I will fess up that I have always been uncomfortable with enormously fat people. I mean really really obese folks. Now, I don't mean that I don't like them, or haven't had fat friends, or anything like that. I mean I have a visceral/aesthetic negative reaction to fat. And I have always been ashamed of by bias, my bigotry in this.
So imagine my surprise last night when I was confronted with a HUUUUGGGGEEEELLLLYYYYY fat person. I was channel surfing and caught the first episode of a show on the Style Network, called Ruby. This is a reality show (I know, yuck!) about a woman named Ruby trying to lose hundreds of pounds. Yes, hundreds. At her heaviest, Ruby weighed over 700 pounds. This woman is gorgeous. Seriously beautiful, despite hovering in the 500 pound range... And she is charming. And fun. And you can't help but want her to succeed. Amd within 15 minutes, I pretty much forgot she was fat.
So maybe I am making progress. If I beat this bias, I only have one real major one left -- ignorant people. But I doubt that's gonna go away anytime soon.
2 comments:
Good luck overcoming the bias towards the morbidly obese. I have a certain appreciation for that.
I did nearly ROTFL regarding your other prejudice. The charitable part of my brain says that we should not harbor prejudices against others for traits that are out of their control. However, I have absolutely no patience for the slow-witted.
Mind you, I really have no problem with those who are mentally challenged in a clinically certifiable way. I just can't abide bone heads.
Some would say that I suffer from educational elitism. However, I have encountered numerous people without college educations who are relatively smart. My own mother was a 10th grade drop out, but with incredible common sense and ingenuity.
I have also encountered folks with advanced degrees who should be in supervised group living facilities to protect themselves (and others) from their own lack of common sense and/or foresight regarding the repercussions of their actions.
So, let me know if you uncover a trick for getting over that lingering prejudice. Maybe I'd give it a try.
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