Today’s post will be a short one. Most of what I want to say is so simple that it takes only a few words to say it. The rest is more than adequately explained in this article in the New York Times and the video that accompanies this article.
I have a simple point to make today, and here it is:
Body fat plays no role in the making of moral decisions. An excess of adipose tissue impairs neither reason nor critical thinking, not even in the slightest way. Creativity, innovation and artistic talent are not blunted by obesity, and body weight is no better indicator of character than is hair color.
Thick or thin, heavy or slight, people are people and deserve to be judged by the content of their character rather than a number on a scale. Prejudice and discrimination directed against the obese, and even the moderately overweight, permeates this society obsessed with body image and counterfeit values. It is wrong. It hurts people, holds them back, cripples their spirits and deprives us all of the many contributions marginalized people would otherwise make in our lives.
Human dignity is not a trivial matter, and bigotry is not funny. For people of faith it is a sin. For people of sense it is nonsense.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Thank you for posting this. Being a “plus sized” woman who has dealt with weight issues most of my life, all of what you say is true. You are judged on first glance rather than on your true character and what kind of heart you have.
Society projects that overweight people are lazy or if they’d just exercise and stop eating they’d lose weight and be “normal”. Until you walk a mile in the shoes of an overweight person you have NO clue as to how false these statements are. It’s the first thing you think about everyday and the last thing you think about when you go to bed at night. You constantly measure in your head what you’re eating, how many calories, how much fat, etc. An overweight person spends more time thinking and worrying over their health than the fittest athelete.
Try suffering through a life threatening illness that zaps your metabolism and makes losing weight even harder than it is. Try dealing with emotional issues where food becomes your only friend. Try dealing with living at povery level where it’s cheaper to buy junk food because healthy food is five times more expensive. Try any number of these and see how easy it is to lose weight and be “normal”. Good luck with that!
Recently a friend was stopped as he was about to board a plane (Southwest Airlines) and was told he would have to purchase two tickets in order to proceed. At the time he was informed of this he was sitting in an airlines wheelchair at the head of a line of other passengers who were all within earshot of the conversation. When he got back to Tennessee he was left to contact SW to report the SW rep’s behavior and get a refund on the extra ticket he was forced to purchase. The humiliating experience did not take into consideration his health or character, as if that ever should have been part of the equation. I have struggled with how to respond to this hatefulness. Just being sorry it happened is not enough. Yet I would not want to make a statement that could cause him even more humiliation or pain.