Pre-weight loss surgery I was walking in a mall and I heard a group of teenage boys making moo-ing sounds. I still can remember the sadness and hot feeling that took me over. I tried to pretend I hadn't heard it, that they weren't talking about me though the fingers pointing in my direction removed much doubt. I looked straight ahead and put a little more spring in my step to get away. I left the mall, sat in my car and cried. I was having a pretty great day till then. I was getting my exercise in by walking the mall because it was raining out and then BAM, those boys happened.
Challenge Mean.
When you come across weight bias, hate and nastiness whether on a thread on Facebook, in a newspaper article, on a TV show, in line at the grocery store, please challenge it. Those boneheads that spewed the nasty may not get it or care but somewhere there is a girl sitting in a car crying that would say thank you. She was not strong enough then to do it herself but... I AM NOW!
P.S. More than 2/3 of adults - 190 million people - are overweight or obese. In fact, chances are one of those boy's mom, sister, grandmother, uncle, or pop are one of those 190 million.
