The 391

[Taps the microphone] Am I on? Testing...1, 2, 3...

Today is Thought Thursday and I have a lot on my mind:

I listen to the news every morning on my way to work. I roll down the windows, let the wind whip my hair, and I listen to a pair of professionals rattle off a list of recent events, comment on the weather, and outline the areas around town where the traffic is bad. Rarely do either of these people say anything shocking or unprofessional.

Until today.

Today they were discussing Tonya Harding and whether or not she would make a good participant on a reality show about hockey. Out of nowhere, both of the news anchors began laughing at her weight. They called her "Porky," and said they recognized fat when they saw it.

Now, I know about the whole Nancy Kerrigan drama. I stood in a shopping mall as a thirteen-year-old with baited breath and watched as she cried about her broken laces. Believe it or not, I actually wanted her to win. (Underdog syndrome, perhaps?) Anyway, I know that Tonya hasn't always been...shall we say...wise. But why mock her weight? What does her weight have to do with anything?

Bottom Line: Why is it excusable for professionals to mock heavy people? Sexism is wrong. Racism is wrong. BUT LAUGHING AT FAT PEOPLE IS A-OKAY.

In a country where people claim to want fat people to "get healthy," don't you think they'd realize that encouragement and support go a lot further than mockery and unkindness? PERHAPS they are perpetuating the problem.

More to come. This post is long enough already.

Here's to the next 381,
(honest) Fat Girl