New York Legislature Poised to Pass Bill Outlawing 'Fat Discrimination'

Via the New York Times:

Victoria Abraham has attracted a huge online following as a self-described fat activist who preaches body positivity and calls out bias. But after graduating from New York University last year with a degree in public policy, she cannot avoid wondering if her job search will be hampered by her size.

This little social engineering effort is already off to a cancerous start within the first paragraph, and calls into serious question the utility of “public policy” faculties in American universities. Their graduates emerge into the world with an insatiable appetite for legislating the world into compliance with whatever personal pet project they wish to impose on the world — in this case, “fat positivity.”

(The #bodypositive narcissist at the center of this op-ed, Victoria Abraham, operates her Social Justice™ Twitter account under the handle @fatfabfeminist.)

Continuing:

Ms. Abraham makes no secret of her weight, including her body in the photo on her LinkedIn profile so prospective employers know whom they are considering hiring.

“There is a perception that you’re lazy or unable to do the work,” she said. “People don’t even realize that they have that bias.”

Ms. Abraham was among a group of people who testified recently on behalf of a bill that would prohibit discrimination in New York City based on a person’s weight or height in employment, housing and access to public accommodations. Although the bill has not been scheduled for a vote, it has the support of a majority of the City Council, with 34 co-sponsors out of 51 members.

New York City is expected to approve a bill this spring that would ban weight discrimination in housing and hiring.

“There is a perception that you’re lazy or unable to do the work,” one activist said. “People don’t even realize that they have that bias.” https://t.co/XByIHHIgUD

— The New York Times (@nytimes) April 6, 2023

It’s way past time to put the demonization of “discrimination” to bed. We can start with distinguishing — or discriminating, as it were — between the two dramatically different definitions of the word, per Merriam- Webster:

• The first, most popular meaning of the term, is the “prejudiced or prejudicial outlook, action, or treatment” usually meant in the context of “racial discrimination”
• The second, marginalized denotation of “discrimination” is “the act of making or perceiving a difference: the act of discriminating.”

Discrimination is a beautiful and healthy human practice.

Some things are not like others. Telling them apart is normal and actually necessary to function in the world.

Related: Biden ‘Obesity Expert’ Claims Willpower Doesn’t Exist and Obesity Is a ‘Brain Disease’

When you pick mushrooms in the forest, the person discriminates between the poisonous and nutritious species. The aggrieved poisonous mushrooms are not then entitled to compensation in a New York state court for the slight of being thrown back onto the forest floor.