Laws to tackle the discrimination of fat people?

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[SIZE=7pt]Yes and no.[/SIZE]

Yes: Every human has the right when they are born/come to America to be treated respectfully and given equal freedoms and rights.

No: If there is still discrimination against the color of your skin, I'm sure no one will pay attention to a law against weight either. As disrespectful as it is, it's the truth.

 
I think that people should stop making fun of fat people. I am a fat person and my fav thing to do is eat a looooot and i get made fun of. That rountine is like stuck in my brain so.... i cant stop eating. You may think it is sooooo easy to lose weight but 30mins on wii fit doesn't work or any gym days cause i keep gaining it back and healthy foods are like hard to eat without something to dip it in (ranch for me) so i never can stay on a healthy lifestyle, even with light yogurt. So next time you discriminate a fat person you are hurting them and they have to eat just to get happy.

 
You know what provokes me the most about the discrimination?

I have friends with different kinds of problems; mental and physical. Two of them suffer from kyphosis, and one is in a wheel chair. The lady living in the apartment next door that I meet for coffee sometimes has ADD. And my best friend is diagnosed with bipolar II. I have a lot of friends and they all have flaws. My ability to look past these flaws as well as my own is how I survive in this world, because I have met so many people who consider flaws as traits and denies everything else.

Where I live it's illegal to discriminate mentally or physically disabled. You can be prosecuted for name-calling a black person, regardless of what you call him/her. People's reaction to this is always the same: anti-racist torch wielding know-it-alls. But if a "native" person is killed, a slap on the wrist is the most common. Two men in a bigger city not far from mine were sentenced to only ten years in prison for snatching, raping and killing two eight and ten year old girls. The killers are on parole now. If they had done this to foreign kids, they would probably have been locked up for life. I take all crimes very seriously, including racism, but the law around here is so hypocritical. You know, our government was a leading advocate of eugenics.

However, it is not illegal to harass (no comparison intended,) mentally ill, prostitutes, overweight, "ugly", dyslectic, people suffering from drug addiction or alcoholism. It seems like conduct and good manners are optional when it comes to treating people who can "help it". There is a woman with alcoholism living in my street that was harassed by phone and thrown garbage on by passengers in a passing car. She has never been violent or done anyone any harm in her periods 'off the wagon', but this town is "run" by rich Protestants. (I'm NOT starting a religious debate here). The harassment of the undesirables in my town is spawned from ignorance and bigotry that really thrives in this group.

Maybe "lardos" can thank themselves. But, you guys out there who poke fun at them, have you ever considered that people in addition to an appearance, however non-resembling to the modern beauty image, also has a personality? Maybe they have feelings too, and are different. It is so scary to see how some considers the overweight, as if the overweight is a hive mind of some kind. Even worse is the stereotype; the fat, lazy, smelly, dumb and uncouth jerk. The only thing that tops it is the public image of the mentally ill. Not only do people think of them as maniacs with no other aspect than the disease, but they are also dangerous and stupid. Mentally ill people can't help it, it's not like they want their lives to be complicated. Alcoholism, drug addiction and obesity are self-inflicted problems, but not always just voluntary, and even if it was, what gives you the right to harass them? You who make fun of these people should receive a fine and a mandatory crash course in manners. Personally I think you deserve eye for an eye. And that it all comes down to what kind of world we want to live in. Maybe one day it will be legal and widely accepted, not to mention encouraged that school children can beat up their class mates for not having "the latest thing".

Bullying the overweight is a Medieval and not to mention childish and ignorant practice. It has outlived the bullying of skinny people because being skinny is nowadays a vital part of the Western beauty image. And no matter what else people are or can do, if they're not beautiful they're failures, right?

 
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There's going to be discrimination, no matter how many laws we make against it. Drugs- those are illegal, aren't they? People still do them, don't they?

Enough said.

 
No. I think those people are over-reacting.

Why would such people make a law to that? To me, that is just saying, "Hey! It's give me you wallet day!" And is just a way to discriminate others. And I wouldn't call them fat people. I would say overweighted.

 
Wait, WHAT?

First off I have to say, I don't even like using the term 'Fat". It just sounds very disrespectful. I use the term Overweight. :D

And secondly, I think this is absurd, actually. I think so because everywhere you look, there WILL be discrimination, weather you are black, disabled, or overweight. I don't really think laws can stop this, because everyone has their own definition of 'fat'. One who is 'fat' to one person may not be to another, so who is there to judge that? I don't really understand this much, but I know I do not agree with a LAW about it. B)

 
This is a rather interesting topic. I haven't heard anything about there being laws against discriminating against the overweight...

I agree with TamaMum about the times when people cannot help being overweight. Some people have a genetic disposition to being so. But how would we filter the voluntarily overweight from the genetically overweight? You can't. This seems to be a moot point in regards to the original topic.

I disagree with the idea of there being a law against this sort of discrimination. There may be a de facto law against it, but nothing where there would be consequences. And, as previously stated, these sorts of laws tend to be hypocritical and counterproductive. Remember affirmative action? It made sense when it was first enforced, but now it's just annoying and asinine. It's a personal annoyance to me, seeing as I'm Caucasian and applying to a school that still follows affirmative action soon. It just doesn't make sense for a person with lesser credentials than someone of a different race to get into a school simply because they are a minority.

Laws like these just perpetuate the discrimination. It's singling out this certain group that the law is trying to protect, making it MORE likely for discrimination to take place. Plus it may encourage people to become overweight as they'll be more protected by law, which is obviously not good.

I apologize for the lengthy reply, haha.

 
You can be prosecuted for name-calling a black person, regardless of what you call him/her.
That annoys me. It reverse racist. You can't do it to blacks, but its just fine for whites. I'm not racist, I just think it should be the same for everyone.

 
Hmmmmm.

I've had a look at quite a few of the replies to this topic. I guess it's true when people say that there will always be discrimination, no matter what laws are created. It's like at my school where although there are strict rules against bullying, but I still get bullied (for not being a big rude, and brainless oaf like everyone else! :furawatchi: ). And there's the prejudice thing as well. I sometimes get an automatic assumption from other students that I'm an idiot or mentally retarded 12-year-old when people see me going in and out of rooms 509 and 540 at my school (they're special education class-rooms). I get to use those rooms for homework, reading and exams because of my autism (yup, I'm autistic!). And I have to use my laptop in some classes instead of writing so I can keep up with everyone else in class. And I get looked down on as a 12-year-old because although I'm one of the oldest in my year group (I'm in year 10!), I still get looked at by my classmates as the little fragile one because I seriously don't look my age, and I still have a light voice, and I'm still more interested in playing games and having fun rather than getting into a serious relationship with girl.

 

Plus, I'm overweight myself. And sometimes in the changing rooms, I get teased by some other students for being fat. :D :( But quite a few other students in my year group are overweight as well.

 

I guess that there is no point in making laws against it. I guess that people who do discriminate them should just be educated more about the problem, and be taught about what it does actually feel like to be tormented like that. :wink:

 
I think that people should stop making fun of fat people. I am a fat person and my fav thing to do is eat a looooot and i get made fun of. That rountine is like stuck in my brain so.... i cant stop eating. You may think it is sooooo easy to lose weight but 30mins on wii fit doesn't work or any gym days cause i keep gaining it back and healthy foods are like hard to eat without something to dip it in (ranch for me) so i never can stay on a healthy lifestyle, even with light yogurt. So next time you discriminate a fat person you are hurting them and they have to eat just to get happy.
I'm just wondering, but, Do you have a genetic disposition?

 
That annoys me. It reverse racist. You can't do it to blacks, but its just fine for whites. I'm not racist, I just think it should be the same for everyone.
I am a "black person" and I agree with you.

Dead_Mametchi if you don't know what ^^ (person above) is talking about don't say anything!

 
I am a "black person" and I agree with you.
Dead_Mametchi if you don't know what ^^ (person above) is talking about don't say anything!
She wasn't saying anything to the person above her. She was stating her opinions on discrimination.

 
I don't want to start anything, but I think there should be a bit more action taken. Maybe not whole laws and punishments, but just some awareness.

Just because someone may be considered "fat" doesn't mean they are any less human. Or for that matter, any more.

If ani-discrimination laws were put in place, think of how many other people would want laws for their conditions. I can't think of many, but I'm sure you know what I mean.

So yeah.

 
Okay. There is a difference between making fun of someone and discrimination.

Making fun of someone is just mocking someone. For example:

"Hey, you're so fat, eeewww!"

"Hey, skip a meal!"

Discrimination is favoring a certain person over another, white over black, Christian over Jewish, Fat over Skinny. For example, letting a fat person into a collage who might be smarter then the thin person they let in before them. THAT's discrimination. And against fat people, I don't think it's happening.

 
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