QOTD, Monday 10/23

Morning Kids! Can you believe it's Monday already? Someone needs to make these weekends longer. Just not enough time to get everything done. In light of Sweetie Poohs QOTD yesterday, I thought I'd ask Have you ever been treated differently or discriminated against because you were obese? I have definitely been. I never thought that my weight made a difference to anyone. Boy, was I wrong. Years ago I as a waitress. There were two distinct instances that stand out in my brain. The first, I went up to a table of 2 gentlemen, they told me they were waiting for 2 other people. When the 2 other people got there, the guys stopped another server and told her that they were ready to order, but they didn't want the fat waitress. The server that they stopped happened to be my best friend (still is) and she came over and told me what happened. The owner was there and heard the whole thing and got so upset and he asked them to leave. The other time I was also waitressing and the head cook was leaving to open his own restaurant in a few months with his brother-in-law. The cook asked me if I would be interested in coming with him and being his store manager. Of course I said yes and he said he would talk to his BIL about salary. It never came up again and I found out much later on that the BIL said that I was too fat to be his store manager. There's alot more instances throughout my life, but they were more recent...at least in the last 10 years anyway. How about you, anything stick out in your mind?

I've never received open discrimination as a result of my obesity personally or professionally. In fact, when I would refer to myself as obese, people would tell me, "You're not obese ... you're just a big girl." I was in denial regarding my obesity for a long time. It was my doctors who got real with me. However, I have a friend who has encountered repeated hostility as a result of her obesity. I've dealt with much more racial discrimination,

Sure... having been down 200, up 240 and on my way down again, in just the last 7 years I clearly remember an experience when I get to a certain weight loss last time around that was just shocking to me. I had lost a lot of weight and was walking down the street. A woman was walking towards me and I noticed she was looking at me (to the point that it felt awkward), and then smiled as we passed. I really thought my fly was open or something. Then I noticed that kind of thing happening more often and finally realized for a long time that people avoided eye contact and looking at me when I was obese. Yep, it proved true as the weight came back on too. Steve

The only thing that stands out in my mind is I had a dr. that treated me like crap one day, he told me that there was nothing that he could do for me, my knees had been hurting for like 3 days straight. I went to see the dr in tears. He told me that he couldn't do anything, because i need to get some of that fat off of me. I just really felt bad after that. I remember posting to my profile, that I felt like human garbage after I left the office. Sometimes its not what you say its how you say it.

You bet!! I live near a huge mall, and in this mall is a store with a * in their name.. It was Christmas time, and I had stopped in to get a pair of boots for my sister, luckily I didn't have to ask to have someone go in the back, as that would never happen. I was 2nd in line to be helped, and the clerk pulled the person behind me to help first. I was dumbfounded/shocked you name it. I actually started tearing up.. was I upset that the lady behind me got helped first, as she really should have said something.. or that the guy looked right passed me to avoid me? Not sure, but imagine standing there with silent tears coming down your face..not looking up, and just wanting to get the heck out of there...with my boots.. ugggh!! Now, fast forward to the same store in SF, shoes on two.. and this young guy came up to me to ask if I needed help, I had to look around to see who he was talking to, and when I told him THANK YOU, and the issues I had down in SJ, he was even more shocked.. The boys in SF are much nicer!! ha..

You KNOW we are...

GREAT QUESTION... My answer is yes. I went on a job interview once and did very well. But it was a small company and a panal interview. After I walked out to the lobby I had to stop and use the restroom. They only had stalls in the mens room (weird) but anyway the HR manager and Ops Manager who I just had interviewed with came in and were talking about me. The Ops mgr said I was the best candidate they had seen. The HR mgr said that they should wait it out because I would be bad for the company health insurance rates. Then there was sinlence and the HR guy went on and said, "Did you see how huge he was? He must be at least 400 lbs. How does someone let themselves go like that. Jesus, he must just eat and eat and eat." The other guy laughed but didn't say anything. I waited for them to leave, because normally if I am so upset or angry then I am either confrontational or completely nonconfrontational. As this was said while I had my fly open, I felt nonconfrontational. lol... In any case I walked out and they had been stopped by the woman who was VP of something who had been the third in the panal. You should have seen the look on thier faces when they saw me, they went white. I knew I had to say something, but I really didn't know what to say. So I said, "You know gentlemen, its flu season, you should really wash your hands when you leave the restroom." Then I started to walk off and turned around and said, "Mr. Folley, I am actually 372 lns, not 400." Needless to say I did not get offered the job due to my comment. It was a very good paying job and I was worried I think that if they offered it I would justify their bad attitudes in my mind and take it. So I sabatoged it myself. But at least I got a good zinger in there on my way out.