There are plenty of homophobia, racism, sexism and other 'isms' to go around (I always wonder why homophobia isn’t called homism or something instead, since these people are obviously full of hate rather than fear, although I suppose that’s where the hate stems from…), but if you’re expressing any of these things you’re likely going to get called out on it by somebody. They are slowly, slowly dissipating in this country, which I’m grateful for yet very impatient with, since this is two thousand bloody twelve and progress seems to take centuries.
But if you express hate for people who are fat, by George, you’re in good company. It seems like being fat is the one thing that everyone can agree is BAD in America—not using (or letting teens use) cancer-causing tanning beds, not smoking, not drinking, but simply being fat—and it’s the one thing people are banding together to hate in droves. I can be a feminist, an LGBT marriage supporter, a progressive activist for the environment and health care—but people from all of these groups and more will wrinkle their noses at me and ask me if I’ve thought about getting my stomach stapled.
Believe me, I have. Every fat person has, so why ask? Do you think we really don’t know we’re fat?
Today I saw a truck with a couple of fat-hating stickers on its windows. These were pretty huge stickers; one read something about how it’s hard to kidnap fat people, which I didn’t fully understand. Is this person confessing to being a kidnapper via his truck? The second one was one I’d heard about before, which read something along the lines of raising your truck higher because “fat chicks can’t jump.”
Well, for starters, we sure can jump. I’m a mom. I’m an activist. I work and I organize and I work out and I’m busy all day, every day. I could probably jump higher than you. But what I want to know is what makes you think you’re such a catch in the first place that a fat chick would even want to jump in your truck—or any “chick,” for that matter, seeing as most women refer to be called something a bit more respectful?
My advice to you is to lost the stickers and grow some damn respect. Until then, good luck with the whole getting females in your truck thing, fat or otherwise.