Matter of opinion. I see two major flaws personally. The first is that it is self contradictory. That’s pandering not positivity. “You can totally be ok with yourself as long as you have a harrowing tale of why you look that way…” that’s not “positivity,” that sort of thinking is merely deciding who we think “deserves” our sympathy or “deserves” not to be made to feel bad about themselves.
To the given example- someone who self mutilates against medical advice and social norms- look it up- it’s a thing. People cut off their own limbs for example- that person doesn’t”deserve” to be treated with respect? Like it’s ok to make fun of them or to tell them that they should feel bad for looking that way because they made the choice? The same goes for tattoos and piercings which tend to be less extreme- but at the end of the day it is artistic body mutilation. I’m not saying I’m against people having tattoos or piercings or it’s wrong- I’m saying that the same logic being applied to that
Lady in the meme is the same reason why people with tattoos and “non traditional” piercings were ostracized and often found difficulty in society and employment. I think most people today would agree that society is perhaps a better place overall for the fact that we aren’t living in a world where people choosing to have body art have to live in fear or shame or marginalization universally. It also begs a question of how healthy are you? I mean- most people don’t eat well, don’t exercise or perform activities they should, people drink and smoke and stay up late. What we are talking about are degrees of healthiness or degrees of obvious to any random observer indications of our life choices might be. People make “poor decisions.” It’s a Fundamental freedom to be able to say that you know you shouldn’t stay up late but you WANT to. You know drinking isn’t healthy but you WANT to. You know you should be active through the day or make the space but you can’t or don’t WANT to.
So the fundamental question to me is how much business do you or I have in judging others for their choices about themselves?
If you want to get a tattoo- do I or does society have the right to make you feel like crap about it? If you want to eat a cake with every meal- is that going to kill me? What is my place in dictating your life? A mass of people have vocally demanded the right to consume marijuana and related substances, to ban testing for such recreational drugs, legal charges for such drug use, and use of such drugs from impacting one’s employment etc. under largely a banner that people should have the right to choose to partake, regardless of the health implications, as a choice.
We didn’t keep inhaling weed products illegal or put a limit on how much one can use did we?
All largely under a banner of freedom and personal choice- that what a person puts in their body is their business more or less. There are lots of parallels to unhealthy choices and lifestyles that have widespread support or acceptance- so then why do so many people make weight such a big issue? How do we know who has a medical or other reason for being large or consuming so much? Who freaking cares?
If someone was raised poorly and was a “fat” child who grew up large and isn’t putting in the money and discomfort to get “fit,” is it ok then to shame them on their looks? That’s like saying that because a “short” man should be ashamed and wear lifts or go through the cost and effort to have the procedure to lengthen their bones. That’s an internet sore spot isn’t it? It’s also a ridiculous example like many of these right? Intentionally ridiculous- because most people will recognize what I am saying is ridiculous- and if you stop and apply the same logic and perspective to peoples
Weight- you’ll realize that too is ridiculous to think someone SHOULD feel ashamed or be made to feel that way about their weight.
Plain and simple- some people find big sexy. Women and men. Some people find bald sexy, gray hair, white hair, hairy bodies or hairless bodies. So I’m going to say that there isn’t anything wrong with someone feeling good about who they are. Feeling worthy and feeling good about how they look. If you don’t have a 6 pack+ and think it’s ok to shame fat people- you need to look in a mirror because all of us are unhealthy or fat to someone. It’s just the larger or more out of shape someone is- the easier it is for more people to feel “better than them,” and have someone THEY can look down on.
In the end, asides the few misguided folks who think it’s their responsibility or place to “save people from themselves” through negativity, that’s all this is really about. Having someone that the “average” person can feel better than. It comes from a desire that most of us have in some way or another to compete and rank in society, and especially for those who have less going for them in life, finding people they can feel they “beat” in life in some way is harder. So go for the easy target right? The one we can logic is “their fault” or for “their good” and not for our sense of self righteousness or self esteem. It’s easier to gain support than just saying what it all boils down to- deciding who to take out our desires to be cruel and exclude upon.
To the given example- someone who self mutilates against medical advice and social norms- look it up- it’s a thing. People cut off their own limbs for example- that person doesn’t”deserve” to be treated with respect? Like it’s ok to make fun of them or to tell them that they should feel bad for looking that way because they made the choice? The same goes for tattoos and piercings which tend to be less extreme- but at the end of the day it is artistic body mutilation. I’m not saying I’m against people having tattoos or piercings or it’s wrong- I’m saying that the same logic being applied to that
If you want to get a tattoo- do I or does society have the right to make you feel like crap about it? If you want to eat a cake with every meal- is that going to kill me? What is my place in dictating your life? A mass of people have vocally demanded the right to consume marijuana and related substances, to ban testing for such recreational drugs, legal charges for such drug use, and use of such drugs from impacting one’s employment etc. under largely a banner that people should have the right to choose to partake, regardless of the health implications, as a choice.
We didn’t keep inhaling weed products illegal or put a limit on how much one can use did we?
If someone was raised poorly and was a “fat” child who grew up large and isn’t putting in the money and discomfort to get “fit,” is it ok then to shame them on their looks? That’s like saying that because a “short” man should be ashamed and wear lifts or go through the cost and effort to have the procedure to lengthen their bones. That’s an internet sore spot isn’t it? It’s also a ridiculous example like many of these right? Intentionally ridiculous- because most people will recognize what I am saying is ridiculous- and if you stop and apply the same logic and perspective to peoples
Plain and simple- some people find big sexy. Women and men. Some people find bald sexy, gray hair, white hair, hairy bodies or hairless bodies. So I’m going to say that there isn’t anything wrong with someone feeling good about who they are. Feeling worthy and feeling good about how they look. If you don’t have a 6 pack+ and think it’s ok to shame fat people- you need to look in a mirror because all of us are unhealthy or fat to someone. It’s just the larger or more out of shape someone is- the easier it is for more people to feel “better than them,” and have someone THEY can look down on.