Thesis: Hatred for fat people has the same basic reasoning as hatred for gay people.
To start out, let's ignore the argument that hatred is derived from some sort of natural xenophobia or other arguments of that sort. I'm not saying they're not true, but in this case, they're boring. They cover all hatred. I'm more interested in these two particular forms because they're 'fashionable.'
So let's get to the fun stuff: how they are alike. By they I mean the targets. In the minds of those who hate, how would gay people and fat people be the same? Please remember when I set these up that I am giving stereotypes and perceptions. Some of what I say will be objectively true, some is true but rare, and some is 99% in the mind of the beholder (hater). If I say something blatantly wrong, I probably know it, but wouldn't it ruin the fun if I pointed out every specific flaw?
They look funny
Fat people often have a sort of waddle and generally slow movements. They may have difficulty moving both due to weight and size, depending on the situation. They're easy to identify, easy to point and say: "That person's fat."
Gay people, at least by stereotypes, are much the same. Over the years they've varied, but limp wrists and certain styles of dress, or perhaps more accurately, any style, are stereotypical. They may more with a bit of a flourish, an expression of energy that you won't usually find in everyday interaction.
In short, they're identifiable, noticeable for not looking right.
Science says they're wrong
Fat people are a burden on all of us. They get sick and wreck our healthcare system. They're not natural they way they eat and eat and eat and never exercise. They're a disease.
Gay people spread AIDs. They spread disease with their unrestricted and unnatural sex practices. They're unnatural because no species can survive without having sex with the opposite sex.
They're immoral
The Bible speaks against gluttony. It's one of the seven deadly sins. They're slothful and gluttonous and selfish with no self-control.
The Bible tells us that homosexuality is an abomination and God specifically made a man and a woman and told them to go forth and multiply. Gay people don't multiply well.
That's all, folks
Using everything from misuse of science to misuse of religion, an army of hateful people are spreading their message across the world. They want you to think what they think, they want you to hate who they hate, and they're too small-minded to even think of new and interesting ways and reasons to hate, so they dig up the same reason they used last year and slap a new picture on their ads.
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2 comments:
The argument of "they are destroying the health care system" is a fairly new one. Pleople didn't say that 15 years ago. It's the same hate with a different guise, that's all too true.
Remember, for every skinny person who's hating on fat people, there is a fat person planting a virus on the skinny person's computer filled with hate and malice (did I just stereotype there? oh well). I think, maybe, that everyone just hates everyone else because they are not "me".
Not that I'm an expert, but I've thought about this a lot in my life. People feel the need to put others in a box, to stereotype them. Have you ever met someone and had them ask "So what do you do?" They are trying to box you to make themsleves feel more secure about their own life, or to compare themselves to you.
It's this constant competition between us that serves to fester this contempt, breed the hate that's born out of disliking those who differ from our view on what life should be like, for themselves and for others.
I never tell people what I do, or when they ask that stupid question. I tell them I enjoy reading, music, and watching fat, gay people do their thing. It's a conversation ender, and I wouldn't have it any other way.
I've heard, but don't know from experience, that is it mostly an American phenomenon that we ask jobs when we ask what people do. I imagine it's some left over remnant of the supposed Protestant work ethic that work should dominate one's life and define them. It's not entirely bad: work is part of what promotes integration in America; excessive welfare has been implicated in the poor assimilation process in European countries.
It's only human to make boxes. We cannot handle the entirely of everyone we meet, so we make rules, summaries. They're not always inaccurate, so they're useful. Sometimes they are harmful to one or both parties. It takes active effort to pull people out of boxes and frankly, a lot of the time it's not worth it.
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