Fattism

Or fat-ism, as the Beeb calls it.

Attacking someone for being fat should be a hate crime, campaigners say. They want so-called "fat-ism" to be made illegal on the same grounds as race, age and religious discrimination.

Where is this 'hate crime' thing going to end? I was once told that employers tend to discriminate against men with beards when recruiting, which would explain some jobs that I narrowly failed to get, despite being the outstanding candidate (I had a 'full set' for many years, and yes, I am joking). So how soon can I claim that I was denied a job through 'beardism'?

Let me be clear: I am against unfair discrimination. To judge someone because of something they can't help, and which has no bearing on the situation, is wrong. To refuse a man a job because (and only because) he is black; or to turn an older woman down for a job because of her age; these are wrong and, more, they are wasteful and stupid. We can't help the colour of our skin, or the age we are, or our sexuality. You could even argue that the religion we follow is somehow programmed into us and not something we have genuine choice over.

But how can anyone claim that being fat is something that is nothing to do with them? The vast majority of fatties are large because they eat more energy than they expend through exercise. Unless they can show that someone held them down and forced all those 'donuts' [1] into their mouths, then they have only one person to blame - themselves. If other people don't like what they see, that is up to them - to call that discrimination on a par with all the wicked and shameful things that have happened in the name of racial discrimination is a travesty.

Protesters want the UK to follow San Francisco, where a law bans "fat-ism" in housing and employment and stops doctors pressing patients to slim down. Sondra Solway, a San Francisco lawyer, said: "The San Francisco ordinance says you may want to mention weight to the patient but if the patient says they do not want to talk about that then you are asked to respect those wishes."

Yes, they are so sensitive that even doctors aren't allowed to give out health advice in case the fatty gets upset.

What fatties need to understand is this: Fat Is Unattractive.

Need proof?



Need more?



And it's unhealthy too. Did you ever see an animal in the wild that couldn't see its own feet without a periscope?

All fat people (unless you are genuinely one of the 1% with 'glandular problems', and you probably aren't) have the solution in their hands. Eat less. Eat good food. Exercise more.

It's no-one else's fault. If people make fun of you, or don't want to sleep with you, or don't want to give you a job, that is their choice. And it is your choice to do something about it. (Ever thought about what all that fat is saying about you? "I am greedy and lazy and have difficulty controlling my self-indulgent urges." It's a far from ideal job-seeking strategy.)

Mark my words - today they are asking for an end to people refusing them jobs because of their 'size issues'. Tomorrow it will be a criminal offence (no, a 'hate crime') to laugh at them, even privately. And next, you will have to present a list of conquests to a Local Authority Inspector to prove that you are not discriminatory in your choice of bed partners. Finding fat unattractive will be the new thoughtcrime. That's if they get their way.

This bit is priceless:

Kathryn Szrodecki, who campaigns on behalf of overweight people, said that in the UK fat people were stared at, pointed at, talked about and attacked. She said: "I have been discriminated against - I am a YMCA qualified fitness instructor, but I have gone for jobs and been laughed off the premises."

I bet.



Editor's note: I am far from slim myself, but I have never blamed anyone else for that, nor expected them to alter their personal preferences to protect my sensibilities. Just sayin'


[1] Yeugh.