Calling out the body shaming

All the days blur together.

Of note, waking is a crap time to call out an Irish American man and a Cuban American woman for body-shaming an African American woman. Said man launched into a rant about how the woman shouldn't show midriff on television, while she was talking about the opening of the Hart Island potter's field for the unclaimed Covid19 dead. Now, why said man cared about the woman's midriff showing, I have no idea. He did, though, and let us all know how incensed he was that she dared show midriff.

After which the Cuban American woman launched in, "She does not have the body to be wearing that shirt." Like, WTF? She has boobs, she has the body, and again, WHO CARES?

So, I asked them, "Would y'all be commenting if it were a white dude showing some skin?"

At which point, the Irish American male who considers himself a Good Guy™, launches into "Oh, you're going to pull out the race and gender cards?"

Nope. I am, however, going to call you on body shaming, because assholes who body shame should be called out.

The two of them then launched into defending their actions, none of which I actually read, because, as Jonathan points out, "no one likes to be called out for being an asshole," and every online forum says, "don't feed the trolls." Usually when you do call them out, they dig in harder. Which these two did.

To my relief, several others in the group chat privately shared support for my calling the two of them out.

Upside, did the right thing. Upside, had support. Upside, my skin is already thicker, and I'm more aware of my reactions to inflammatory comments. Downside, found out a friend of a friend is a jerk. I already knew the other one was an asshole, but he prides himself in that title, so I'm not worried about that moniker. I wasn't expecting the woman to be a jerk, though, from my interactions with her.

Stress makes us all more of what we already are.