# Sure I'm insensitive, but you're fat. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 7, 2003, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sure-im-insensitive-but-youre-fat/173768 "2003-05-07T21:36:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2003, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sure-im-insensitive-but-youre-fat/173768/1 "2003-05-07T21:36:46Z")
A foolish young man named Joh Brown learns a hard lesson - From the [Perdue Exponent Newspaper of Perdue University - Sure I’m insensitive, but you’re fat.](http://www.purdueexponent.org/interface/bebop/showstory.php?date=2003/04/28§ion=letters&storyid=brown) > [@](#): > > Purdue doesn’t have enough quality women > Women at Purdue are too fat. There just aren’t enough quality, healthy women on this campus. All too often I’ll be on my way to class when I’ll see a skin-tight shirt with handles and rolls hanging out. It’s enough to make me hurl. There are a few diamonds, but with the amount of attention they get you’d think they were the Olsen twins. > > I realize that my chosen field doesn’t help my opinion; the MET body is the biggest sausage-fest this side of a Russian submarine. With my mechanical engineering technology classes combined this semester, I have 70+ males and one female. But my opinion is still widely held (no pun intended) even if most guys aren’t as audacious as me. > > Cheer up! The good news is there’s hope. If you have a problem, do something about it. Just stop eating so much! Go to the new fitness center every once in a while! Take advantage of the summer break and do something for yourself and the people around you. > > Sure I’m insensitive, but you’re fat. > > Josh Brown > Sophomore, School of Technology And then the fun began [put “Josh” in the search box for the responses](http://www.purdueexponent.org/) and [best of all this see below](http://www.purdueexponent.org/interface/bebop/showstory.php?date=2003/05/2§ion=opinions) > [@](#): > > PROTEST: In response to a recent letter printed in The Exponent, Shannon Sischo (right), junior in the School of Liberal Arts, walked around Memorial Mall getting supporters such as Busi Langa (left), junior in the School of Science, to sign her sandwich board. ---
**Author:** ![Indygrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@Indygrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indygrrl)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2003, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sure-im-insensitive-but-youre-fat/173768/2 "2003-05-07T21:41:13Z")
I know some people who work at Purdue University and they say there is no shortage of hot women. Some people just wanna instigate, and I think this guy is one of them. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2003, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sure-im-insensitive-but-youre-fat/173768/3 "2003-05-07T21:42:48Z")
_snort_ The obvious response would be, “Yeah, but I can lose weight. Asshats are forever.” Besides, after this, his chances of getting laid are absolutely zilch. ---
**Author:** ![occ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8c91f0/32.png) [@occ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/occ)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2003, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sure-im-insensitive-but-youre-fat/173768/4 "2003-05-07T22:53:47Z")
Question: Has it been verified that the guy in question actually wrote the editorial, and not just someone signing his name to it to smear him? I can’t believe someone would really write something that pointless and destined to piss every female in campus off at him. It make-a no sense. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2003, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sure-im-insensitive-but-youre-fat/173768/5 "2003-05-07T23:06:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Guinastasia \* > \*\*_snort_ > > The obvious response would be, “Yeah, but I can lose weight. Asshats are forever.” > > Besides, after this, his chances of getting laid are absolutely zilch. \*\* Or, “I can lose weight, but can you lose your virginity?” 😛 ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2003, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sure-im-insensitive-but-youre-fat/173768/6 "2003-05-07T23:24:29Z")
_sigh_ I’m so proud of my alma mater… :rolleyes: I wonder if the Exponent still fields the Greeks vs. dormies letters. I recall when I was a student, there was a big stink about “Gay Bluejeans Day” when all gay students were going to wear jeans as a show of solidarity or something (This was in the 70s) Letters to the editor screamed “I’m wearing jeans that day and I AM NOT GAY!” and similar inanity. College kids can be so cute in their natural environment. ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2003, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sure-im-insensitive-but-youre-fat/173768/7 "2003-05-08T00:32:14Z")
Okay, I asked this question in a “fat thread” in the pit. But this question has made me curious for years. Whether or no Josh really wrote the letter, his attitude is not new among his gender and age group. Not all young men feel that way, but a goodly percentage of them surely do. My question is why? Why do they feel so personally affronted because there are “fat chicks” around? If they are not personally attracted to heavier girls, fine, date the skinny ones, but why go out of their way to put down someone in whom you have no interest? They act as if the bigger girls are somehow taking something away from them by being fat. ---
**Author:** ![Davebear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@Davebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Davebear)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2003, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sure-im-insensitive-but-youre-fat/173768/8 "2003-05-08T02:29:17Z")
Just guessing, here, **Shoes** , but I’d say it’s because these guys can’t compete for the “few” slender women on campus. I suppose they could be genuinely, if irrationally, affronted that a woman gains enough weight that she is no longer considered worth pursuing, in his mind, thereby decreasing his chances. Like he had any chance. ---
**Author:** ![Searching\_For\_Truth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4da419/32.png) [@Searching\_For\_Truth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Searching_For_Truth)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2003, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sure-im-insensitive-but-youre-fat/173768/9 "2003-05-08T03:31:51Z")
I really hope the case is not as **Davebear** suggests. That’s the most repulsive thing I’ve ever heard. ---
**Author:** ![j\_kat\_251](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/71c47a/32.png) [@j\_kat\_251](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j_kat_251)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2003, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sure-im-insensitive-but-youre-fat/173768/10 "2003-05-08T03:44:40Z")
> [@](#): > > I suppose they could be genuinely, if irrationally, affronted that a woman gains enough weight that she is no longer considered worth pursuing, in his mind, thereby decreasing his chances. Like he had any chance. Yeah, because we all know superficial people never get laid. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Lizard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@Lizard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lizard)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2003, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sure-im-insensitive-but-youre-fat/173768/11 "2003-05-08T04:14:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by CanvasShoes \* > \*\*Okay, I asked this question in a “fat thread” in the pit. But this question has made me curious for years. > . . . > My question is why? Why do they feel so personally affronted because there are “fat chicks” around? If they are not personally attracted to heavier girls, fine, date the skinny ones, but why go out of their way to put down someone in whom you have no interest? > > They act as if the bigger girls are somehow taking something away from them by being fat. \*\* I have noticed this attitude as well, but I don’t think it’s limited to men, or weight issues, or even younger people. For some reason, the concept of “Live and Let Live” simply doesn’t occur naturally to some people. It does tend to occur much more often in younger people, by which i think we can safely conclude it is a sign of immaturity. Personally, my theory is that young people simply have not yet learned the very large gap between what they see on TV and reality, between how their friends talk and between how polite, intelligent people are expected to talk, or the difference between being cool and being competent. ---
**Author:** ![Dogface](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@Dogface](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogface)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2003, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sure-im-insensitive-but-youre-fat/173768/12 "2003-05-08T06:01:55Z")
First, I grew up in Lafayette and worked in West Lafayette for several years (at Purdue). There has never been a shortage of “schwing inspiration” among the female student body there. This letter is either a put-up or the guy hasn’t a clue. Mind you, when I last spent much time at Purdue, the “tech” majors weren’t generally known as the prime representatives of any sort of human gift. The joke was “What do you do if you flunk out of ME? You go MET.” I presumed that was just another of those college prejudices, since my own field was life science (ag/vet) research, so I didn’t see much of the tech major students. There are college boys who think that any woman who isn’t identical to female popstar flavor of the week is a “cow”, and I met a few at Purdue. So he could be one of them. ---
**Author:** ![Audrey\_Levins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Audrey\_Levins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Audrey_Levins)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2003, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sure-im-insensitive-but-youre-fat/173768/13 "2003-05-08T11:17:02Z")
**CanvasShoes,** I’ve never thought about that, but you’re dead-on there. My brother does it. “Yeah, I went to this beach party thing, and there were all these gross fat chicks everywhere! Like, go home already!” And my brother’s no poster-child for svelte manly beauty, either; neither are his friends, but their own personal appearance never seems to check this heinous attitude. As if anyone but Uber-Babes doesn’t belong in their range of vision. Don’t get it. I think eventually they grow out of it…or at least stop saying it out loud. _sigh_ ---
**Author:** ![Davebear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@Davebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Davebear)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2003, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sure-im-insensitive-but-youre-fat/173768/14 "2003-05-08T11:50:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by j\_kat\_251 \* > \*\*Yeah, because we all know superficial people never get laid. > > :dubious: \*\* Speaking from experience, **kat**? 😉 Sure, they do. But, if they’re also as obnoxious as the guy who wrote that letter, it’s got to lessen their chances. And, it would be better if they didn’t. We don’t need that type reproducing. ---
**Author:** ![Sengkelat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Sengkelat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sengkelat)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2003, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sure-im-insensitive-but-youre-fat/173768/15 "2003-05-08T12:20:36Z")
This guy is a moron and a jerk. On the other hand, I have seen guys who were at least a hundred pounds overweight wearing miniscule Speed-O style swimsuits. I really wanted to know why. Why not loose “shorts” style swimsuits? Do you really think the revealing suit is more flattering? Or is it just habit that you wear that type? Or what? I’m not sure if there’s a difference between “You’re too fat” and “Those clothes are not flattering to a person of your build”. One sounds nicer, but is it the same prejudice couched in nicer words? Certainly everyone should be allowed to wear what they want. Perhaps I’m just as much a moron and jerk. It would be interesting to see a chart of a people’s body fat percentage vs what percent of the population considers them attractive. It would be even more interesting (though impossible) to see how the results vary through historical time. Err, okay, I think I’m completely off on a tanget. Back on topic: That guy’s a complete f\*ckwit. ---
**Author:** ![Honeydew\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e19b73/32.png) [@Honeydew\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honeydew_1)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2003, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sure-im-insensitive-but-youre-fat/173768/16 "2003-05-08T12:30:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Davebear \* > \*\*Just guessing, here, **Shoes** , but I’d say it’s because these guys can’t compete for the “few” slender women on campus. I suppose they could be genuinely, if irrationally, affronted that a woman gains enough weight that she is no longer considered worth pursuing, in his mind, thereby decreasing his chances. Like he had any chance. \*\* I would well believe it … unfortunately. I work in a College - worked late last night so I went to the Canteen for something to eat before my additional 4 hours. Sitting beside me was a group of guys, about 18 or so I’d say, and the stuff they were discussing :eek: … girls in their class and incredibly nasty comments about them (I know some of these girls and certainly some of them are very nice - looks and personality-wise). I have to agree that some guys of this age (hugely immature) take the view that if girls are big, then they are just not worth their attention - the pathetic thing the spotty little oiks fail to grasp is that the girls have more sense in their little fingers than to bother with those morons in the first place!!! I sat with the girl I work with and said “Oh my God, this is the future of our country”… depression set in about 3 seconds later. ---
**Author:** ![Honeydew\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e19b73/32.png) [@Honeydew\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honeydew_1)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2003, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sure-im-insensitive-but-youre-fat/173768/17 "2003-05-08T12:35:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Sengkelat \* > **On the other hand, I have seen guys who were at least a hundred pounds overweight wearing miniscule Speed-O style swimsuits. I really wanted to know why.** Why not? They can wear what they like, just like you can. It’s one of the good things about living in a free world. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Ego\_Mk2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/58956e/32.png) [@Ego\_Mk2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ego_Mk2)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2003, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sure-im-insensitive-but-youre-fat/173768/18 "2003-05-08T12:52:56Z")
I went to Purdue. This dude is wrong. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![lorene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/65b543/32.png) [@lorene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lorene)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2003, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sure-im-insensitive-but-youre-fat/173768/19 "2003-05-08T14:20:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Davebear \* > \*\*Speaking from experience, **kat**? 😉 > > Sure, they do. But, if they’re also as obnoxious as the guy who wrote that letter, it’s got to lessen their chances. And, it would be better if they didn’t. We don’t need that type reproducing. \*\* Sure, shallow people do get laid. It’s lasting relationships I think they don’t get, and that tends to be more important at, say, 33 than at 23. Some of them eventually figure out how to relax their standards, and some don’t. And I think this cuts across gender lines, too. I work with a woman who is facing her 37th birthday and is mourning the fact that she has no BF or baby in sight. It doesn’t seem to have occurred to her that the list of qualifications she has for a mate (very goodlooking, athletic, wealthy Jewish man) might need to be modified a bit. It’s good to have standards, just reasonable ones, IMHO. And it’s very good to learn how to see beyond them and perhaps be pleasantly surprised. ---
**Author:** ![gex\_gex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/94ad74/32.png) [@gex\_gex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gex_gex)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2003, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sure-im-insensitive-but-youre-fat/173768/20 "2003-05-08T15:22:44Z")
> [@](#): > > _originally posted by Honeydew_ > Why not? They can wear what they like, just like you can. It’s one of the good things about living in a free world. **senkelat** was wondering _why_ they wore them, not saying that they weren’t _allowed_ to wear them. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sure-im-insensitive-but-youre-fat/173768.md?page=2)