Fat or thin: Does it really matter?<\/p>\n
Dewi Santoso, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
It was Sunday afternoon and I was sitting in a cafe at a mall in
\nCentral Jakarta when I heard a disturbing voice.<\/p>\n
\"Gosh, look at that fat woman! What does she eat?\"<\/p>\n
I frowned and turned around to find out who was speaking. I
\nwas curious about who could be that ruthless -- malicious -- to
\nsay such a mean thing out loud.<\/p>\n
It turned out that it came from the mouth of a young woman,
\nabout 17 or 18 years old, of slight build. Well, at least to me,
\nshe looked horrifyingly thin.<\/p>\n
What I didn't -- and still don't -- understand was how could
\nan otherwise pretty teenager say such a thing. What right did she
\nhave to comment on the woman in such a cruel way? Who gave her
\nthe right to judge?<\/p>\n
She, of course, is not alone. Many of us let go with some
\nnasty comments when we see those who do not live up to the
\nphysical ideal -- thin, tall and beautiful or handsome. And fat
\npeople make for easy targets.<\/p>\n
Once, my family was having a reunion dinner and,
\njust like in the movies, the ever-present nosy aunt came along.
\nIn the middle of things, she suddenly screamed at one of my
\ncousins, \"Oh my God! How fat you've become.\"<\/p>\n
My 15-year-old cousin was overweight, true, but that did not
\ngive my aunt the right to point out the obvious, humiliating her
\nin front of her family. Was she presenting a danger to society
\nthrough her bulk? Why not take out a big ad for good measure and
\nspread the word?<\/p>\n
She obviously did not care that nobody wants to be overweight,
\nwhether the cause is overeating or a medical condition, and that
\nit is a struggle for them in facing a world where fat people are
\nthe perennial objects of ridicule.<\/p>\n
She surely didn't realize that there are many vulnerable
\noverweight teenagers out there who will try almost anything they
\ncan -- even if it means putting their health at risk -- just to
\nlose weight.<\/p>\n
When I was in college, one of my friends, Denny, died because
\nof heart and kidney failure, due to the diet pills that he took
\nfor six months.<\/p>\n
Denny told me once that he took the pills because, \"I'm sick
\nand tired of being called names. Once I'm thin, they will no
\nlonger call me fatty or jumbo or whatever.\"<\/p>\n
\"To hell with them!,\" I told him. \"You don't have to be thin.
\nJust be who you are.\"<\/p>\n
But facing the taunts was too much for him. He continued to
\ntake the pills and died two months later. He was only 20 years
\nold.<\/p>\n
And as much as I try to forgive those who called Denny names,
\nI can't. I don't think I ever will -- for what they did caused me
\nto lose one of my best friends.<\/p>\n
I just cannot understand how vicious people can be toward
\nothers who are different, just like that girl in the restaurant
\nto a woman she did not know.<\/p>\n
I think they need to ask themselves: \"What would I do if I
\nwere in their shoes? How would I feel if someone called me
\n\"Fatso\" or \"Jumbo\"?<\/p>\n
Then, hopefully, they will have some idea of how hurtful their
\ncomments are and keep their mouths shut.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/fat-or-thin-does-it-really-matter-1447893297",
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