To think Prejudice against fat people is NOT as bad as racism.

[goodnessgracious]

To think the article in the Times today claiming that prejudice against fat people is as bad as racism and that it is one of the last socially acceptable forms of prejudice is ridiculous.

Firstly, obesity is normally caused by an addiction and has health implications for the obese person and further implications on society as whole. How can this be compared to racism in any way?

Also, it is not the last socially acceptable form of prejudice because I believe society is just as (if not more) prejudiced against smokers, alcoholics and gamblers and all people with addictions which have costs toward society.

AIBU to think that although it is not right to be prejudice against obese people it is ridiculous to compare it to racism.

Copied article extract below...

"Prejudice against fat people as bad as racism, say scientists "Dr Jackson said that prejudice against overweight people pervaded society and needed to be challenged. “People think it’s one of the last socially acceptable forms of prejudice. You just have to look at the comments section on media reports on obesity to see that obese people are subjected to labelling and even abuse and attack.”

Being bullied every day is horrible, whatever the reason.

Both are about external appearance not personality or behaviour.

I would think if you were from the US where the cultural legacy of racism is ingrained into the souls of the people you might disagree with OP's statement.

I think that British people have a history of integration and tolerance and for the majority of people living in cities these days racism is not a life changing problem, and is tackled when it occurs. But casual racism, or disguised racism do still exist and are still a problem.

Which one is worse? Fat people can lose weight. People who have skin of a certain colour can't change that. So I'm going with racism

Flyaway I am sorry but that is bollocks.

To quote Bulbasaur Yes. Fat shaming is as bad as racism. Because fat people have been lynched, segregated, and enslaved. hmm

Racism isn't just name calling it's brutal violence, it being more like to die in police custody.

I've been on the recieving end of racist abuse and fatist abuse. Both feel pretty shitty. On a personal level the fatist abuse hurts me more because being overweight affects my self esteem and I already feel guilty and ashamed whereas I'm proud of my cultural heritage. But that's just me.

'Smoker shaming' (if it even exists, which I dispute) is nothing like fat shaming. People don't shout abuse at smokers in the street, or snigger and stare if they go for a run, or equate it with ugliness or laziness. No body gets called 'a smoky bitch' as a routine insult.

In RL I have heard people being called faggie Annie (smokers), selfish bitch (pregnant smokers), smack head (drug addicts), dirty alchy (alcoholics), greedy fat bitch (obese people). So I have heard shaming for all of those groups. Maybe it's more common to hear insults thrown at overweight people because overweight people make up a very large proportion of society. I'm not saying it's okay, just putting across my experience of having witnessed insults thrown at all of those groups.

Do you fear violence because of your skin colour Lou?

I spent part of my childhood in Dagenham when the BNP were gaining traction, I know of black people having their teeth kicked. I was terrified to go to certain areas I was routinely verbally assaulted. I wasnt worried about my self esteem. I was worried about my safety.

Also I have only just turned 25 so it wasnt that long ago and Dagenham hasn't changed much.

Dagenham has changed thankfully but I do know what your talking about. And the police weren't much help if anything they would harass you further.

Fat shaming is bad but you really can't compare it to racism.

I hope it has changed green I have no plans to go back and find out.

No thankfully I don't TheXxed. Skin colour isn't the issue for me, it's where I come from. That's why I tried to make it clear that what I was saying was just my experience. The racism I've encountered has mostly been making out they can't understand what I'm saying (when I know full well they do), snide comments, being told to go back to where I come from, exploiting my lack of understanding to ridicule and undermine me and treating me as less than others because of my nationality.

At the last elections, Labour took all 51 seats in Barking and Dagenham

I'm pleased to say it's changed massively.

Greyhound

why does it have to be a case of comparison though - what on earth does the seriousness/worthiness of one set of prejudices have to do with another - the author of this piece would have been better sticking to the topic of obesity and leaving racism out of it.

racism is wrong
fatism is wrong
etc etc

why it needs to be plotted on a graph I don't know.

what I do know is that being on the receiving end of any prejudice is unpleasant and all deserve to be able to expect that they are not treated badly because of their colour/religion/sex/age/weight etc

ha greyhound! I hadn't read all the way down :)

Fuck it! When you make false equivalences you are undermining and diminishing other peoples suffering.

You are being insincere in the extreme if you can't recognise this. And actually we do as Nation recognise this which is why some crimes are given a greater punishment. All suffering isnt fucking equal.

Overweight people make up 66% of the population according to various reports. They are therefore NOT a minority group.

Ethnic minorities are by their very name a MINORITY group making up only 14% of the population.

For that difference alone we cannot compare the two.

Experience and behaviour is the other thing that makes the two incomparable.
As a child I remember racist attacks on a weekly basis. The door being kicked in, bricks through the windows, petrol poured through the letterbox and set alight, fireworks through the letterbox, black bastards painted across the house, family members beaten with sticks and bricks. I remember as a 10 year old keeping a bag with clothes in by my bedroom window as I was so frightened that somebody would petrol bomb the house at night and I would have to flee wearing only my nightie.
Even within the last couple of years I have had to contend with monkey chants and threats of violence due to being non white.
I don't know any fat person who has experienced similar due to their weight.

People who think the two are even remotely comparable have clearly never experienced a racist attack, let alone weekly racist attacks and constant fear due to having a different skin colour.

I don't think it should be a pecking order I just don't think you can compare the two things and that really overeating is more comparable with smoking etc.

Being fat can be changed, and it's bad for you and society as a whole. Neither applies to race. It also imposes obvious, often severe physical limitations on people when serious enough. In any case, it's just an inherently different issue from race, and certainly nowhere near as bad.

Comparison is irrelevant. Any type of discrimination, bullying, insults, and prejudice is WRONG

What Uncle T said - no one will ever convince me that racism and 'fat shaming' are in any way comparable.

Being nasty about someone because of either their skin colour, or their size does make you a twat.

But ultimately, in the vast majority of cases, being very overweight is a choice.

SDGT I feel for you! prejudice, Bitchiness, spiteful comments, dirty looks etc lead to me getting more depressed, feeling less acceptable, more hopeless, less able to diet blah blah and ultimately lead to life threatening bariatric surgery.
Interestingly, people who KNEW me when I was fat STILL fucking make fatist comments about others TO me ... I must pull someone up on it on a weekly basis.

However, I think its different to racism unless the person is purely being racist because of how someone looks

Just my opinion and big hugs to you SDGT

Comparison isn't necessarily irrelevant. If someone was being blatantly racist in failing to give someone a job as a fireman, I'd want the book thrown at them. If it was for being obese, I'd be grateful my life was in the hands of fitter people. Burgling a house is a disgusting thing to do, but it's definitely not as bad as murder. Both are crimes though.

You don't need to be a minority to be discriminated against - 50% are female and there is more than enough sex discrimination about.
Discrimination against fat people is not illegal nor discrimination on grounds of class or height (unless any of those are indirectly another form of illegal discrimination).

Changing your accent to received pronunciation and getting your weight down to 9 stone can help many women get a job just as much as an extra A in an A level.