'Fat People Aren't Unstable' -- For This We Needed a Study?

First let me say I don't like being fat. Yes, I diet and yes, to the degree my disability (unrelated to my weight) allows me - I do exercise.

A while back someone posted really malicious things about my weight, my character and even my disability online. Even throwing in a very twisted, backward and upside-down version of what really occurred between us. To wit (edited for foul language):

You used the internet to track him down after 30 years, which wasn’t too hard because he’s a published writer. You got him to agree to meet up with you.

When he did meet up with you, to his horror, he saw that his ex-girlfriend from college had ballooned into a 275 lb fat pig with poor hygiene and he didn’t want to bang you. He politely excused himself by saying he couldn’t do this to his wife.

You then began stalking him and his family, driving by his house, sending letters to anyone with whom you thought you could slander his good name. His poor wife was left with no choice but to report you to the police after you threatened to harm her children.

Sound familiar porkchop?

(Believe it or not, it didn't bother me because I consider it so childish and ignorant. Added to the fact that I have hard copies of documents and forensic evidence that my attorney as well as others have that prove that what was said was absolutely false.)

And, while I don't like my size but I do realize that I am NOT an 'out of control' eater -- I have a number of medical problems and have had numerous surgeries, medications and medical procedures that contribute to my size. And like I said, I don't like it and I am working on it.

However, I still have to deal with the same discrimination that a "fat by their own hand" person deals with. It's one of those situations that really shows a lot of humanity for how INHUMANE it can be. And far too common:

NEWSFLASH: BIGOTRY NOT BASED ON FACT.
by 'fillyjonk'

This should make me happy, I guess:

EAST LANSING, Mich. — New research led by a Michigan State University scholar refutes commonly held stereotypes that overweight workers are lazier, more emotionally unstable and harder to get along with than their “normal weight” colleagues.

With the findings, employers are urged to guard against the use of weight-based stereotypes when it comes to hiring, promoting or firing.

Mark Roehling, associate professor of human resource management, and two colleagues studied the relationship between body weight and personality traits for nearly 3,500 adults. Contrary to widely held stereotypes, overweight and obese adults were not found to be significantly less conscientious, less agreeable, less extraverted or less emotionally stable.

Instead, possibly because I am really stressed lately and have been particularly tense today, it just pisses me off that this study was even done (and funded) in the first place. It’s like doing a fucking study on whether Jews are obsessed with money. What the fuck is the point of this? Proving that negative stereotypes aren’t based in fact? Are you kidding? Why would you legitimize them enough to consider them a valid object of study?

I know I’m being a little unreasonable, because after all I welcome studies that show that fat people don’t eat more than thin people on average, or aren’t sicker than thin people on average, or don’t cost more to the health system. But these are situations in which people are basing their misconceptions on existing flawed science; the addition of new science is valuable for refuting that. Actually bothering to do the social science research to refute nasty stereotypes backed only by bigotry and anecdata… well, it’s as appalling to me as an extensive study on stereotypes surrounding any other group. Fat people aren’t mean? That’s your study? Are you fucking KIDDING me?

And get this part:

Roehling, who’s also a lawyer, said the practical implication of the research is that employers should take steps to prevent managers from using weight as a predicator of personality traits when it comes to hiring, promoting or firing.

Oh wow, thank goodness this study was done, then. Because if negative assumptions do turn out to be true on average, that means you should totally judge people’s personalities based on their looks, since there’s no such thing as common cause and things that are true of a group on average are true of every member of that group. If black men are imprisoned at a higher rate than white men, that can only be because black men are criminals and you should never hire one! If there are fewer women than men in the sciences, that can only be because women are dumb at thinking and you shouldn’t give them high-level jobs!

WHAT THE HELL IS THIS BULLSH*T, I EXPECT THIS FROM EVERYONE ELSE, BUT ACADEMIA, YOU ARE MOTHERF**KING DISAPPOINTING ME

SOURCE