Calling someone fat a hate crime?

[teaaddict2012]

thought this would make a good debate

AIBU to think how would this be policed??

AlpinePony er an African woman is African beacuse of the country she is born in a fat person is fat because they have overeaten in the most case. Bad analagy!

Being viciously rude towards fat people seems to be the last bastion of "socially-acceptable" apparance-based discrimination and facism

No I think that one's still being reserved for those who smoke.

no sorry that is the disabled, as proved often on mn

Good post somebloke.

perhaps someguy needs to live though a hate crime, then judge.

So Kelly are you saying that Tristessa is right and people are making a moral judgement on fat people, perhaps because they are seen as being greedy bringing it all on themselves?

being greedy and bringing it all on themselves.

As resident fat bird here I think people underestimate how counter productive insulting fat people is to their efforts to lose weight. I can't be the only person who eats MORE if I have been insulted. This is partly a comfort thing but also about control. As in why the hell should I change my lifestyle to suit some judgemental c* who knows fuck all about me? It's something that I battle with all the time, the sense that I am trying lose weight because other people expect me to, not because I want to. No doubt I will get ripped to shreds for this but I strongly suspect I am saying something other fat people think but dare not say.

No one should be rude to anyone or make personal comments.

It's just basic manners.

2shoes

Just to clarify - I'm certainly not saying that harrassment should not be a crime. If someone is having their lives made hell by being taunted, threatened etc then that is a matter for legal action. However I assume (thought not a lawyer) that this would be covered by pre-hate crime legislation. And if someone is being bulllied at school or at work then it should be dealt with. It's just that I think it's best done by the people on the ground.

GymBunny74

Morrissey wouldn't be the only one for censorship. It;s a good thing that Randy Newman has made is fortune in films, as quite a bit of his song output may be destined for the bonfire:

the kind of people who call my dd names, have no manners,
they are scum, and tbh I think anyone who does that should be arrested, you can't get much more vulnerable than her.

someguy, it is not covered,
we only got police action when it was called a hate crime.
only then did the police do something after 5 years,
so don't tell me that

I agree totally somebloke

NoOnesGoingToEatYourEyes er I don't think I said that at all! I said it was a bad analagy. You can't help being born African - something you can't change and a racist comment. If you are overweight you can lose weight or not overeat in the first place. They are not the same thing. Nobody deserves to be insulted period!

What AlpinePony said

I think it comes under harrassment more than hate crime I'd say anyway.

2shoes

Well if it was not covered it damn well ought to have been because harrassment is an activity that can be observed, and it can be shown that the perpetrators did it deliberately.

It seems that you have some experience on the receiving end, which I have not, and I completely respect that. It may also be that the police only got around to doing something they should have done long ago because of the publicity surrounding the introduction of hate crime.

My point really is that this ought to be (even if in the past it has not) be dealt with under normal traditional legislation. There's no reason why it shouldn't be.

I feel very uneasy about a crime which deal with states of mind i.e. thoughts. And especially when it is no vague that an act is said to be a hate crime if it is simply perceived as such "by the alleged victim or any other person". This is so nebulous that pretty much any of us could be picked up if we put a foot wrong or tread on the wrong eggshell.

Anyway I hope your bad experiences are now a thing of the past.

Being fat could be regarded as a disability if it has a long term adverse effect on ability to carry out normal activities, so if you were called fat and perceived this to based on prejudice/hatred then you could say it was a hate crime. But it's all subjective.

It might not be a crime but it is rude and ignorant, that's the bottom line.

Being viciously rude towards fat people seems to be the last bastion of "socially-acceptable" apparance-based discrimination and facism

No I think that one's still being reserved for those who smoke.

Only when those people throw their smoke towards innocent bystanders.

Calling someone fat is not a crime. Bloody ridicilous.

FAT FAT FAT FAT FAT!!!!!

THIN THIN THIN THIN THIN!!!

What a load of bollocks.

you are so not fat you liar pants on fire

Kelly I wasn't suggesting that you meant anyone deserves to be insulted.

Just asking if you agree it is a moral judgement because being fat is seen as something the person has some degree of choice or control over, whereas skin colour is something we cannot control.

Not a hate crime but a vile thing to do in a face to face conversation