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Julie Leon

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Why is it so acceptable to pick on fat people? What's behind the media's attack on fat?

The media seems to be obsessed with fat. Fat people are pictured as having less value in our society. They are ridiculed and discriminated against. The worse part of it is that society is beginning to view anyone who doesn't fit the classic body mold, as fat. News channels will run stories on the evils of being a bully. Then they run 2 more stories about how fat people are draining society. Who's the real bully?

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    James Zhang 30+

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    Jul 28 2012: People are judgmental of others. I believe social media has amplified that aspect of judgmental-ness even more. But the people who are fat need to realize that, "you know what, I am fat, but so what? That doesn't change what kind of person I am, and it shouldn't hurt my self-esteem." And as for the other people who make fun of people who are fat, they need to realize that just because someone else is fat, doesn't make that person any worse than themselves. Both parties are at fault, but if one of the parties can change their act, then so can the other party.

    As for the news and media in general, they're just a reflection of the mass people themselves. Sure, they make fun of people and all, but that's only because that's what enough people want to see. If no one wants to watch the news for their judgmental-ness of fat people or celebrities, then the news will just die out naturally.
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      David Hamilton 50+

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      Jul 29 2012: I completely disagree James... If you are fat, it should hurt your self esteem, and it does, whether you like it or not. Everyone would like to be attractive for their lover, and themselves and the only thing stopping it, is their own laziness.

      My parents are both overweight. I grew up the fat kid who got picked on, and my parents told me it was just how I was built, and my genetics... In my junior year of high school, I grew six inches, and was still fat. I was "genetically predestined" to be short and fat... I got my first college degree, at 280 lbs... at 6'2".

      I realized as I got older, that "genetics", and "diseases" are nonsense. I now weigh 175 lbs, and I actually still think I need to work out a bit more. In the words of Neille deGrasse Tyson "A physics dieting book would be one sentence long... Burn more calories than you consume"

      It's not rocket surgery. The world produces enough calories of food, for every human being to survive... Instead, some people starve, and some are fat. If you're fat... Work on it, it's a problem.

      • Steve C

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        Jul 29 2012: When carried to its logical extent, Mr. Tyson's "Burn more calories than you consume" leads only to death. No system in the universe can give up more energy than it takes in, & continue to exist; I'm surprised he wouldn't know this.
        And how would you really know if you're burning more calories than you're taking in - because of some flyer on the wall that has some official numbers in a column?? Does a Twinkie have the same kind of calories a carrot does? (Does a Twinkie contain more nutrition than body-destroying chemicals?)

        I think it's Born to Run author Christopher McDougall who talks about the body's two modes of burning/saving fat, (burn fat & run quick / or save fat & survive famine). Add to that our modern time-saving appliances, motorized transportation, addictive additives, & comfy chairs, and there's a recipe for "fat & lazy." It seems the only "antidote" for this is an aire of shame & disrespect for being fat.

        Sure it's nice to have a healthy, natural body weight. But it's also nice to live in a mentally-healthy, balanced society; which brings us also to the lazines of thought & morality. Someone once said that accepting popular opinions takes no real thought at all. If you ain't willing to look deeper than someone's fat or skinny, then you're never gonna know them well-enough to be any decent lov-er - you're just gonna be scratching your own itch.
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          David Hamilton 50+

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          Jul 29 2012: I'm sorry, myself and Mr. Tyson seem to be under the assumption that a logical human bieng would stop taking the advice of a diet book once it ceased to be fat. Personally I'd move on to a nutrition or sports fitness book...

          If you're 30+ lbs overweight however... You were 20 lbs overweight, and you knew what you were eating. You chose to go from twenty pounds overweight to thirty... It didn't just sneak up on you.

          People know what they're eating. They know how they're getting fat, and it's not disease, it's choosing the television over exercise. It's almost impossible to stay fat if you get 20 minutes of exercise a day, and don't intentionally over eat.

          I lost a hundred pounds by simply choosing not to be fat and lazy for the rest of my life. I choose not to plop my fat ass on top of my lover every night and expect her to "deal with it".

          If you're not willing to stay healthy, you probably don't deserve to be in a relationship... It's almost the least you could do.
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        James Zhang 30+

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        Jul 29 2012: Well I've heard suicide cases where they got bullied so hard in school because they are fat. While you may not have taken such a drastic measure like suicide, that doesn't mean that other people will. Some people when they react to the bullying or picking, they just keep eating as an act of their own grief. Some people are sorry-eaters, I guess you can say. Other people may be followers and a little more pragmatic. They may realize that their being fat causes a lot of problems in their lives, so it must be fixed for me to improve.

        So sure there's a lot of reasons for people to want them to not be fat, but bottom line is, people shouldn't forget what kind of person the fat person is. Fat doesn't make someone a bad person. I've known some of the best people in my life who are fat, and I've known some real douches in my life who are also fat. But I would never contribute their characters to fat, cuz everyone is more than just fat.

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