is the worst thing to be criticized about. But, everyone deserves a level of respect. I don’t care if you’re 90lbs or 1100lbs, you deserve to be respected and not chastised or degraded because of your physical appearance. And that’s what I see happening everyday, especially with little girls. Little girls grow up believing they have to look a certain way because that’s what society teaches them. Some of them weren’t taught to value themselves, regardless of their looks. So when you have a beautiful little girl and her foundation was screwed up from jump; many times she grows up to be something she no longer recognizes. That’s do too not developing a strong sense of self-worth, as she was growing up. So I ask you:
Are you more concerned with a person’s soul and sanity or does the physical matter more?
In the end if you’re happy and have a strong sense of self; those problems will work themselves out.
Some may look at this post as a cry to be excepted. But in reality all I’m asking is to be heard.
Shads Short Stories 