Re: Honesty About Eating Disorders by Onision | A Blog Post From a Recovering Anorexic

Good morning/afternoon/evening/night, my dear Bloggers,

The title is a mouthful, isn't it?  This is my first blog post on this blog and I wish it wasn't about something so stupid, but here I am.

Today I want to talk about and reply to Onision's video "Honest About Eating Disorders."  First, I want to clarify as to why I'm responding to a three year old video made by a guy who probably won't read this or pay attention at all to my differing 'opinion.'

I recently found this video.  I watched it and it hurt my brain with it's disturbing ignorance.  If you watch the video, you will find that Onision has no clue what in the world he's talking about.  By replying and discussing the video, I know I am helping him to get more hits.  This is what I want because I want people to go to his video and see just how ignorant this guy is, especially since he's popular, amassing around 200K subscribers.

Now that that's cleared up, without further adieu - Onision.

"So I shouldn't say anything about your weight problem because I have never had a weight problem myself."

Exactly!  Good job figuring that one out, hun.  So the video is over, we can move on ri-

"Um, okay, so I shouldn't say anything about pedophilia because I've never been a pedophile myself.  I shouldn't say anything about rape becase I've never been a rapist myself.  Utterly weak and pathetic argument."

Stop.  I'll excuse the fact that your sentence was incomplete because it was spoken.  However, I won't excuse the sentence itself.

I mean, come on; thirty seconds into this video and you're already missing the point.

You can't talk about being raped unless you've been raped.  You can't talk about being molested unless you've been molested.  Likewise, you can't talk about having a 'weight problem' - by the way, Onision, darling, the term is 'eating disorder' because it's...you know, a disorder - unless you've had one!

The stuff you mentioned to 'break' the argument - "I can't talk about pedophilia because I'm not a pedophile, I can't talk about rape because I've never raped" - is not even on par with the first thing you said.  If you had said, "So I can't talk about bullying someone into an eating disorder because I haven't done that," and then followed up with your little 'counter-arguments' then maybe it would have made sense.  This just does not.

"That's just my opinion.  If you don't like my opinion, just, I mean, why are you hanging around here?  Just go away.  Like seriously.  You don't have to be subscribed to me."

Honey, darling...dear.  I'm not subscribed.  Nor have I ever been at any point or time, thank goodness.  You do know that you've made this video...how do you say, public?  You know, public to the 360 million people in the world who use the goddamn internet?  I wasn't looking for this video, this video found me.

"I think being fat and being anorexic, etc., is ridiculous."

Being anorexic is ridiculous.  It is ridiculous people like you can say 'being fat is ridiculous' and then wonder why people develop eating disorders.  You're telling the viewership of this video that 'being fat is ridiculous' which just perpetuates the idea that being fat is bad.

"The reason I say this is not because the actual condition to me is ridiculous, it's the mentality.  It's the mentality that, "Oh I can't control it.  This is just impossible to overcome.  Woe is me."

You, uh...you do understand, my darling Onision that that is the disorder?  There is something in your brain telling you how worthless you are if you eat, how worthless you are if you eat, how you're worthless if you don't starve or purge.  Get off your damn high horse.

"Oh look at those poor anorexics!  Woe is me, woe is me!  Why can't they just eat properly like me, oh ho ho; its not like its a mental disorder or anything, it's a weight problem."

Anorexia is very difficult to overcome.  Even now when I have a loving, caring boyfriend who makes me feel like the most beautiful, important girl in the entire world, I struggle.  I look at the mirror and I want to gag because I hate myself so much.  I don't count calories anymore, but I still hate myself when I eat.  I still hate the feeling of a full belly.  It is difficult to overcome and it feels like you can't overcome it because there is that constant voice and nagging in your head.

Just a quick note:  I know I'm only really talking about anorexia here because that's what I've dealt with and had experience in, but come on man.  Binge Eating Disorder is a real disease.  Educate yourself, you uncultured swine.  These people don't have control over how much or how often they eat.

"It's utterly pathetic because there are so many people in this world who are desperate for food, who are borderline dying because of their lack of food.  And here you are stuffing your face or starving yourself intentionally.  Utterly pathetic."

What is with this atrocious victim blaming?  You said earlier that being fat is ridiculous, which, as I said earlier is just perpetuating that being fat is bad.  That makes people afraid of being fat.  What makes you fat?  Food!  Jesus christ, stop making someone feel bad because of a disorder in their minds.  They can't control it either way.

I remember at the pinnacle of my anorexia/bulimia, my mom had bought my some breakfast.  I remember sitting at the table staring at the bowl, wanting it, tasting it...but I couldn't eat it.  That voice was whispering how strong I had been, how in control I had been for starving myself.  If I broke it I was just utterly worthless.  And then I ate the entire bowl, ran to the drawer, opened a bag of M&Ms and ate half the bag.  My stomach felt like it was going to burst.  Then I threw it ALL UP.  So fuck you, Onision, it's not a matter you can control.

"Now, the fat people that accept themselves and the fat people that aren't complaining, great.  I'm completely cool with them.  But the fat people that are, "Oh, I can't control myself" and then they shove a candy bar in their mouth, it's pathetic."

No.  Like I said, it's something you can't control.  Sometimes you're sad or depressed and eating is a renowned method of dealing with stress or depression.  It's not the best one, but it is one.  You can get to a point where it gets out of control.

"And I really hope that you guys do accept that some people have opinions in this world that don't perfectly align with yours."

I accept other people's opinions.

I accept your right to state your opinions, however ignorant they may be.

But I also accept my right to reply and discuss your video and to state that, in my opinion, you're a really shitty, uneducated person who is perched far too high on his damn horse.

Also, just a little observation here, but why are you so afraid of backlash?  Is there still a rational person inside of you that says, "Hey, maybe this isn't exactly a good opinion.  Maybe it's even a little dumb."  Is there?  I hope so.

Also, "people have opinions...that don't perfectly align with yours," so why do you tell people that have differing opinions to "just go away?"  That's rather odd, Onision, that you can't take some differing opinions while pleading that yours is respected.

Just go do something else Onision.  Really.

- Sarah

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Link to video.