A little rant about discrimination

Oct 20, 2010

A few weeks ago, I had posted on one of the boards about discrimination by an airline employee who told me any one that needed a seatbelt extender was less capable of helping in an emergency than any one that could fit comfortably in an airline seatbelt. 

I have to say I was rather shocked at some...no, most, of the responses I received.  I know every one was being honest, but that was the shocking part.  I understand that people who are morbidly obese need to lose weight for their health and happiness.  This is why I am seeking weight loss surgery because I can't get there on my own.

However, discriminating against any one because of their size is simply unacceptable, regardless of who you are.  Just because some one is no longer overweight does not mean it's okay for them to be mean to some one who is.  This would be similar to some one who is no longer in poverty making fun of some one who still struggles in it.  No matter what your current status is, there is no reason for discrimination, teasing, name calling, etc.

It was extremely frustrating to me to hear my "skinny" friends get more upset about the discrimination I faced than those that had personally experienced it before.  I hope that when I shed this extra weight I don't discriminate against "people of size" (term used by Continental airlines) just because I'm no longer one of them.

I don't know.  My friends have always accepted me just as I am, and I also accept them as they are.  In fact, my best friend was reviewing the letter of medical necessity from my physician.  She was reading through it and kept saying "Amy, I can't believe you weight this much - you don't look that big to me!"  and it wasn't her being nice - she was truly shocked to see the number on the scale because she sees me differently.  Truth be told, I am almost exactly 3 times her weight, which is just insane!  Neither of us can wrap our heads around that one. lol.

I guess I will just have to work to keep positive people around me and not worry about the negative ones or the ones that will discriminate.

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