Recently, I had the opportunity to read about a young woman, very into fitness, who had her Facebook account banned as “hate speech,” after being accused by many readers as having engaged in “fat-shaming.” Her website can be found at www.mariakang.com.
Now, I don’t want anyone kind enough to be reading this stuff I write to get their proverbial panties in a bunch. I used to be very overweight, and at 40, decided to start taking better care of my health. While I still have a way to go before running a marathon, I think reading my previous post will tell you how I feel fit vs. fat. Fit is better for me, in every way, though I suppose, your mileage may vary.
What I want to talk about is the almost volcanic level of anger that spews forth from people when they feel they are, for any reason, being “shamed.” In my humble opinion, this is absolute nonsense. Shaming is a tried and true technique, used by parents, teachers, husbands, wives, sons, daughters, and importantly, society as a whole, since time immemorial, to encourage those acting irresponsibly to straighten up and fly right.
In a world where we, as a culture, are celebrating mediocrity, permitting terrible behavior, and teaching that everyone has a right to “self-esteem” whether they have done anything to be proud of or not, we need to be willing to send out large doses of shame to all of those lacking responsibility and discipline in their lives.
Unearned self-esteem is a plague upon us, and leads to sickness, poverty, ignorance, sloth, criminality, and a host of other ills. Earned self-esteem, on the other hand, is in short supply, and a sense of shame can encourage those who lack genuine self-esteem to go out and earn some.
Long live shaming, and long live Maria Kang, and others dedicated to helping us become the best we can be!