On Fattism and Discrimination
Let me make one thing clear before I start. I'm not a fattist: I oppose discrimination on the basis of anything other than merit and I wouldn't dream of treating someone any better or worse because of their weight. I dislike eating disorders as much as the next person and I think being too thin is arguably a worse problem than being too fat. I understand that it can be difficult to lose weight, especially permanently, and I understand that obese people may have underlying conditions. Having read a little about weightism, I do find it quite horrifying. All the same, I don't think that it gives them any right at all to feed their kids silly or to complain about discrimination while stuffing themselves full of fast food. I can understand why people with a genetic predisposition to obesity would find it harder, and I'm willing to cut them some slack as long as they watch their diet - because if you know you're going to be predisposed to something which isn't very ...