When I first saw this sub--it was a while ago, well before it had the amount of subs it does today--I was pretty flabbergasted. Then again, I was 5'9" and probably about 260 or 270.
That fat acceptance bullshit...man, I had gobbled that up all my life. I'm honestly not sure I even believed it, but mental gymnastics can be pretty effective when you shut out opinions and ideas that aren't particularly flattering to what you want to believe. When I saw, or read of, some fatass preaching it, it made it okay in my mind to grab the king-size Snickers and 16-oz. vanilla cherry Coke.
Some of my friends ribbed me a bit, and their hearts were in the right place, but looking back the problem was that it was all too good-natured.
This sub, man. I was pretty fucking appalled when I first saw it. But it didn't take long for its no-bullshit clarity to sink in (like thirty seconds), and once it did, "fat acceptance" was a thing of the past. I'm not sure I have the wherewithal to participate outside of lurking--obviously I'm using a throwaway--but I have to say that this sub exposed me to a level of vitriol toward people like me that I needed. I was unhealthy, I was graduating college a virgin, I literally smelled like shit for reasons I still don't really understand, and above all else I was being extremely fucking selfish to the people who cared for me the most.
This sub, a shade over 100 pounds ago, caused me (and I'm seeing more and more now that I'm far from alone) to be fucking honest with myself. Pride among fat people and acceptance among the more "tolerant" among us are not grand virtues indicative of a wiser society. And speaking just as an American, I understand that every obese person contributes to a pretty sobering indicator of just how big of a fucking laughingstock our healthcare system is. Way too many people have cocooned themselves from these self-evident realities, and this sub penetrates the veneer that the fat acceptance/fat pride crowd have built around themselves.
It's a shame this sub gets shit on like it does. If people could stop and think for a minute, they would realize that you're performing a pretty noble public service.