You know, I don't know if it's even worth it to say anything about this.
At work, our IT guy and a handful of people (NOT in my department) constantly pull pranks on each other (this doesn't occur in my department since we aren't even allowed to talk). The pranks the IT guy pulls, more often than not, involve photoshopping someone's head onto someone else's body, so T. becomes a gymnast, G. becomes a member of AC/DC, etc.
The IT guy is on vacation this week, so Big!Boss's daughter asked chatty!co-worker if he would help with a photoshop prank on IT guy.
Last week someone forwarded an e-mail around the office with the header of "Warning: Don't Eat Cadbury Chocolate!" It was a joke e-mail, of course, with the "joke" being that eating chocolate makes you fat. It was illustrated by a picture of 4 very overweight women in bikinis, with the punchline of "Cadbury chocolate makes your feet shrink!" (Get it? Because they're so fat that their feet look tiny in comparison, ha ha ha fucking ha.)
So the prank that Big!Boss's daughter asked Chatty to help pull involved photoshopping IT guy's head onto the bodies of the women in bikinis.
Yeah, that's fucking hilarious.
I should suggest that maybe we find a picure of some disabled people and black people, too, just to sweep the What, That's Not Offensive category.
PISSED. I'm the fattest person in the office, and all I can think is, do you all not REALIZE how much that hurts me? You think it's funny, and all I see is you saying that fat people are funny, that it's OKAY to make fun of them. And it's not.
And I know that if I say anything, even if I just say it to Big Boss's daughter -- who FUCKING WELL should know better -- I'm going to get told that "it's just a joke." I already have the reputation of being the office bitch, and this is going to cement my rep as being utterly humorless, too.
OTOH, if everyone already thinks I'm a bitch, it's not like they'd be surprised at my objection to mocking fat people.
PISSED.
Tell her you don't think its a very Christian thing to do?
Yeah, it really bugs me that it's still socially acceptable to make fun of fat people. Even some progressive people I knew would do that.
Anyway, I don't know what I'd do if I were in your shoes....
Tell her you don't think its a very Christian thing to do?
And everyone has already seen the photoshopped picture as Chatty has been working on it, so IF she actually listened to me and decided that maybe workplace discrimination isn't the way to go, everyone is going to wonder where the funny picture is. Ha ha ha, look at IT guy! He's a grossly overweight woman in a bikini, ha ha ha!
Then you get to scold ALL of them for being unchristian!
it really bugs me that it's still socially acceptable to make fun of fat people. Even some progressive people I knew would do that.
Because ignorant bigots believe that you can't help if you're black, you can't help being disabled, but OBVIOUSLY fat people deserve shame and scorn because they can't control themselves and just gorge themselves all day long while sitting on the couch watching soap operas.
It's a moral issue. You can't get away with* discriminating against people whose "problem" wasn't "their fault," but since fat people brought it on themselves, then it's open season.
*(Generally speaking, you can't get away with being a racist shithead at work; obviously there are still racist shitheads and jackholes who say nasty things about disabled people, but while I've often seen people call each other out on their racist comments -- "Hey, that's a racist comment, and I don't appreciate it," -- I have NEVER heard anyone call someone out for making fun of fat people. Ever.)
Steph- what I do in those situations is just say, when shown the picture, "Wow, that makes me really uncomfortable and I don't really find it funny (or I do not want to participate)." But, my office a) thinks I am really nice and b) thinks I am really weird. The fat talk comes up a lot because a) one employee hates her ex-husband, who is overweight and so she makes fun of him a lot b) I work with people who run a weight management center and c) my boss is constantly talking about her weight loss and wanting to be congratulated at her self control. I also did it when we were having our cholesterol, blood sugar, and blood pressure levels checked "for fun".
Sophia, how do people respond when you say that? Because I'm afraid that if someone tells me "It's JUST a joke!" or "Don't be so sensitive!" that I will lose my shit.
and one is somewhat overweight and in her mid-thirties, so the older generation seems to have given up on her.
t rolls eyes at the older generation
I know that I have had panic attacks on Wellbutrin, but I can't say if they're related. (Although I never ever had a panic attack on Zoloft.)
I take a low dose (50mgs)of Zoloft every day with my (generic) Wellbutrin and it has done wonders for my anxiety.
