Obese person gets called obese, claims she's being bullied

mathie

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-19822407

A video message from US local news anchor Jennifer Livingston responding to a viewer who said she was obese has gone viral online.

In her broadcast from La Crosse, Wisconsin, Ms Livingston urged young people struggling with their weight, skin colour or sexuality not to let their sense of self-worth be "defined by bullies".

Last week, Ms Livingston had received an email from a viewer who wrote, "obesity is one of the worst choices a person can make", and suggested she was not a good role model for young girls.

Is she right? Can we all just let ourselves go and then shout "Bully!" if someone comments?

Can a junky now claim he's being bulled if he's called a junkie?

Birneybau

Fatty Fatty Bom-Batty.

Actually, isn't that video old?

Yeah, October 2012.

Cienciano

October 2012? Finger on the pulse there OP

GenieOz

The email that was sent to her is well articulated and put across imo. Dead right, claiming she's being bullied is bullshít.

Sending an email stating she's a fat bítch and should lay off the donuts would be bullying.

Corcaigh84

Link obviously found on http://archive.org/web/

Penny Tration

It'd be lovely if everyone could just not be cnuts.

MagicMarker

Her weight is her own business and no one else's.

If someone came into/contacted my place of business to comment on my weight I'd tell them to fúck off. It IS a form of bullying.

Vito Corleone

That's not bullying FFS. Bullying is continuous, not one isolated event.

mathie

Cienciano wrote: »

October 2012? Finger on the pulse there OP

It was on the Most watched section on BBC News.

They blatantly Rickrolled me.

GenieOz

MagicMarker wrote: »

Her weight is her own business and no one else's.

If someone came into/contacted my place of business to comment on my weight I'd tell them to fúck off. It IS a form of bullying.

Is your business being in the public eye and somewhat of a role model for others?

jane82

I seen a huge fella get 3 tesco brand birthday cakes with his shopping the other day.
I wish I lived in a world where it would have been acceptable for me to take them off him and tell him he would thank me for it one day.

GenieOz

jane82 wrote: »

I seen a huge fella get 3 tesco brand birthday cakes with his shopping the other day.
I wish I lived in a world where it would have been acceptable for me to take them off him and tell him he would thank me for it one day.

I don't think so man, I'd say his 3 friends birthdays would have been a bit shít without them

mathie

MagicMarker wrote: »

Her weight is her own business and no one else's.

If someone came into/contacted my place of business to comment on my weight I'd tell them to fúck off. It IS a form of bullying.

Vito Corleone wrote: »

That's not bullying FFS. Bullying is continuous, not one isolated event.

Case closed. AH-style.

longhalloween

MagicMarker wrote: »

Her weight is her own business and no one else's.

Obesity is medically defined.

So if she meets the definition, then she is obese. No two ways about it.

jane82 wrote: »

I seen a huge fella get 3 tesco brand birthday cakes with his shopping the other day.
I wish I lived in a world where it would have been acceptable for me to take them off him and tell him he would thank me for it one day.

Saw a girl no older than 16 buying 6 easter eggs in Tesco. I'd say she was easily 15 stone. Something seriously wrong there.

MagicMarker

GenieOz wrote: »

Is your business being in the public eye and somewhat of a role model for others?

Relevance? A fat person cannot be a good roll model now, is that it?

Quick, someone tell Oprah.

MayoSalmon

Saying ANYTHING is offensive!

professore

By that logic it's OK call a black person a ****** - a mispronounciation of negro? A disabled person a retard? A short person a dwarf?

No it isn't OK, since the assholes doing it are doing it in order to cause hurt and pain to the other person in order to make themselves feel better since they themselves are pathetic sad excuses for human beings and without exception end up as failures in life. What's worse though are the hangers on these types of people always attract. Too scared to bully themselves but still allowing it to happen by standing by the bully.

Why not befriend the obese person and make them feel better about themselves, and in time they might have enough self esteem to actually eat less?

Disclaimer : I'm not even fat.

MagicMarker

longhalloween wrote: »

Obesity is medically defined.

So if she meets the definition, then she is obese. No two ways about it.

Well done on stating the obvious.

Caliden

The twist?

People started harassing the guy who wrote the letter so all she did was cause someone to actually be bullied for sending in a concerned letter.
He didn't call her fat, he called her obese.
The guy himself said he was obese when he was younger and struggled with his weight, so he was just concerned.

RayM

GenieOz wrote: »

Is your business being in the public eye and somewhat of a role model for others?

She's a newsreader. Her job is to read the news, not act as a role model. Not that being overweight should exclude somebody from being a role model.

WilyCoyote

I'm sure I read this story years ago. Livingstone, if I remember rightly, is more cuddly than obese. But cuddly here could be obese in Ireland.
My answer to the question is, if you can catch the person that called you obese you should hold them down, explain what emotional intelligence is and then sit on them for an hour or so.

Ash.J.Williams

fats fine until you're in your 50's...then stop being fat or you will die horribly.

mathie

professore wrote: »

By that logic it's OK call a black person a ****** - a mispronounciation of negro? A disabled person a retard? A short person a dwarf?

Nope. They used the word "obese" which isn't a derogartory word.
All the examples you use are derogatory.

carraig2

What she actually said is don't let your self worth be determined by bullies.
Fair play. She is right.

GenieOz

MagicMarker wrote: »

Relevance? A fat person cannot be a good roll model now, is that it?

Quick, someone tell Oprah.

Ah, Oprah, the woman who has yo yo dieted her entire life and damaged her body through it beyond belief.

Vito Corleone

I'm just shocked she actually went public with it. She should have said nothing about it, and comparing it to abuse people may get due to skin colour, sexuality etc... was a bit ridiculous to say the least.

MagicMarker

GenieOz wrote: »

Ah, Oprah, the woman who has yo yo dieted her entire life and damaged her body through it beyond belief.

WTF does that matter and what business is it of yours?

Is she a bad person because she's a yo yo dieter? Does that take away from the millions she's given away and the countless people that she's helped?

Don't be so fúckin' judgemental, we can't all be as perfect as you.

carraig2

Vito Corleone wrote: »

I'm just shocked she actually went public with it. She should have said nothing about it, and comparing it to abuse people may get due to skin colour, sexuality etc... was a bit ridiculous to say the least.

In a sense you are right, people can change being obese but can't change their sexual orientation or skin colour.
I still think what she said is right, don't let your self worth be determined by bullies.
Change your weight because you want to or because you need to or because it makes you unhappy. Don't change your weight because other people think you should.

DeanAustin

MagicMarker wrote: »

Relevance? A fat person cannot be a good roll model now, is that it?

Quick, someone tell Oprah.

There are a whole lot of pun-tastic jokes one could make but one wouldn't like to be labelled a bully.

mitosis

So, if someone is judgmental it is OK to call them judgmental, but if they are obese................

Re the OP, bullying is dependant upon intent - it was not the persons intent to hurt, but to advise.

Bubbaclaus

I really don't understand how obese people let themselves go like that. It's not that hard to put down the mars bar

dark crystal

Never fails to amaze me how rude people dress up their bad manners and unwanted opinions as 'telling it like it is'.

She didn't ask for his opinion on her weight, so he would have been better off keeping his 'concern' for her to himself and concentrated on keeping his own body like a temple. Causing people to feel badly about their self image is not something one should be proud of. Ever.

Ash.J.Williams

I am actually sorry for posting something earlier...i have a family member that is obese and i was actually brainwashed as a kid with excuses for it, when in fact he/she should have eaten less and moved more...they are really paying for it now in their 70's as we are.

carraig2

mitosis wrote: »

So, if someone is judgmental it is OK to call them judgmental, but if they are obese................

Re the OP, bullying is dependant upon intent - it was not the persons intent to hurt, but to advise.

Bullying is not dependant on intent. Not according to Dept of Ed guidelines on bullying. Been through this with local Primary School when my child was bullied.

MagicMarker

mitosis wrote: »

So, if someone is judgmental it is OK to call them judgmental, but if they are obese................

Re the OP, bullying is dependant upon intent - it was not the persons intent to hurt, but to advise.

Is it okay for me to walk up to obese strangers on the street and say "Hey, you're obese, sort it out will ya". That's okay because they actually are obese so I'm technically not doing anything wrong? Seriously? You don't think there's a problem with that? And you can't see a difference between that and the callous gobshítes that are saying it being called judgemental?

WilyCoyote

Ash.J.Williams wrote: »

fats fine until you're in your 50's...then stop being fat or you will die horribly.

You're not being invited to my funeral Ash.J.Williams.Esq., (if you're still around).
I'm obese (according to my BMI) ........ 99 kgs and 176 cms. Quite fit and do a physical job. I eat and drink plenty and have no notion of changing my lifestyle.

All my uncles were (according to BMI) obese, drank plenty alcohol, smoked until their late 60s/early 70s, and died in their very late 80s.

Show me the figures/graph linking BMI of 28+ with early death

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/04/14/a-number-that-may-not-add-up/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0

mitosis

MagicMarker wrote: »

Is it okay for me to walk up to obese strangers on the street and say "Hey, you're obese, sort it out will ya". That's okay because they actually are obese so I'm technically not doing anything wrong? Seriously? You don't think there's a problem with that? And you can't see a difference between that and those people being called judgemental?

You are not comparing like with like. Obviously the scenario you outline is unacceptable, but it's not the one in question

MagicMarker

mitosis wrote: »

You are not comparing like with like. Obviously the scenario you outline is unacceptable, but it's not the one in question

So it's not okay for me to walk up to a stranger on the street and tell them they're obese and that they're a bad role model, but if I send an email then that's grand?

WilyCoyote

Ash.J.Williams wrote: »

I am actually sorry for posting something earlier...i have a family member that is obese and i was actually brainwashed as a kid with excuses for it, when in fact he/she should have eaten less and moved more...they are really paying for it now in their 70's as we are.

OK, Ash.J. you can now come ......... but as a ghost ........ as I intend to outlive you - just for spite!

Ash.J.Williams

WilyCoyote wrote: »

OK, Ash.J. you can now come ......... but as a ghost ........ as I intend to outlive you - just for spite!

ha now that you mention it.....a lady cornered me about this very topic ....giving me grief about how this family member of mine ate a lot of cake .....She only bloody died the following week

Czarcasm

MagicMarker wrote: »

Relevance? A fat person cannot be a good roll model now, is that it?

Quick, someone tell Oprah.

Oprah has for years proclaimed how people should better themselves, judges people on a daily basis, in fact, made her fortune from judging and ridiculing people on her Jerry Springer style early shows before she realised Sally Jesse Raphael and her human interest stories with a healthy dose of sentiment thrown in, were actually the way to go!

For decades she's been obsessive and judgemental about other people's lifestyle choices, so while she is a billionaire, she's still a piss poor role model for anyone when she kicks up a media frenzy about a security guard telling her step away from a $40k handbag. How far removed from reality do you have to be for that to happen?

professore

mathie wrote: »

Nope. They used the word "obese" which isn't a derogartory word.
All the examples you use are derogatory.

They are only derogatory because someone was offended by them at some point. Originally they were all in common usage.

Cantremember

longhalloween wrote: »

Obesity is medically defined.

So if she meets the definition, then she is obese. No two ways about it.



Saw a girl no older than 16 buying 6 easter eggs in Tesco. I'd say she was easily 15 stone. Something seriously wrong there.

Damn right. Much better value in Lidl.

Caliden

MagicMarker wrote: »

So it's not okay for me to walk up to a stranger on the street and tell them they're obese and that they're a bad role model, but if I send an email then that's grand?

One is in the public domain the other is private.

Also the letter the guy sent may have lacked some empathy but it certainly wasn't "HERE FATTY SORT YOURSELF OUT YA MESS WILL YA".

She's in the public eye, she's expected to deal with that. I guarantee you someone like Joe Duffy gets letters every day telling him to go kill himself and the like, do we hear about those?

Look at Shatter last week, he got white powder and nazi material sent to his house and he later came out and said he has a binder full of similar material that's been sent to him over the years.

Artful_Badger

I'm pretty sure I've seen this exact thread on that 2 year old video in AH before.


Edit. Here it is

Pumpkinseeds

What did the person who complained about her actually want as a role model for young girls? Young people already have plenty of 'role models' with bodies, that for most of us, are unattainable, without developing an eating disorder and or having a personal trainer. Some people need to get a life.

mathie

Artful_Badger wrote: »

I'm pretty sure I've seen this exact thread on that 2 year old story in AH before.

Set your alarm clock for two years time.
I'll create another then.

professore

Let's be clear about something - I am not in favour of all this politically correct BS that is popular nowadays. In many cases it's a form of bullying - a way to shut someone up that you disagree with. One example being the recent payout to the IONA institute about the homophobia word used during a debate.

Bullying is when a person or more often a group of people systematically target certain individuals with the sole purpose of making them miserable. You can dress that up any way you want or call it "plain speaking" or whatever, but in my experience if you stand up to people like this they run a mile.

LizzieJones

Bubbaclaus wrote: »

I really don't understand how obese people let themselves go like that. It's not that hard to put down the mars bar

Some folks have medical conditions that make it super easy to gain weight. I'm one of those people. I've got poly-cystic ovarian syndrome and my weight gain started when I hit 11 years old. Anything that turns to sugar becomes fat in my body. A low carb diet helps but I'm a turtle when it comes to weight loss. I'm lucky if I can lose a half pound a week.

And I don't eat junk.

Czarcasm

professore wrote: »

Why not befriend the obese person and make them feel better about themselves, and in time they might have enough self esteem to actually eat less?

Disclaimer : I'm not even fat.

I'm not fat but...

Ah no, honestly, I understand the intention of your post, but it just comes across as incredibly patronising and righteous that you would suggest anyone befriend anyone who they see as being inferior to them and assume they have self esteem issues, that by being friendly with them you can sneak in your hidden agenda to 'fix' them and make them what you want them to be. You're ignoring the person and focussing on what you see as their issue, when really it's your issue with them.

Maybe I'm picking you up wrong?

20Cent

What's this about bullying being systematic? Never heard that before. It only needs this to happen to once to be bullying.