Thats not completely fair to Bobby. Certainly there are enough other kinds of insults going around the board.

Also, I doubt bobby meant it seriously. He wouldn't even know whether most of the posters were fat or thin, nor did he single anyone out specifically.

A little like saying, I may be a democrat but you are all ugly, I can change affiliations if I want to, the rest of you are doomed . .. . A glib comment.

Given from my experience on GC with the male population, it's no surprise when we get the occasional "YOU'RE FAT SO SHUT UP" retort everytime a girl posts something he doesn't agree with.

Good one. I needed a laugh.

Right. My frustration isn't aimed entirely at Bobby -- I've noticed this is a popular retort on GC whenever a girl says something that a guy doesn't like. Why? Because guys realize it's effective. It's belittling and most women feel put in their place.

It doesn't matter whether or not the poster knows if you're fat or truly thinks that you're fat or whatever -- it can still be a damaging comment. I'm nothing close to fat, and every time I see that comment aimed at me on the internet from people who couldn't possibly know how much I weigh, I still get paranoid about the way my clothes fit or the number on the scale -- and yeah, sometimes I've even stopped eating. That word is extraordinarily loaded when used against somebody who has "recovered" or is in recovery from an eating disorder, and knowing how many of us on this board either have eating disorders or are somewhere along the process of recovering from them, it frustrates me to see the word being used in this manner.

Are you sure this a "popular" response. I confess that you probably read more of the threads than I do, but I don't think I remember someone on GC trying to end a debate by saying "you are fat" so don't count.

The only place I can imagine it happening is a thread about appearance.

But it certainly can't be common.

I generally see many more other kinds of insults that I would think of as equally bad by people trying to make sure their point wins.

This thread has become a mess. It is closed for now at least.