Acceptable Prejudice

A plus-sized lady;
Enters a fast-food restaurant;
She is tired and hungry;
She did not eat breakfast;
And lunch time has passed;
Orders from the dollar menu;
Pays for it in hard-earned cash;
She sits in a corner booth;
Two skinny teenage girls;
Giggle at her from behind;
She hears words like "gross" and "disgusting;"
And she knows that they are aimed at her;
As they make no attempt;
To gloss over their contempt;
She can feel their stares;
As she tries to eat her meal;
Trying hard to block out;
What she doesn't want to hear;
Unnerved and hurt;
She dabs away a tear;
On a cheap, yellow napkin;
She looks at the food;
Then she looks at herself;
She no longer wants to eat;
Taking up her tray;
She throws the food away;
Her throat becomes tight and knotted;
As the evening air strikes her;
On her way home;
In a politically correct world;
It is still an acceptable prejudice;
To be mean and disrespectful;
To someone who weighs;
More than we think that they should;
Inside that large body;
Is a heart than can still be broken;
As we murder a human spirit;
O how easy it is for us to forget;
That we all cry tears of the same size

Dear readers....I am overweight, but I was once skinny too...I realize that I will never be a size 3 again, nor do I want to be. I have learned to be happy with my size, and I don't obsess over it. But along with that, I have also had to deal with the hurtful attitudes of people who have no idea what it is like to be hated because of their appearance. I thank God for my plus-sized body...because it makes me understand what overweight and obese people have to go through everyday. Most of all, I repent with all my heart, if there was at anytime in my life that I have ever been mean or unkind to someone because of their outward appearance.