I remember when I was in undergrad nursing school during clinicals I found myself in the middle of a conversation between a couple NURSES(?!) where they were talking about an obese patient. The patient was probably 400-500 pounds and they were saying "I mean I'm glad she is so happy and all but she needs to celebrate in other ways besides food". They were saying that they mainly eat when they are happy. This was not based on anything the patient had said, btw, they were making an assumption based on their own relationship to food. And I had met this patient and she didnt seem all that happy to me (but, then, she was sick and bedridden). I was >300 pounds at the time and was a lowly student who felt like she couldnt say anything but I felt like going "do you really think that person is happy?!". Now granted, maybe, she WAS happy and I was the one doing the assuming but it has been my experience that people like me eat when we are sad too.

Edited to say that they were actually acting like they were jealous of her for being so happy.

Originally Posted by Mozzy:
I have a very overweight friend that likes to joke that "fat people are harder to kidnap."

I guess it's self depreciation on her part?!

When I was younger (about 12-19) I actually thought and believed that. In my little town when I was about 12 or 13 there was a murderer on the loose that had just killed a girl slightly over my own age and was taunting the police and the community. I wasn't allowed to go outside on my own for a good 3 months. The truly sad thing was I honestly believed I didn't have anything to worry because I was fat.

How horrible is that?!

Originally Posted by Skellig19:
When I was younger (about 12-19) I actually thought and believed that. In my little town when I was about 12 or 13 there was a murderer on the loose that had just killed a girl slightly over my own age and was taunting the police and the community. I wasn't allowed to go outside on my own for a good 3 months. The truly sad thing was I honestly believed I didn't have anything to worry because I was fat.

How horrible is that?!

:hug: That is awful, Skellig. I'm so sorry you had to worry about that as a very young girl. :hug:

Today on another forum a guy said about fat people, "Geez people, get on a scale, eat less!" and it ticked me off because every single day it seems like someone hits me with some version of weight loss being solely a matter of willpower and caloric intake. Some people truly don't seem to understand that some of us have medical issues (for me it's my thyroid) that make weight gain very easy and weight loss very hard and making us feel bad by telling us to get more willpower and use a scale just ticked me off.

I thought it was funny! :o

We shouldn't take comments personal. People talk mostly out of their @ss and most of the time they don't even know they are offending anyone.. If you let it get to you... then the joke is on you ;)

I think it really depends upon who is saying the stupid things & when. Her being a teacher, yes she does need to watch what she ways & when. If any student hears her say unkind things (even in jest) it can make students think that it's okay for them to do the same...and they'd be right.
I recently worked with a woman who thought it was okay to call everyone "sweetie" or "sweetheart" and on top of that she had ZERO clue about personal space! SOOO UNCOMFORTABLE! Fact is, one day after I'd just gotten on the sales floor she smacked me on the behind & made a comment! I was really taken aback! She actually blamed me for being in a rotten mood!!! :fr:
She apologized to me the next day, mostly because I filed a complaint with the store manager. A little while later she was talking to the asst. man. about apologizing to me & why. Instead of just TELLING him what she did, she smacked HIM on the behind! Yup, YOU CANNOT FIX STUPID!!! :dizzy:

If it's someone who really matters to me, I let them know that they should engage their brain before their mouth. Not saying I'm perfect. If someone is really that freakin' stupid, I let them sink their own ship & have very, very little to do with them. People do judge you by who you associate with. Lastly, there is a big difference between saying stupid, inconsiderate things & being just flat out RUDE. RUDE is a big NO in my book.

My favorite one was at Costco one time on a Sunday (will never make the mistake of going on a Sunday again) and there must have been 50 different food sample opportunities throughout the store. It finally dawned on me that one of the reasons that it was so crowded in there was that there were whole families who were using the sampling as a way of eating out for free. I was trying to get around one of the sample stands and this kid (teenager) comes from 10 feet away, pushes my cart into my stomach and grabs 3 samples. I didn't say anything and then I realized where he got his manners when his mother did the same thing about 2 seconds later. This time I said excuse me -- nicely although my thought was how would you like me to ram this cart ....... -- and the mother said -- Oh hold on. You look like you've never missed a sample in your life so you can wait while we get ours. I have to admit I did lose it at that point and asked her if she had gone to church that morning. Since she was dressed up, I knew she had. When she said yes, I told her that she would have a lot of free time from now on because going to church wasn't doing her a bit of good and she could just stop going.

Originally Posted by betsy2013:
I have to admit I did lose it at that point and asked her if she had gone to church that morning. Since she was dressed up, I knew she had. When she said yes, I told her that she would have a lot of free time from now on because going to church wasn't doing her a bit of good and she could just stop going.

That's my kind of response!

That said, the OPs story about aliens, abductions and fat people, that's just a whole big bag of crazy and I'd be worried if she was teaching my kids. Holy cow.

Honestly, I would just let it go. If somebody has the audacity to say something like that to your face, then chances are if you say something they aren't going to care anyways. And it will probably just make you more upset.