Saturday, October 06, 2007

The Dark Bite... Fatman!

Both your mouths always eat.
One of them devours the seat.
The other bites into dead meat.
You don't really know when to quit.

I hate fat people.

Actually, I don't really dislike all obese people. To be more exact, I feel absolute hatred to those waistline-enriched people who act as though they are entitled to that extra space they occupy.

For example, when riding a bus, I was unfortunate enough to have been seated in what once was a three-seater. The other person's bottom, however, stole space equivalent to that occupied by two and a half butts of average people. To make it worse, the bitch kept on wriggling in sleepy discomfort and muttering under her breath as though I was the one who had wrongfully encroach on her sleeping space.

In a jeepney, there is also an abundance of horribly ill-mannered pigs. A fat man seats himself with open legs while other passengers are forced to assume uncomfortable positions. Some had to twist their bodies into strange shapes while some have only half their bottoms seated. (Kinda gives a new meaning to the term half-assed, don't you think?) This obnoxious guy, on the other hand, had his entire gluteous maximus and a healthy part of his massive upper thighs on the seat while, on the back rest, lie his back, shoulders and even his elbows. On a jeepney full of passengers, such conduct is gross and unacceptable.

I have also encountered a bevy of heavy girls, walking side by side. I'm afraid I err against charity when I say the truth that they are lumbering about, occupying the entire sidewalk. Now, I have no problem walking side by side with my friends but, in a sidewalk teeming with pedestrians in a hurry to get to wherever it is they are going, I believe ethics should take precedence over trivial acts of shallow friendship. There is, I fear, much acrimony I feel but I'd still like to point out that it is wrong to block another hurrying person's way when both of you have equal rights over a public pathway. Equally wrong is hissing in annoyance whenever one inevitably brushes against you as we hurry on to our destinations.

I am perfectly aware, though, that I'm having double standards here. After all, I do get annoyed when there are times I feel as though I live in a world designed for pygmies. I do get inconvenienced by low doors and ceilings, by mirrors that cut off my reflection at the chin or by grocery cabinets that put items deep inside the lowest shelf. I do complain, from time to time, though, generally, I just accept that the world is made that way. I don't believe it is quite ethical of me to force my friends to hang their mirrors, paintings or shelves that little bit higher. Neither do I believe it is acceptable to cuss at people for having low ceilings in their houses, apartments, jeepneys or buses.

I am aware that not all fat people can really help it. It could be genetic or something medical. However, do pardon me for admitting that most fat people remind me of individuals with no self-control when it comes to eating or, at least, practicing healthy eating and exercising habits. I still hold hatred for obese people who arrogantly steal public spaces and other people's private space. I do, however, know that not all people shrug off their largeness as easily.

There was this voluminous lady who boarded the bus alone. She sat behind me and, as the conductor passed, she paid the amount for two people. Kudos to the fat woman who acknowledges her extra girth and pays her way! Boo to the insensitive jerks and bitches who conduct themselves as though they were thinner, slimmer or sexier than they really are!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Will you, in any way, be suggesting public transport to charge by mass or volume (or density) for this matter?

By the way, fat people are usually discriminated thanks to popular culture and media. Maybe this discrimination is causing them to act both offensively and defensively in some situations, in order that they will not feel stepped on.

Anonymous said...

such hatred. hmm...

honestly, as a weight-challenged person, i was kinda hurt with this one. of course i know you tried to stress out in this post that you're only particular with those people who make use of their size in the worst case possible, but at a certain level, it seems that the target already compasses those who act accordingly and try to be more conscious of what others think about them (taking others into consideration).

about the jeepney thing, i remember when i went to the city one day for an interview, the driver insisted on getting one more passenger when the seats were already full. i heard him murmur things that blame the weight challenged individuals in occupying too much space giving him less output for the day. it's unfair for people to make such comments. it's as if we don't have the same rights and privileges as those normal-sized people. sure you could say we stock in too much, but it's hurtful to say that you're getting less because you think we're trying to occupy more. who's to say that every weight-challenged individual "invades more"? some of them are consciously aware of it and try to accommodate others as much as possible.

with regards to the lady paying double because she occupies double, not everyone has the luxury to pay an extra seat so people like you could give them a kudos for being weight challenged.