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Woman accuses Google of "No Fatties" hiring policy
By Alex HeiglJune 23rd, 2011, 4:36 pmComments (108)
Nearly everyone has had some tech friend gush to them about how great Google is, not just as a search engine, but as a company. But a New York City woman is alleging that the company excluded her and six other potential applicants because of their weight.
The woman, who is remaining nameless, claims that she was at the Google offices for a test that was the second step in the hiring process — she'd already completed a phone interview, so all that was left was an exam that "contained LSAT-style logic questions, and... two of the three were about fitness — running, personal training."
The woman notes that after the test, she and six other applicants were escorted out, at which point she realized "There was not one fat person left in the pool." She continues that, in the elevator, the rejected women:
"...looked at each other. One girl had tears in her eyes and that's when I realized, [the HR official] separated out the fatties."
I'm torn on this. For one thing, I think it's hilarious that the woman bringing the suit against Google referred to her and her similarly discriminated-against colleagues as "fatties." But I also think it's depressing (if this is actually true) that Google would do such a thing. Fatties (her word!) are people too.
But on a serious note, there are several questions going unanswered. Did she actually speak with the other women? Who cares what Google administrators look like? (I would be unable to differentiate between Google employees and Yahoo employees if I were hypothetically forced to shoot one of them in a Face/Off kind of situation.) And perhaps most importantly, since discrimination against overweight people isn't a crime, what is the woman's end game in this? Predictably, Google has declined any specific comment, noting only that "We don't discriminate in our hiring process."
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Commentarium (108 Comments)
It would be nice if they even gave an adequate comment. "We don't discriminate in our hiring process," really isn't correct, since they don't hire just anyone. They use some things to discriminate against, or else they would have no criteria to test for with job applicants.
the obvious difference is that general, everyday use of the word "discriminate" implies a negative connotation. in other words, discriminating based on unappealing factors. but you are correct, the true meaning of the word is just to "identify the differences between." so yes, technically all job interviews are intended to discriminate.
Correlation does not equal causality. She genuinely has to prove that thinner people scored the same or lower on the test in question than the women escorted out.
I'm sure there were also questions on the test about right and wrong, maybe everyone escorted off showed a lower standard for moral behavior? But how would you tell that just by looking?
You're correct but increasingly correlation is taken/mistaken for causality. Look at the recent attempt at certifying the class of employees in the Walmart case.
The subject matter of "LSAT-style logic questions" shouldn't matter. The LSAT doesn't test your knowledge of personal trainers; neither does google.
On the other hand, it's fairly well-documented than thinner women make more money than their non-as-thin counterparts (but still less then men, thin or fat!), so it doesn't seem like a stretch to think there may have been some bias there. Hard to believe she'll win the case in this climate though.
Who wants to work with a bunch of fat chicks?
Once again misogyny lives on. With Bachmann in the contest, the glass ceiling will break and then change will really come to America for women. It is just a matter of women rallying in this country to get past all the misogyny we see in employment, politics, and every other facet of life.
Man, that Bachmann comment is the funniest thing I've heard all week. You're starting to become consistently (albeit unintentionally) the most hilarious commenter on this site.
Actually, that second "..." wasn't me! It's starting to be like a Publius Publius thing. I have no interest in Bachmann winning (although it would be nice if we stopped bashing her).
I'll stop bashing her when she stops bashing American History
I only know one person who works for Google. That person could certainly stand to lose a few pounds. I know, a sample of one is not much in the way of evidence. Perhaps this is an isolated case of one particular and misguided HR drone putting their own stamp on the process? Or maybe fatties really are dumb?
Well, the next step in the hiring process is the Google casting couch. The hiring manager was just exercising some personal preferences.
Fat and ugly people get discriminated against all the time. Facts of life. They should be happy we live in a modern world; most fat and ugly people would die out due to natural selection.
Full disclosure: I ugly but not fat.
its ironic that fatties used to be the sexual peak back when food was hard to come by. it meant you were doing something right and were able to provide well for yourself and family.
has anyone considered the possibility that Google doesn't want to pay much more in medical bills over the life of employment if it hires "fatties" I would certainly descriminate based on this. It's time Obese people realized we are subsidizing them.
@ Gag. Correction: most THIN people would die out due to natural selection. A big reason why so many people are overweight is easy access to food. We fatties were designed to survive famines.
Well..I tired of subsidizing skinny, alcoholic/drug abusing, vomitting , bitches
you got that right
@Lesley - yeah because people in America are dying from famine and not from heart disease and diabetes. And, if there was a famine, I'm pretty sure thinner people would survive longer since they would be able to survive on much less for a longer period of time.
Regardless, from what I understand, Google hires exceptional people. Exceptional people are not just qualified for their specific jobs either, but exceptional in many other areas. Google gives their employees 20% time to do their own projects, and I would think that it is factored in to their hiring process. In other words, if you see someone who (in their own time) clearly doesn't focus on health or personal development, they may consider that person to slack during their un-managed 20% time as well.
I spent most of a day at Google getting a sales pitch for their corporate services. Every employee I saw there was young, and relatively attractive. Of course that was the sales and marketing force. Didn't see the engineers.
Or the attorneys - the one I know that works there is well into obese territory.
I have fat friends is the new I have Black friends. Of course that could also mean you're fat.
i have fat, black, gay friends. beat that.
I have one friend who is the ultimate minority: black, fat, lesbian and handicapped!
Fat, albino mexican, legally blind, gay friend
Being fat is a choice for the vast majority of fat people. and it's a choice that says "I knowingly embrace things that are objectively proven to be bad for me." I have a hard time seeing a real problem here.
It's true. I have a hard time summoning any degree of sympathy for fat people whining about their plight.
Everyone embraces things that are bad for them. Some people eat, some people smoke, some people drink, some people don't wear seatbelts, some people have sex with strangers, some people date lunatics. Yet it's only people's weight that is the subject for scorn.
Also, none of the fat people I know live on fast food. Yet I know a bunch of rail-thin, genetically blessed people who scarf Taco Bell like it's going out of business. No one seems to discriminate against them either.
I heard a nutritionist say that the difference in metabolic rate between individuals is no more than one to three percent. The reason fat people are fat is they eat too much and move too little.
Do you have a citation from a peer-reviewed journal? I'm not inclined to believe secondhand hearsay. But in any case, even if a person does choose to eat too much and exercise too little, that still doesn't mean they should be discriminated against for a job, any more than anyone else who makes unhealthy decisions in their personal lives should be. Other employers bar people who smoke cigarettes from working there. What if an employer discriminated against people for other unhealthy personal choices? "Oh, I see here in your sexual history that you had a one-night stand. I'm sorry, we only accept employees who make healthy personal choices."
>Everyone embraces things that are bad for them.
No, don't drag us all down into your fattie pit. Fat people clearly lack self-discipline and that's a good marker for a bad employee. If you can't handle something as basic as your own bodily functions, how can you handle a work project?
I bet fat people make horrible drivers too. If they can't handle something as basic as their own bodily functions, how can they handle functioning a vehicle? And let's not even get started on parenting. If they can't handle something as basic as their own bodily functions, how can they handle that of another's? A child no less.
I mean, since these things are mutually exclusively successful according to body weight.
"if you think fat people have no self-discipline, consider the fact that they haven’t killed you yet." -- Miss Conduct, Boston Globe
Oh my, Spiffington. I am going to have to disagree with you almost entirely.
This is the problem with broad generalizations: They will never be true. Ever. Anytime you make a statement that includes the entirety of a population the statement will be proven false.
Case in point: I am currently a PhD candidate in a program that is highly regarded in my field, but I would also be considered "morbidly obese." There is *no* way that I could have achieved the success I have if I lacked self-discipline. I've been published, received awards, and gained the respect of many of the leaders of my field, and have done so as a "fattie." Don't ever assume that because a person is fat they can't be a good employee. Ever. You'll look ignorant when you are proven wrong. And you WILL be proven wrong again and again.
I'm always amazed at how quick people are to blame the fatties for their fatness, despite scientific evidence that weight is one of the most inherited characteristics after height. And when talking about how fatties should just eat less, no one seems to remember their skinny friend who eats like a horse, plays games all day and just never seems to gain any weight.
Both my parents are fat. I inherited "fat genes" and I'm not fat. Know why? I make a concerted effort to keep the weight off. I swim every day and run three times a week. It's time-consuming, yes. But, even with a packed schedule, I find an hour to stay in shape. It's a lifestyle choice. Bad genes can be combatted.
Same here. Fat parents, fat siblings. I look adopted for committing myself to an active lifestyle. Bad genes are no excuse.
If they were logic questions, she would not have needed to know anything about personal training, running, or fitness. Logic questions give you all the information you need and rely on you to figure it out using...wait for it...logic!
Could ask a question like, "If Sarah ate five pizzas and Sally ate three more than Ella who ate twice as many as Sarah, do you plan to be fat in the next three years?"
hahahaha
Did Sarah eat 13 of these pizzas? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDwvqrSi92Q
*Sally
I kinda find this hard to believe. I remember back in 2006 or so a recruitment video for google that basically bragged about how all google employees in their head offices usually gained on average 15 pounds becuase of not only how well they were treated but all of the great free cafeteria food that they had access to.
I'd say its ok to discriminate on eating habits and personal appearance. If you cant take care of your weight, can you really be trusted in other areas that may need some level of personal restraint? Fat people cost us all more in insurance premiums. Fat people are people, but 99% of them can help it, should help it, but dont. They may be the smartest person for the job, but they make poor life decisions. How many companies hire obvious drug abusers? Hopefully, none. How many people hire obvious food abusers... far too many. I'm personally tired of hearing about 'fat people discrimination'... it doesnt exist. those people are simply... gross.
If employers didn't hire people who made poor life choices, no one would be employed. Except perhaps Mormons.
being mormon is a poor life choice.
this is so stupid, I'm not even going to read the article.
Google is full of nerds
Nerds love fat girls
If A=B and B=C then A must = C
Hence Google loves fat girls.
Being a little dumpy would actually help their chances.
... an LSAT style test? Hmmm, seems they're discriminating against stupid people too. Those Bastards!!
In this PC environment reality will hit eventually. As an Employer would you hire a 98 lb woman that can't lift 25 lbs to Unload trucks? of course not. As for a Fatty, the question could be as simple as "Your project is due in 1 hour, it is lunch time would you skip lunch to finish the project on schedule?" More fatties would say say NO therefore as an employer who makes money for deadlines met more Fatties would not be looked at, But not ALL . As an employer I have had heavier guys that worked for me that would not even postpone lunch for 1 hour in order to finish what we were working on. Course I am not as time critical and just learned to work around them.
That is the most ridiculous generalisation. Well how about people skipping breaksfast & lunch so the body goes into "starvation mode"? If you want to gain weight, skip meals. I shouldn't, but I have (not often), and I carry a few extra pounds, and I have often delayed my lunch to meet a deadline.
Do you want a job unloading trucks?
What if they simply said Fat people eat more. Our company provides free food. Fat people raise our food costs so we dont hire them.
I'm overweight and only eat about 2000 calories a day, my 3 brothers are all skinny and all eat between 3-4 thousand calories a day. Google would be way better off in the food cost category hiring me (that and I'm the only one of the 4 of us that knows how to program).
Do they not realize how it can affect peoples lives when ignorant people treat them that way ,I hope one day that they get FAT most of the thin people have eating disorders and not eating makes you bad tempered with awful teeth and smelly breath ,,Who want to work with someone like that?
LOL what?
hahaha, this one is hilarious.
Really sue? You are the problem. Just like thin people will judge fat people, you are judging thin people. And I'm guessing from your comment, you are fat. Most thin people do not have eating disorders (yes, many PEOPLE do have eating disorders but they aren't all thin because if they were then why struggle to get thin?). Bulimia, the eating disorder you are referencing with awful teeth and smelly breath, it's more common with fat people. They stay fat because they are too lazy not to binge eat or at least exercise after doing so. Thus they eat everything they can and then shove their hand down their throat. And honestly, this woman at google probably wasn't cut out for the job as she is using her weight as an excuse for not getting the job. Thousands of people apply at google daily, they pick whoever they feel will be the best for the job. If that happens to be a healthy, fit, thin person, then it is. You just choose to discriminate against thin people because you don't want to do the work to get off your ass and lose weight. You are even worse than those bashing fat people.
LOL
"Most thin people" do not have eating disorders. That statement is so hilarious I'm glad this site doesn't require registration to comment!
Most thin people simply "eat to live". It is just necessary biological function, and we eat when we're hungry. Where as most fat people "live to eat". Using all excuses under the sun to eat "I eat when I'm stressed", "I eat when I'm happy", "I eat when I'm sad"
I always clear my plate, I often eat 4 meals a day, and yet my fat % is considered low @12%.
I honestly don't know how people eat so much, 3x600kcal meals and a 2-300kcal breakfast barely breaks my base metabolic rate of just under 2000kcals, add in any exercise and I'm on a deficit!
Fat people all carry a similar trait - This trait is a LACK OF SELF DISCIPLINE. I bolded it for those of you who have trouble reading or have fat blocking your eyes. No good manager can consider hiring a fat worker with a good resume over a well fit healthy worker with the exact same resume. It's simply natural selection occuring in the world and by denying that and putting laws in place, you are denying evolution its ability to run course. I am well liked manager with workers who work their asses off for me. I know I can depend on them. Can you do the same?
"Fat people all carry a similar trait - This trait is a LACK OF SELF DISCIPLINE."
I call bullsh*t!
I'm a male "fattie" and I don't have any lack of self discipline, In fact, I'm a work-a-holic graphic artist at a game company. Shit, my devotion to my sedentary job is partially what made me fat, 16 hr days in crunch-time, and constant pizza catered in doesn't reflect great on the waistline. So being fat, or even obese like 32% of Americans are BTW, is no reflection on work ethic in a desk job world, quite the opposite. BTW, I make 66K salary and have recieved a 5K bonus for 3 (bad economy) years. I am invaluable. I don't use my stomach in my field, I use my brain, just like they do at Google.
You have fun managing foot-locker, or hat world, or whatever. I'm guessing big fish in a small pond, and I'll bet your employees don't like you as much as you think. Discrimination based on appearance is a d#ck move.
There was a program which aired on Australian TV that focused on why thin people are thin. They made the thin people eat more, and they couldn't gain weight, but I know many thin people who don't hold back on eating whatever they fancy. Fat people also fall into both camps. Some have terrific discipline with diet, and still can't drop their weight. And if some lack discipline with diet doesn't mean it applies to all areas of life - that is a totally absurd claim.
I see no reason to be unhappy about a discriminating factor that you have the ability to eliminate. I am, personally, covered in tattoos from my neck to my wrists. I know there's no chance in hell I'd get hired at a high-end law firm simply for the fact that I am less professionally presentable than someone without ink. I'm not bitter about it, though. Why? because it was my own life choices that lead to the iniquity.
The funny thing is, Google would probably hire you
Why does Google have to comply? You should have to take care of your body in order to get the best jobs. Would you hire a coke addict to come work for you even if they could perform as good as anyone else. Being fat is a CHOICE, just like working for Google is a choice. She could probably get just as good a job somewhere else that does hire fatties like Microsoft.
I worked for a physical therapist. And several people who worked for George Lucas, and came to us for therapy, said the same thing about his company. If you carried any excess weight, it did not matter how well qualified you were, you would get no call back. I am not talking about in front of camera, but any of the behind the scenes technical aspects.
This kind of thing is certainly not new. It goes on. In employment agencies the restrictions are coded.
Wow, really? It's all about individual choices? So how do you explain that "according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, almost 70% of [American] men are overweight, as compared to 52% of women." Also, from the females, disproportionately women of color tend to be fat (58%) when compared to their non-Hispanic white counterparts (38%); with the males seeing similar distributions. Being fat or not may have some to do with poor personal choices, but it's also very much connected to factors beyond an individual's control: like societal expectations (for example, men are encouraged to eat more meat and other unhealthy food, much more so than women). Or problems like poverty, lack of access to healthy foods or lack of money to buy healthy food when it is available (it's hard for little farms to compete with Big Food).
If it was really just about personal choice would we see a disproportionate number of men/ people of color being fat for example? If we follow the "they're lazy" logic then it appears that men /people of color, who are disproportionately fat when compared to women/ whites, are also disproportionately lazy. And are you sure you believe that?
Also, maybe the people who we think are fat are not even that fat (think media culture with its expectations of "ideal weight" --which incidentally oppresses women the most) Most people do not have the body of a 12 year old boy and also most of us do not have hours upon hours to spend with a personal trainer and in yoga class.
Something obviously needs to be done about the fat problem, but fat-shaming and fat-hating and not giving fat people jobs do not seem like good long-term solutions (it will just encourage more anorexia and bulimia, and not even fat-haters with the meanest hearts would want that, right?)
Thank you.
I find the comments of many to be quite brave. The problem with the theory that fat=lazy or fat=overeater is that the person making the judgement does not know who that person is.
We could all do well to remember that the fat person we are judging might have just lost 20lbs.
Health is no excuse for hate.
(This is going to sound pretty bad, but I hope you'll see through the "I had a fat friend once" trope): I'm thin. All the people in my social circle are thin too. But I had one fat friend once and we hung out quite a bit. Every time I'd show up with her to any party or social gathering, people would be so cold to her and at least once during the party, every single time without fail, someone would pull me aside and tell me to tell my (fat) friend to lose some weight because it's unhealthy and "we're worried for her." The fat friend is diabetic, but healthy otherwise. Frankly these people didn't give a shit about her health. They just found her disgusting to look at (despite her pretty face) and they never once gave her a chance - like talk to her like they would to any normal person and find out about her likes and dislikes and her opinions on the economy or whatever.
After a while, all of this snickering and "helpful" advice, combined with her acting shitty towards me on a few occasions, put a strain on the friendship and now we hardly ever talk.
Long story short -- it really hurt me to see my friend being treated like that by a bunch of privileged thin assholes. It really hurt me to lose my friend. It also made me reconsider quite a few of my friendships with those "helpful advice" people, unkind and judgmental morons they were.
What is wrong with you America?? People are people.
Ugh "pretty face." I'm sorry if someone has a pretty face ARE THEY NOT THEN PRETTY? Or are people only pretty if they have nice ass? (Sorry, totally off topic. It's just sortof a hot button for me.)
I'm glad you stood by your friend despite assholery, I tend to think of my fat as an asshole-dar. If someone treats me poorly because of my weight I instantly know they are not worth my time, saves a LOT of time.
I don't think this has to do with aesthetics, I think it's more of a financial thing. It costs more to provide health care for an overweight person than a person at a healthy weight.
So do you think Google (and any other employer) should discriminate via potential financial considerations of individuals? So that would mean that people that smoke, people that drink alcohol, or people that have alot of children? Those are all life-choices and are potentially cost-enducing to companies. Yet I bet if an HR person said "yeah, didn't hire that lady because she's got 4 kids and is more likely to take days off & need extra health care" instead of "yeah, I didn't hire that fat lady because being fat means you're really lazy", I bet they'd get VERY different reactions. I'm fat and I do more work than most of my department. I know this because we get stat reports and I'm second only to a guy that stutters when he gets nervous- and we work primarily on the phones. My point is, you can't tell how good/bad/smart/nice/productive/dedicated a person is or isn't going to be by their weight... or their hair color, skin color, age, height, etc for that matter. Making negative judgements against someone purely because of your prejudices against their appearance is not only sad, it's just plain ignorance- and it makes me pity you and everyone like you.
I never said anything about overweight people being less productive my post, so I don't understand where this tirade is stemming from. People who are obese are at a higher risk for health problems, this is the truth. If employers find any evidence that you drink they'll most likely pass you up, it's not like this is only happening to fat people. Of course people would be more upset over someone getting passed up for a job because they were a parent, they're children, it's not you can go to the gym and sweat them off. I'm offended you equated being weight to race, age, and height. The only person you should be pitying is yourself, any person in their right mind would realize that these things are immutable and therefore incomparable to obesity.
People who have family members that have diseases like cancer are also more likely to have the same health problems and be "more expensive" to companies- should companies discriminate against them? AND for that matter, people that play or have played alot of sports have significant risk of developing health issues relating to their activity... but I doubt they get the same treatment. I think Libby was just saying that physical appearances that are different from yours in general shouldn't dictate how you treat or think of someone.
Google you should be ashamed of yourselves, BBW's ROCK and can do the work as well as a thin person. You SUCK.
I'm really saddened and shocked by some of the incredibly hateful comments.
It's almost like we are back in the sixties. Discrimination is wrong - plain and simple. I can't understand how anyone can sit here and make defenses like this. If you can do the job competently and completely then there should be no restrictions.
Those of you making hateful comments, are you perfect? Do you have no bad habits? Do you smoke? Drink? Have unprotected sex? If you get lung cancer, should your company cancel your insurance? I'm sure there is some way we can blame you for being sick. What do you mean it's none of my business? It that's not my business then why would someone's weight be your concern? We all have areas of our lives we need to improve on. T
Wow. Glad I am not looking for jobs under some of you people. Some of you are talking out of your ass. I have been gainfully employed all of my adult fat life. I have the work ethic of several people combined, and I prove myself on a daily basis. Being overweight is something I allowed to happen to me through bad eating habits and choices, but it doesn't define my character or fitness for employment. I do agree that there are always subjective factors involved in hiring decisions, but it is a stretch to say that fat people have no discipline. All I can say again is wow at some of the stupitidy being shared here.
Wow...its some hateful people in the world. Glad I have GOD on my side. I graduated from college in may and got a job on my first interview and my degree was in history making over 39k a year. I am overweight. Some people commenting must had a big person take their job lol. Hilarious. *off to job training*. :)
If you don't have the self control or willpower to stay in shape why would any employer want you when there are stronger people for the job?
I wouldn't hire a hater like you.
Ummm... because we spend ALL our time working at our desks instead of spending every free minute at the gym and or flexing at ourselves in the bathroom mirrors?
Research on weight gain in the Amish showed that in order for some men to avoid weight gain they had participate in rigorous activity for at least 4 hours a day. These men possessed a certain genetic trait. Obviously people without the genetics to lay around and not gain weight should be shunned or something.
I'm not a thin person, but I'm a hard worker. I have 3 children, we all eat a healthy diet with very limited fattening foods. Both of my parents are large, and as a child I did not have the capacity to understand what I was putting in my mouth would eventually end up on my hips. Now I'm doing everything I can to be a good role model for my children, making sure we eat nutritious meals and exercise regularly.
I also run my own business. Granted it's from home, however I only started it this year and it's already taking off like I never thought possible. I plan to eventually move into a shop front in the not too distant future.
To all those saying fat people are lazy, I'm here as the contradiction to that statement. I'm fat, but I have 3 beautiful, THIN, healthy children, an amazing partner, a steady income and I'm working hard at losing this weight.
The next time you want to say something negative to a fat person, just remember they ARE a human. There is every chance they are doing exactly the same as I am - trying to live the best life they can to be the best person they can be. True, there are some "fatties" out there that just don't care about their bodies, and they don't deserve sympathy. But there are other "fatties" out there trying to change, who just need your support. Saying such negative things can make said fatty give up and lose all hope to change.
Fat people defend and excuse their overeating, smokers defend and excuse their unwillingness to suffer a little discomfort by quitting, drunkards defend and excuse their behavior in a million different ways. Wouldn't it be wiser to simply change your negative behavior? Oh, yeah, that would be too difficult.
It might even require some "effort".
Much easier to justify and deny.
I don't know, C.P. Wouldn't it be wiser for you to change your negative attitude and judgmental, ignorant behavior?
I believe the woman in the article used the word "fattie" to convey the disrespect and supercilious attitude she says was displayed by the representatives of Google.
How can one trust an employee who bases their decisions purely on superficial, variables instead of on well-informed decision-making?
I would much rather have an intelligent, hard-working, large person as an employee than a vain, intolerant bigot who makes snap judgments totally lacking in research, knowledge, or valid experience.
Stereotypes – you folks know what those are right? Things like:
All Jews are greedy.
All blondes are dumb.
All African Americans are lazy and on welfare.
All Asians are good at math.
All Irish people are alcoholics.
All skinny people are anorexic.
All Muslims are terrorists.
All cheerleaders are sluts.
And the favorite spouted in the comments here:
All fat people are lazy.
Stereotypes are coping mechanisms used by insecure people to feel good about themselves by putting down and making fun of others. Amazingly similar to what bullies do, don’t you think?
Actually all Asians are good at math.
Aren't you bullying us by assuming we hold these stereotypes? BE GONE, BULLY!
Really People didn't accuse anyone of holding stereotypes, only stating what stereotypes are. Strong reaction from you. Guilty conscience?
In an age of tolerance I have never seen so much insensitivity as I've seen in these replies. Why don't we just kill all the fatties? That would solve all your problems. But before you do that, just remember that 60% of the population in the US are overweight. I'm banking that if those women were MEN..they would not have been herded out that way. I love the old double standard that says if a man is overweight, he is just big and strong. If a woman is overweight she is a fatty, and a target for everyone's jokes. These are human beings you are talking about. Have a little more heart.
Yeah- I agree. But hey, for those people that feel everyone should be in the gym and be a certain weight/ body shape- you know, I think someone already came up with the idea of the "perfect person" and how "all superior people should have the same physical appearance".... HITLER. O_o
This is not an age of tolerance. It's just simply less socially acceptable to be intolerant, so most people keep it to themselves.
They obviously missed all the fitness questions, scored lower and were shown the door. They should have studied harder.
1. To be rude or treat somebody poorly because of their weight is awful.
2. All of the posters arguing that "fat" or "thin" people are the way they are because of one reason are being silly. Health and the human body are influenced by a huge variety of factors. For some people, I'm sure there is a genetic component, for others there isn't.
3. To presume that because a fat person doesn't have self discipline with food they'll be a lousy worker is a ridiculous simplification. Because you have a characteristic in one area of your life, doesn't mean you apply this characteristic to all areas of your life.
3. My three above comments not withstanding, I also don't buy-in to this idea that we're supposed to believe fat is beautiful and "somehow healthy in its own way." Did you ever see fat indigenous Native Americas? Obesity is a symptom of modern diets, but it's not the way the human body is supposed to be. There's consequences to being fat - one is your health, another is that you're not going to get jobs as often.
If you're fat, it says several things about you. a lack of self control, lack of self motivation, low self-esteem, low self-worth. All of these traits will be shared with people you are going to be working with. All of those traits are bad, very _very_ bad in a business setting. I, personally, am tired of society's constant pandering and catering to the obese. It is, for lack of a better euphemism, asinine. Lose some weight, get your life in order, and come back to do an interview again. Or wallow in a pit of self-loathing and "despair", if you can call being fat enough to feed several kenyan families if you were slaughtered despair. Seriously. This is ludicrous.
Listen, if the numbers are to be believed (and a recent trip to Wal Mart has me suspecting that yes, they are accurate), the MAJORITY of Americans are not of a "healthy" weight. Now dust off your critical thinking skills, try your hardest to fire off some neurons (it's difficult I know), and try to tell me what the significance of my first sentence is. Again, the MAJORITY of Americans are overweight. I'll give a hint: ask yourself this question: "Are ALL overweight Americans unemployed, unsuccessful, undisciplined losers, and furthermore, might there be a myriad of cultural, social, and economic reasons for this situation that I'm completely ignoring?"
Further reading: you may also ask yourself: "AM I an idiot? DO I know each and every fat person personally? Am I an idiot?"
I'm going to have to go with you're an idiot.
While I think the lady in the article is just grasping at straws (I'm sure there were other reasons she and the other "fatties" were not hired, and people will always make excuses if they think it will get them ahead), a lot of the comments here are pretty baffling to me. I read all of the comments. All of them. The overwhelming majority were people making ridiculous generalizations about entire swaths of people they have never, nor ever will meet.
I'm going to tell you something about myself: I'm 5 11 and I weigh 145 lbs, and I have pretty decent muscle definition, with a flat stomach. I make 0, literally ZERO effort to maintain this weight. I eat steak if I want to, I eat burgers if I want to, I ALWAYS get fries, and I love pizza. My point is that being thin is not necessarily an indication of effort on the part of the thin person. Like most people in their early 20s like me that I've met, I have a complete lack of self-discipline in many areas. So in light of the fact that so few people have self-discipline, it only makes sense that fat people with similar eating habits to my own are fat. Their genetics are simply different from mine, so their choices (again, the same choices I'M making) simply carry with them the consequence of easily gaining weight.
One last thing-I am currently beginning to make conscious decisions towards improving my diet and life style choices. Many fat people I've met already make healthy diet choices and live proper life styles. They may be fat, but not all fat people are unhealthy. Weight is not an effective measurement for health; there are just too many exceptions to warrant the comparison. It's big business right now to lose weight and thus "get healthy".
In conclusion: stop making so many generalizations and base your opinions on information you know to be facts. This does not include statistics. Statistics are statistically bullshit.
This comment thread has made it clear to me that Nerve now attracts mostly idiots. Goodbye, Nerve.
Agreed but you shouldn't come to nerve for serious conversation. It's more like people watching on Venice Beach: Interesting to watch the exhibitionists come and go but you can't take them seriously, from the writers through the commenters.
Fortunately there is not yet a law that prohibits based on weight or appearance. You didn't get the job. Get the fuck over it.
Shoot, who would have thoguht that it was that easy?
Let's see if you don't hire me because I am fat I will sit at home on foodstamps that I can only buy junk food because it's cheaper....so i will stay FAT??? Makes perfect sense.
Or hire people and make incentives in the company for healthy life styles and weight loss. Educate instead of discriminate. Maybe if FATTIES got hired and had a job with benefits they could get medical help, lap-band..etc? JS
That article was awesome! I'm glad Google is taking out the fat, disgusting trash.
Why should normies have to look at fatties while they work? It's like, gross and stuff. Maybe they should, idk, go on a diet or something?
The ones who disagree will probably get upset and go eat some more or something. Haha.
Why should intelligent people have to be subjected to the ignorance that spews from your mouth? It's like, gross and stuff. Maybe you should, idk, kill yourself or something?
Dan ur a asshole....God is the only judge and always will be....the world would not be right if everyone looked the same...we are who we are...the way you judge someone will be the same measurements you will be judge. That is if u believe in Gods word...if you dnt... God have mercy on your soul...and to anyone else who judge...if you deny GOD.. his son or his word..you will to be denied....regaurless of how u look.
I like looking at thin people more than looking at fat people. Is it a crime when I don't hire fat people?