Sizzle Says

“Fat people gross me out.”

That’s what he said as he exited the bar, looking over at my friend. She stood there, stunned and shell shocked, appalled that someone would be so blatantly mean.

“Excuse me?! Are you aware that I am standing right here and can hear you?”

“Yeah. I’m entitled to my opinion. Sorry if that offends you.” And he walks away.

“Come the fuck on Jenny. Let’s go!” I yell from the car, out the open window, completely oblivious to what has transpired. What is taking her so long?

With disbelief all over her face, she turns and walks to the car. She slams the door and tells us what happened.

“WHAT!?” we both exclaim, incredulously. What. The. Fuck.

The Fella is silently furious. His ire is palpable from the driver’s seat. I start swearing, wondering aloud what is wrong with people. We pull away from the curb and as we pass the fatist asshole I stick my arm out the window, middle finger pointing to the sky, and yell “FUCK YOU, ASSHOLE!”

We spent the rest of our trip home discussing the different ways we could have handled that. I mean, what in the hell do you say to someone like that? Do you even bother reasoning with them? Would it do any good?

How do you, as the person having been insulted like that, walk away from such a hurtful and hateful situation and just let it roll off your back? As someone who has experienced similar shit, I can attest that it is not easy to let it go. You don’t even know that person but out of the blue their actions change you. They just walk away and yet they never really leave you. There is no erasing that mark.

When you are picking your battles, even if you choose not to engage, you can walk away with battle scars. I fear that this fight will not be won unless we increase our army. Until we- no matter our own size- speak up for each other. Say, THAT IS UNACCEPTABLE. How many of us will it take to make this stop?

“I played the powerless/in too many dark scenes/and I was blessed with a birth and a death/and I guess I just want some say in between/don’t you understand/in the day to day/and the face to face/I have to act/just as strong as I can/just to preserve a place/where I can be who I am/so if you still know how/talk to me now. . .” -Talk to Me Now, Ani DiFranco