My friend Lorna (the gorj redhead) was featured in this piece in the Daily Mail (the Daily M being its own problem, yes), and for some reason I let my eye drift to the land of text AT THE BOTTOM. Never do that.
What struck me this time, in addition to the usual sneering, bottomless derision, was how goddamn sure commenters--especially the concern-trolling commenters, who make sure they check anybody's perceived complacency with their size (they can identify this by a lack of proper self-hate) before it goes too far with medical "concerns"--how goddamn sure they are that they KNOW EVERYTHING.
It's almost funny. They know why a group of people or in an fact any one person is fat, how they live, who will get diabetes, who is paying for fat people's drain on the economy (them). They know a fat person's psychology, medical history, test results, future, past, state of being--all from looking at a 5" square 72 dpi photo online with some accompanying shitty prose. They are there to make sure we all know what they know. It's even more ridiculous when you know the commenter is a grossed-out 18-year-old who is so incredibly sure about this stuff. The 18-year-olds don't sound any different from the crazed adults, actually. Which should tell us something.
I think it would be great if commenters had to include the unspoken part of their concern-trolling (in brackets):
I know your fat will make you diabetic [because I am the wizard of diabetes future!]Anyhow: ungh. And: hehe. Vent over.
I hate to tell you but [I am an MD because I am online and I can diagnose illness from online photos and] you are unhealthy because you're fat
You are promoting obesity by showing [and not flagellating] these fat women [who using my logic aren't really people at all]
I don't believe you are happy at your size [because you shouldn't be and I will keeping treating you like shit until you realize you this]
I appreciate fat acceptance but there is a line between curvy and unhealthily obese [and I can tell where it is by when my dick gets soft]
I know that if you ate less and exercised more you'd be happier [because I AM SUPERMAN & I CAN SEE WHAT YOU EAT WITH MY X-RAY SPEX!!]
Never read the comments.
Meh. I'm not afraid of comments. I have learned to deal with them and take them as they are.
ReplyDeleteAlso, a lot of people don't believe anything doctors say anyway so why does it matter if the people commenting have medical experience or not? I'm not trying to troll or say that are right. Those comments are toxic and you can't let them get you down.
ReplyDeleteI quite agree that you can't let them get you down. And actually part of me was finding them all kind of hilarious tonight in their misguidedness. I just so rarely read them, though, that I couldn't help having a reaction--
ReplyDeleteSeems to me if there are 70% (or whatever the number is) of fat people in the system that the majority of the people are fat who are paying for the health care, insurance, drain or whatever it is they bitch about.
ReplyDeleteI so avoid the comments but some times it is hard to get sucked into the nastiness. I swear there must be a group of people whose only job is to spread discontent online.
Actually, if the comments included quips like yours, I'd be happy to read them! That was pretty hilarious. I AM THE WIZARD OF DIABETES FUTURE. ahahahahahahha
ReplyDeleteUm, in other news, if that Lorna chick ever wants to cross to the other side, I will totally kick my husband to the curb. HOLY JESUS. That woman is so gorgeous it's nearly offensive.
ReplyDeletePardon the objectification. But, I mean, seriously? HOLY JESUS.
I think there is a lot of thin privilege that goes around with the hatred expressed in comments on articles about "obesity" (among other things). So many people who aren't directly affected by fat hatred just palm them off and say "Don't take any notice." I don't think we get that option to be honest. It's not something we can just read and go "Meh" at. It's triggering and deeply hurtful. To dismiss that dismisses the reality of the hatred that fat people experience.
ReplyDelete