Why Is This Type of Discrimination Acceptable?
Go ahead. Laugh.
It’s funny. We’ve all been stuck on airplanes and seen things like this.
But it’s also sad — and very, very wrong.
All too often, fat people serve as our punchlines. It remains open season on them year-round. Everyone from Rosanne Barr to Gov. Chris Christie, to the fat kid in your fourth-grade math class has been the defenseless target of wisecracks. It’s happened all of our lives, and it still goes on.
Why in the world do we do this? Let me put it another way. Why do we do this to people we care about — including those who aren’t even famous — who simply happen to carry a bit more weight than average? What gives us a license to openly ridicule them? What makes this type of behavior acceptable?
No decent human being would dare to make fun of someone based on their skin color. Or, because they have a physical deformity. Or, due to other factors largely beyond their control. But it’s perfectly acceptable in our society to laugh at fat people and make their lives as uncomfortable as possible. Can someone explain why this is so?
If this issue is hurtful to some men, then it’s doubly so for women. Being an overweight woman can be especially cruel based on our double-standards of beauty and acceptance. Indeed, there’s an even more disturbing phenomenon going on now, which stigmatizes women who gain weight following pregnancy. What kind of sick society places all the physical burden of childbirth on women, then openly ridicules those who struggle to shed extra weight afterward? This isn’t just unfair. It’s disgraceful.
I have no idea how many fat people are responsible for their own conditions. Probably a majority is my guess. Okay, some people eat too much or don’t get enough exercise. So what? Maybe they’re not really lazy like you might think. Perhaps they just don’t have the free time necessary to work out regularly, like those of us who are lucky. Perhaps they process their intake of calories differently. So, they aren’t as healthy. Some are born with good genes. Others, not so good.
What makes this group of people differently when it comes to acceptance? After all, some people smoke. Others drink alcohol. Still, others do drugs. Others participate in all sorts of unhealthy activities. How about people who engage in risky sexual practices. Been to a doctor lately? Chances are, the doctor is far more out of shape than you are, and they should know better. Why are fat people singled out from all the groups of people who pose health risks to themselves?
A significant number of fat people do have disorders. Thyroid malfunction, or whatever. If it’s not considered a disability, then it’s certainly a disadvantage in daily life. Yet we make all kinds of concessions for the handicapped, and rightfully so. But no considerations are given to fat people. No, we treat them openly with contempt.
Why? If we’re willing to grant people in wheelchairs and motor scooters special treatment, shouldn’t these same courtesies be extended to people who are larger than average? Getting around in life is difficult enough for those who are overweight. Must we also make things unnecessarily difficult, and even impossible for so many of our friends and family?
This isn’t right. Take a look at seats and the way they’re designed. I’m talking about airplanes. Theater seats. Chairs. Seating in public places. Accommodations are comfortable for people of normal size. But since more than a third of all American adults are now classified as “obese,” shouldn’t society start designing comforts for all people?
Let’s face the facts. People are getting bigger. Not just fatter. But taller and wider, too. Go to a museum sometime and look at the clothing sizes of those who lived more than a century ago. Back then, people were tiny by comparison. The average man in 1850 weighed about 130 pounds and stood 5-foot-7. Today, the typical man is fifty pounds heavier and four inches taller. Face it, people are growing in size and it’s not all about fat. It’s not about laziness. It’s about a modern food industry that keeps us weened to fast food and soda pop, pumping our bellies full of poisons.
Why aren’t a certain percentage of seats designated for those needing special access? Why can’t a few airline seats in every flight be made wider so people carrying extra weight can sit and relax in comfort, rather than knowingly being a burden to those around them? Why aren’t some chairs designed to hold people who are heavier than average? How difficult would it be to make a few concessions for the reality that in our society we have a sizable number of fat people who deserve all the rights and comforts of anyone else?
But instead, we discriminate against the defenseless. They have to just sit there and take it.
Even worse, while all this goes on — we laugh.
Sorry, but humor at the expense of decent people who just happen to be different isn’t funny. Not anymore.
You’re proposing the average American male is now 5’11”, 180lb (BMI 25)? If only. Seems more like 5’9.5″, 191 lbs (BMI 28) (http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/healthcare/a/tallbutfat.htm).
NOLAN REPLIES: I was guessing. I knew the weight tables had increased significantly. Didn’t realize height was just a few inches more, but that certainly makes sense. Diet and evolution can’t account for a four-inch increase in 160 years. That would be too much, too soon. Point is, people are getting bigger though.
— ND
You mentioned the thyroid condition and there are other unfortunate situations which aren’t their fault but there are plenty of obese people who could control their weight and don’t. Not having time to exercise is a rotten excuse. Even 20 minutes a day is far better than nothing.
Also, it’s true that processed and fast food is easily accessible and convenient but one can still make far better and healthier eating choices.
Most of the obese should take responsibility for their situation and work to fix it.
Large humans are welcomed in most situations where personal space is not violated. The airplane picture is an extreme but brings the point home. Buying two seats is the standard solution.
I was on a flight from San Juan to St. Kitts in a smaller commuter type airplane. When we boarded, the flight attendant was handing out the customs forms at the door. I asked her if it was the menu.
When I got to my row a extra large female human was in the aisle seat. She got up and let me pass. I sat down and put the arm rest down. She immediately put the arm rest back up and sat down. Needless to say it was intimate.
It all worked out as the door closed and the next row was empty. It was brutally hot and humid. I must say for a fat girl she didn’t sweat much.
Appreciate your compassion Nolan. I would love to see a future post from you on the modern Beer, Wine and Liquor industry. The industry that keeps many weened to alcohol, pumping their bellies full of poisons. The same beverages that result in thousands of deaths on our highways and tens of thousands more who succumb to disease. And let’s not forget the incalculable human misery through broken homes, broken families and broken dreams.
I loved your series on Binions and am looking forward to that book that resides in the recesses of your mind. Keep up the interesting writing!