Jan 11, 2013

if you want to piss me off,  refer to someone by any kind of derogatory nickname centered around their weight. tubby.

fatty. lardass. big boy.chunker.

you get it. whenever I hear someone tack on an unrelated personal insult to an issue they are currently having with another individual it invariably gets me upset

for a while I believed this was somehow centered around my own weight insecurities, my own fears of what one might call me behind my back. and who knows, that could be it. even though I've never had something call me something like that to my face, I can certainly imagine it in a whisper

so maybe it is personal

but I think it is more than that.

I was walking through an exhibit on Greece and athleticism the other day and it noted that the average Greek citizin aspired to athleticism, they believed that their physical state reflected their character

indeed

and in many ways this belief has underlying currents that encourage healthy, well being, a more wellrounded pride. such thoughts wed the mind and body in poetic ways.

but there are are other, not so hidden connotations if we take this notion to far. especially in a society where physical fitness is a complicated subject, calorie surplus is difficult to avoid, and in many ways, deeply political, and you can really tell who can afford to be beautiful. and in the same way every evil witch is ugly and every bad guy has a limp and a wart, there is a great danger with equating other personal attributes with physical ones

and I think the worst part is, when I hear someone "humorously" refer to someone as fatty, they are rarely complaining about their weight. they aren't complaining about the fact that they are taking up too much room or using up too many healthcare resources.  they are usually annoyed or offended in some other way that compels them to level the initial complaint with a "and your fat too" tacked on the end. To remind you, perhaps, that there is more than one thing wrong with that person.

Think about. Fat bitch. Skinny bitch. They both add a connotation, they do more than help you locate which bitch we are hatin' in the room. They imply character issues, problems with self control, slides in personal care and self love. They let you know: that person was a bitch me. AND they are fat. So you know they have a real problem.

It most certainly do not make room for the myriad of reasons a person looks and cares for themselves, and it most certainly do not take into account the fact that if someone is an asshole, or stupid, or mean, then that is enough.

I mean, that person was just hostile to you for no reason. Doesn't that suffice to justify your ire? They just did something stupid or weird or infuriating, and I'll buy that they did it and judge them on that action.

And going for the extra dig doesn't establish their fault greater, it just establishes you are less than understanding at the get go.

That person is a lazy AND lardass? Yeah, well, you are impatient AND petty. So there. Thanks for levelling the playing field.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'd guess that the impulse to add the personal"dig" stems from a hurt received from the individual. It is only too human to want to strike back. Yes, it is petty. However, I've got totake issue with the behavior described as inpatient. As far as I can tell, the definition of inpatient is; in·pa·tient or in-pa·tient (npshnt)
n.
A patient who is admitted to a hospital or clinic for treatment that requires at least one overnight stay.

Did you intend some other descriptor?

daff0dil said...

sigh. I changed the n to an m...it now read impatient. it was a change I missed during auto correct.

thanks for pointing out that error.