In Defense of Fat Shaming

Why is it that it’s okay to shame some people for their choices but not others? Who among us was appointed the judge on what is okay to shame and what is not okay? Why is it, as a society, we have a right to use our free speech at any time we see fit unless or until the self-appointed politically correct language police say otherwise?
Once upon a time smoking was not only socially acceptable but it was promoted in every way possible. Now smokers are barred from smoking pretty much everywhere including their own homes and/or cars. As such, smoking numbers have gone down considerably and non-smokers think this is a good thing. So if shaming smokers into quitting is good then why wouldn’t fat shaming be good to get people to stop killing themselves with food?
In a day and age when the majority of people want taxpayer funded healthcare it seems only reasonable to make sure that everyone is doing their “fair share” in not only paying for this healthcare but doing the necessary work to be healthier. If I have to pay for you to go see the doctor then you could at least do me the courtesy of making sure you’re not killing yourself with your food choices. It seems odd to me that healthy people have to carry the financial burdens of those who choose to eat garbage food and be obese. There is no more unfair system than making the responsible pay for the irresponsible.
If promoting diet, exercise and healthy eating habits doesn’t work to motivate the obese then shaming may be their only saving grace. Some people will only respond to negative attention and those are the ones who need the most motivation and that is where shaming may work. Perhaps if enough people say the same things to obese people they will get the hint and do something about their situation. There was an editorial published in Hastings Center Reportby Hastings Center bioethicist Daniel Callahan that addresses this very subject. In it he claims that when nothing else works shaming may be what is needed to get them to eat better.
There is a way to avoid fat shaming altogether if you’re too much of a coward to tell folks they’re killing themselves. You can let the government do it for you. You see, once you put the government in charge of handing out your “free” taxpayer funded healthcare you’ll see how nice fat shaming seems. Taxes will appear on all foods deemed unhealthy. More taxes for those who continue to abuse food and of course limits on what you can buy with taxpayer funded programs. Then once none of that works your big brother in charge that you begged for will simply refuse to treat the chronically obese. Nothing will kill a fat person faster than denying them healthcare.
Fat shaming may seem cruel to some but what is crueler is to accept unhealthy behavior in favor of not hurting someone’s feelings. How could you let someone die at a young age because you were too afraid to offend them? What kind of person does that make you? People who cater to the obese aren’t doing it because they’re great people. They’re doing it because they’re looking out for themselves and doing what is best for them. It’s easier to turn a blind eye than it is to tell the truth when you’re a coward. Basically you’re making yourself feel better by letting others think their unhealthy behavior is good for them.