Reply #23: I truly hope that being overweight is not so bad... [View All]

[ninkasi]

I am slender, but my cousin, who is a year younger than me...61 to my 62, is very much overweight, or obese. I know from our childhood years that the weight gains she had were in direct proportion to the abuse she suffered at the hands of her father, and later, her first husband.

I am not a doctor, nor do I have any training in medicine, but I can vouch for what I saw. She gained weight, an enormous amount, and it seemed to me that she did it to insulate herself from the pain of rejection.

In other words, she could accept rejection because of obesity, but it crushed her to think that rejection was due to her value as a human. She is loving, giving, and would do anything for someone she loved; she takes pity on stray animals, and has them neutered/spayed, and tries to find them good homes. The ones she can't find homes for live with her on her five acre place.

Someone who only judges by looks might see her as an object of scorn, or ridicule. If they do it in my presence, they might regret it. I love her with all my heart. I had four brothers, and no sisters, so she is my sister in addition to being my cousin. I would fight for her if necessary. Please pardon my rambling post, but sometimes people subconsciously stay fat in order to remove themselves from normal relationships with others. They are able to accept being rejected because of their weight, and not because of their worth.

I urge any DUers who have obese friends, or family, to show them that you love them, and that your love does not depend on whether they are fat, or thin, or any other physical reason. I will take my cousin over a million people like the ones who comprise the current administration. She is beautiful because her soul is beautiful.