blaming the victim

[firecat]

Someone on FB linked to a post from the blog You Need a Budget (YNAB) (which is a software product). The post is called "15 warning signs you're addicted to debt" and it references Debtors Anonymous and Overeaters Anonymous. The post said this:
"Whenever I see an overweight person, I automatically assume they’re seriously in debt. Probably just a case of projection – but probably not far from true."

(I'm not linking to the blog but with that info you can probably find the post.)

My thought on the matter:

In fact the person might be right that fat people are more often in debt simply because fatness is associated with poverty, and if you're poor it's a lot harder to stay out of debt because you don't have the resources to deal with emergencies.

There is another connection between debt and fat: both are assumed to be caused by the behaviors of the individual and are assumed to be the sole responsibility of the individual to fix. But both actually have a lot to do with what the individual was handed in life—in the case of fat, genetics and the pressure to yo-yo diet can contribute; in the case of debt, socioeconomic status, and a society that increasingly preys on poor people and conspires to keep them in debt. (See http://strikedebt.org)

Comments

[auntysocial.livejournal.com]

what really puts you in debt are diets. First, you spend a lot of money on tiny portions of food in expensive packaging. Then you reward yourself with expensive new clothes. You throw out your fat clothes because you know you will never need them again. Then you gain weight and have to buy new fat clothes. Rinse. Repeat.

It's probably needless to say that people who think they can read your character by your weight infuriate me.

[firecat]

Ayep ayep.