Quote:
Originally Posted by Rosebud
Newbirth, this is the War Zone. As I see it, this is a debate, not a bashing.
Maybe you should avoid posting here if you feel are feeling "bashed?"
Rosebud
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Actually, that's a bit unfair.
I read through a few pages of this discussion and frankly had to stop because the comments struck me as so disproportionately negative toward Newbirth. Although I might not agree that the article was written by somebody attempting to "bask" in their obesity, or that by virtue of said article being on the front page of something the author must therefore be "basking" (which I do not find logical), I
also don't think that Newbirth let fly the myriad judgments which subsequently were attributed to her. These insults ranged from subtle to egregious, including: 1) Newbirth being compared to Jesus (evidently for her self-righteousness) to 2) others feeling sad because she was judging people "for no reason" to 3) Newbirth somehow being uncompassionate due to her weight loss sucess to 4) Newbirth implying people are only fat because they aren't trying hard enough to 5) someone equating Newbirth's post to something a very cruel old man had said to her earlier that day.
All of this is complete bollocks; Newbirth didn't do any of those things. She brought up what is actually a very controversial subject and then gave her opinion on it. Sure she may have been brash, but she wasn't any of the other things she was consequently accused of. She
did attempt to debate it; it was
others who took the whole matter to a personal level.
I also think Newbirth got the reaction she did because we all have our own personal (/hellish) histories with weight, and we know
intimately how it feels to be discriminated against because of it. That's why so many of us come to these boards. I wonder though, if our predisposition to sensitivity as it concerns this subject makes us more likely to judge others generally when they are critical of our former lifestyles, so much so that we jump on another person and label them this or that when the only thing they've done wrong is give their opinion, which happens to hit a soft spot in our hearts.
I certainly feel compassion for that impulse---I often share it too. I know how difficult it is to struggle with weight and I know how despairing I have felt throughout my life, particularly when facing the parade of weight loss failures I have endured. But Newbirth didn't do something so terrible here by voicing her opinion---she didn't call fat people failures or trot out the words "lazy" and "worthless" or anything of the sort. I honestly just don't understand the response she received.
This is just my opinion, of course: take it or leave it, scream at me or not. I like you all an awful lot and respect you enough to be honest with you.
Peace.