Another true story of the power of shame functioning as it should There is a young man at my gym I've known for three years, since the beginning of his journey from fat kid to jacked lean guy. The other day we were talking, and I made a comment about how proud I was of him and his transformation. He told me his inspiration happened in a single moment he remembers clearly: His friends always teased him about being fat, and one day, one of them made a other fat comment and BOOM, just like that something snapped. In a good way. All of the comments over the years piled on and finally reached, pardon the pun, critical mass. He resolved then and there that he was done. And he actually did it. Three years on he looks amazing, and he works harder than most of the other guys at our gym.  Aside from reinforcing what we shitlords all know, that shame and "bullying" serve a vital function of enforcing societal norms, it also serves as a frightening reminder of the long term damage done by protecting fatties' feelings. This young man only snapped after time and consistent shitlording by his friends. (He even commented that he KNEW they made fun of him because they actually cared and wanted him to stop being a fatass.) By trying to limit this behavior, we don't allow the shame to pile up and take full effect with some.  Food (teehee) for thought.