Transference

Over at a forum, I raised an issue of a form of transference fat prejudice being removed from oneself and deposited on to those fatter than oneself. Leaving one cleansed of it whilst acting out the negative ideas about being fat on them. The response was that the problem was the self pity of those who are fatter. This consists of them not recognising the suffering of those who are less fat than themselves, and by doing this they threaten to undermine the veracity of their claims.

So for that reason, regardless of any possible truth in their complaint, they should forgo any sense of grievance, however legitimate it may be so as not to make those less fat feel it robs their suffering of a sense of legitimacy.

My response was although I cannot stand anyone giving me any attitude about whether I qualify as fat enough for them. That doesn't mean that what underlies their feelings has no merit.

If this transference is anything to go by, it may have some. Noticing this effect has forced me to consider it, whereas before the fact that I didn't like their attitude, meant I was more dismissive.
I'm not trying to guilt trip, cause ructions, I'm just saying, noticing that some apply different rules to those fatter than them, to the point where they think of the fatter in exactly the same terms as fat haters; has made me re-think their feelings about and reactions to those less fat than themselves. If you think about it, that is exactly what both are saying, that the less fat are not fat enough. Is this the basis of the mutual suspicion?

More than that, those who are engaging in this projection seem to feel the same sense of not needing to ask or to gather opinions from those fatter than themselves, they feel just as able to totally describe who they are, without any reference from those concerned. That is just as high handed as fat haters are with all fat people including those who are feeling like behaving like a thin fat hater beside those who make them feel so.

IOW, they forget themselves when they are with fatter people and they may well have experienced this phenomena before. Liberated from feeling like a fatty, it could get quite unguarded, if what I saw and the phrases that were used one of which was quite appalling. For instance describing someone as 'grotesquely obese', I kid you not plus all sorts of assumptions about their eating habits.

This is something that has caused fat people in general immense pain. Ignoring fat people has been used to deliberately sustain ignorance, which helps to keep prejudices strong.

For me, it's not about self laceration; it's provoked me to ask why this would be. I'm not a misanthrope by nature, so I'm not looking to say this is yet another reason why humans are the pits.

I work on the assumption, that this projection is probably unexpected occurrence, something that comes out of avoidance of pain on the part of the less fat person, rather than the desire to cause it. But it’s something that should be watched.