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In modernity, hurt feelings are the ultimate sin, public health be damned.

astazangasta 11y ago
Not surprising in a world that is increasingly virtual; the space of subjective reality supersedes objective reality.
rtl49 11y ago
On the other hand, self-acceptance by those we dislike is often derided, to the detriment of finding solutions to these social problems instead of assigning blame. For myself, I've found suppressing my initial feelings of hostility toward people who promote incorrect ideas and providing an emotionally neutral answer is a more useful approach than derision, sarcasm, and other such behaviors.
duaneb 11y ago
Really? I thought chocolate cake was sinful.... Health, and especially weight, are very moral issues to Americans.
gmarx 11y ago
Hurting peoples feelings does not improve their health. My guess is (I don't know you) looking down on fat people is one of the mechanisms by which you make yourself feel worthy. You are not doing it from their benefit. Believe me, it is a vanishingly rare person who is fat and doesn't mind it. The fat acceptance movement is about feeling helpless and just wishing people would stop giving you a hard time on top of it
- vox_mollis 11y ago
  My guess is (I don't know you) looking down on fat people is one of the mechanisms by which you make yourself feel worthy I can correct your guess, here. Looking down on my fat former self is one of the mechanisms by which I keep myself healthy.
  - rtl49 11y ago
    We quickly lose sight of what it was like to have been a certain way. Whatever the origin of your unhealthy weight, and whatever purpose a negative evaluation of your past self serves, I think most would agree that derision is unhelpful as a tool for reducing obesity. On the other hand, its prevalence and the language many use while doing it seem to suggest that they find it gratifying. Some consider this a problem in itself.
    - gmarx 11y ago
      I definitely think almost all of them find it gratifying but admitting to such is shameful, thus the pretense and alternative explanations like they care about healthcare costs for society

Not surprising in a world that is increasingly virtual; the space of subjective reality supersedes objective reality.

rtl49 11y ago

On the other hand, self-acceptance by those we dislike is often derided, to the detriment of finding solutions to these social problems instead of assigning blame. For myself, I've found suppressing my initial feelings of hostility toward people who promote incorrect ideas and providing an emotionally neutral answer is a more useful approach than derision, sarcasm, and other such behaviors.

duaneb 11y ago

Really? I thought chocolate cake was sinful.... Health, and especially weight, are very moral issues to Americans.

gmarx 11y ago

Hurting peoples feelings does not improve their health. My guess is (I don't know you) looking down on fat people is one of the mechanisms by which you make yourself feel worthy. You are not doing it from their benefit. Believe me, it is a vanishingly rare person who is fat and doesn't mind it. The fat acceptance movement is about feeling helpless and just wishing people would stop giving you a hard time on top of it

vox_mollis 11y ago
My guess is (I don't know you) looking down on fat people is one of the mechanisms by which you make yourself feel worthy I can correct your guess, here. Looking down on my fat former self is one of the mechanisms by which I keep myself healthy.
- rtl49 11y ago
  We quickly lose sight of what it was like to have been a certain way. Whatever the origin of your unhealthy weight, and whatever purpose a negative evaluation of your past self serves, I think most would agree that derision is unhelpful as a tool for reducing obesity. On the other hand, its prevalence and the language many use while doing it seem to suggest that they find it gratifying. Some consider this a problem in itself.
  - gmarx 11y ago
    I definitely think almost all of them find it gratifying but admitting to such is shameful, thus the pretense and alternative explanations like they care about healthcare costs for society