This is so the worst thing you're going to read all day.

[Trigger warning for fat hatred and patient abuse.]

This is a letter-to-the-editor about "the true nightmare of people who are obese and smoke." It is written by an asshole.

The asshole, Phillip Jones of Birmingham, Alabama, is no ordinary asshole, though. He begins his letter with an establishment of his unassailable expertise by informing us that he is "a medical sales representative who attends many spine surgeries."

*insert sound of record scratching here*


I'm sorry—why, exactly, is a medical sales representative attending surgeries? Oh, right. So he can attain Super Special Medical Wisdom, which he can then impart to us, like: "Adopt a sensible diet now and give up the cigarettes." Thanks for the lecture, Dr. Genius.

Here's some mind-blowing info for you, sir, in return for your kindness: Not all fat bodies are the same.

Insert here every post I've ever written about how being fat is not always a choice, about the intersection of fat and disability, about how some people are fat because they have back problems rather than the other way 'round, about the intersection of fat and surviving sexual assault, about the intersection of fat and poverty, about access to fresh foods, about how there exist plenty of healthful fat people, about the changing parameters of obesity, about the correlation between HFCS subsidies and obesity, etc. etc. etc., none of which ultimately matters when it comes down to the basic fucking decency of treating fat people with dignity, irrespective of their particular reasons for being fat, and honoring their individual agency.

Now that that's out of the way, can we get back to WHAT THE FUCK THAT DUDE IS DOING ATTENDING SURGERIES?!

[H/T to Shaker Kathy. Commenting Guidelines: This is not a thread to debate individual choices about eating or smoking. In fact, this is a thread about how that's nobody else's fucking business.]