Member-only story
Cyberbullying
And why children need to grow a thick skin
Once upon a time,
“You are fat!” wasn’t all that.
People said it to each other — whether as the expression of a self-evident truth, as a cautionary statement, or as a barbed statement laced with malice.
And people responded to this statement in different ways.
Some cried in front of their mirror, burdened by jaded guilt. Some made fun of themselves first before launching volleys of acerbic ripostes in retaliation. Others embraced the truth in this statement as a motivation to start a weight-management diet and exercise regime.
In all, people dealt with other people’s remarks about their body size, and moved on.
At that time, it was commonplace for parents, especially African parents to slather on a little sarcasm as a motivator for you to reconsider your life decisions when you hear statements like:
“Be careful on that chair. It wasn’t designed for two people.” Or “Only if food was a class subject, you’d be getting better grades.”
