[Regorium]

Originally Posted by Devils'Advocate

You think it is right to ridicule people? Where is that Picard face palm picture when you need it? You do realize that by ridiculing people for being obese, you just make them feel worse about themselves and push them AWAY from getting the help that they need? It was people like you that made me hate myself and fall into a deep, deep depression that I wallowed in for years. What do you get out of ridiculing people? Does it get you off to feel superior to these people?

The point is that every single person has problems. Obesity, low self-esteem, lack of confidence, money problems, girl problems, family problems, medical issues. Respect is given to the people that can actually identify their problems and put themselves on a path to be able to get through it.

For example, let's say I had $30,000 of credit card debt, $100,000 of student loans on an arts degree. I come to this board, wondering why the world conspires against me, and that i'm "addicted" to spending money that I don't have. I blame rampant US consumerism and TV advertising for this as well, and blame the rich. Do you really think I deserve sympathy in this case?

Because that's exactly what obese people do. All the time. Because, as your personal example shows, anyone that puts in even a year of discipline, hard work and sacrifice can completely eliminate this problem.

There are very very very very few obese people that actually have a genetic disorder, and it's unfortunate that they are put into the same basket as all of the lazy, undisciplined people, but that's reality as well.

As I said previously, I am now going around the province (well two provinces... I've been going through Nova Scotia as well as Ontario) and visiting chapters of people wanting to lose weight. And I hear the stories from people where they tell me that their self worth is in the toilet and sometimes they don't want to leave the house and face the world. It's heartbreaking. And I'm there to give them a pat on the back, give them encouragement and applaud their efforts to lose the weight. One word of encouragement is infinitely more helpful than your scorn.

I'd actually like to hear more about this. People want to lose weight, so what are they doing about it? Are they trying the latest diet fad, then quitting after 2 weeks? Are they at least trying to exercise or be active? Are they trying to cut down on their food intake and look at what they eat?

It's my opinion that the only people that should "rightfully be ridiculed" are those that willfully cause suffering of others for their own twisted pleasure. Which is what I have seen in this thread, in the funny pictures thread, and every day out on the street. If I had a nickel for every time I was called a "pig"... what does that even do for you? Does it make you feel like a man to ridicule people? I just don't get it.

You don't get it? Obesity is a problem that people bring on themselves (in the vast majority of cases). Then they go out and start campaigns to somehow make it okay and they try to tell people that are of healthy weight or slightly underweight that they're ugly and the right way to live is a size 18.

I'll even back off my statement slightly. Rather than "rightfully be ridiculed", I'll say "I don't feel sympathy when they get ridiculed." Another disclaimer is that this is generally for people ages 18-45ish, who have the actual physical ability to do this - Again, most people as they get older develop medical conditions that may cause them to become obese, and since you can't control getting older, that's absolutely okay.

There are so many personal issues that people actually can't control, and get made fun of for, and THOSE are the people that deserve sympathy. I'll give you a couple examples: height, hair loss, facial features, speech impediment, actual disability.