My Two Cents

Entry #1- Bullying Someone for Their Body

To start off with, I would like to say, ever since I was little, I've been considered underweight. I still have a hard time gaining weight now. Even though some people may not consider this to be a problem, they often forget that skinny does not always equal healthy.

With that in mind, today's entry is on people who bully or make other people feel bad about their weight, whether they think they weigh too much or too little.

There is an obesity epidemic today in many countries. People eat more than their body needs and it can contribute to diseases such as diabetes or heart failure. On the flip side, many young girls and boys also become anorexic and bulimic because they feel the pressure to be a certain body type, even if it isn't a healthy one.

What is the solution to this? How can we make people feel better about their bodies, while striving to be healthy at the same time?

I'll give you a hint. The solution is not to bully obese or anorexic people, tell them to die, or say hateful things to people who are 3 pounds overweight.

That should be obvious. Unfortunately, it's not. 

Come on, people. If you're at that point where you're posting rants on Yahoo Answers or whatever uncreative internet outlet you use about how horrible fat people are and how you think they should die, you really have no life at this point.

Don't forget about the celebrities that gain 5 pounds that people think they have a right to bash because people think they're gaining too much weight. Excuse me, did someone die and make you the weight god? What gave you the idea that you have the right to dictate whether or not someone is successful based on how much they weigh?

I get that in some cases, someone weighing too much or too little can be deadly. I know we have an obesity issue in countries like the United States. I know that many people fall into the underweight or overweight category, and oftentimes people can have a weight that is unhealthy. I understand that obesity and anorexia are problems that we cannot ignore. and we should encourage people to lead healthy lifestyles. We shouldn't tell people it's okay to gain or lose so much weight that they are dealing with consequences health wise. I get that sometimes harshness is needed, or people need to understand reality. 

But is someone's struggle with their weight really everyone else's business? Especially a random person's? I don't understand how people think it's okay to walk up to a stranger and tell them they are ugly and need to lose weight. Or for a "friend" to insult another friend because they're too "ugly and fat". It's one thing if you're someone's doctor, or if someone has asked you for advice. It's another if you personally don't think someone looks attractive and make fun of them. People play the "I care and I'm worried and I'm trying to help" card, but by making fun of someone's body or making nasty comments about them, do you genuinely think you are helping them? When it comes down to it, people like this are toxic. They don't actually care. If given the opportunity to help, they won't. I know people that would actually help and encourage others in situations like these, and this isn't it. 

Don't try to tell me you're worried about someone else's health when you're bullying them to tears or telling them to "kill themselves" because they're too fat. That is ridiculous. There is a difference between actually trying to help someone and trying to put them down because you need an ego boost.

I have not experienced it, but I've seen it with my own eyes. I've seen a young boy get badly bullied and beaten up because the other kids thought it was funny to push the fat kid around. I've seen an overweight man get filmed and laughed at by a group of people while he was trying to walk down the street. Some people have the misguided idea that bullying someone into a smaller size will wake them up and help them, but more often than not, it can make the situation worse.