Fox News is reporting on the ordeal suffered by Charli Stevens who was shopping for Christmas wrapping paper at a Kroger’s grocery store with her five month-old son when she noticed a woman staring at her.
“I hate when people stare but didn’t say or do anything. A couple minutes later, she came up to me and said ‘I think your clothes are a little too small on you’,” Stevens recounts on Facebook.
Seeing that she was startled by the remark, the woman, who appeared to be in her 50’s, went on to say, “Well, no offense but you’re just a bit big to wear those type of clothes.”
Speechless, Stevens could feel tears welling up in her eyes. “Usually I’m so quick to lash out at rude people and I’m never shy when it comes down to speaking my mind. But I froze. Froze and cried,” Stevens recalled.
The woman had little sympathy for her. “I’m not trying to be mean,” she said, “but maybe just reconsider your outfit before leaving your house from now on.”
She walked away, leaving Stevens to stand in the middle of the grocery store, in tears. She left without buying anything, then sat in her car and cried.
“How are people so rude? It’s no secret that I’ve gained weight throughout life. I’ve birthed two kids so it’s bound to happen. Do I realize I’m overweight? Yes. Do I want to be smaller? Yes. But am I okay with the way I look? Yes!! Why would a complete stranger go out of their way to insult someone? What if I was severely depressed? Or what if I was constantly made fun of for my weight and that one comment from that stranger pushed me over the edge? Luckily, I’m neither of those things. But people have got to start being nice. Having common sense. Being respectful,” Stevens wrote.
The woman knew nothing about her, that she’s lost nearly 50 pounds already, and even if her clothes were normally tighter than she would normally wear them, why should it matter what people choose to wear?
She concluded with a plea for decency that has since gone viral.
“Please, PLEASE, have some respect for people. You never know what someone is going through or if your one little comment, snicker, stare, whatever will be enough to break someone down or push them over the edge. I’m not writing this for sympathy but just as a plea to anyone who might read this to just be nice and have respect for people. I fear for my daughter to grow up in this world. We’ve gotta set a good example for our children.”
The post quickly garnered nearly 4,000 comments from people condemning the stranger for her insensitivity.
“That’s so horrible,” one woman commented. “Unfortunately you can’t fix stupid people. You are beautiful and you just recently had a baby. Some people are just so misserable [sic] that they hurt others. When God created you he called you his master piece!”
Another woman wrote: “Never mind what that person told you! You are fine the way you are! That woman had no right to say those nasty things to you! Next time someone says something tell them to look in the mirror.”
This commenter summed it up perfectly: “The only ugly person in this whole scenario was the rude woman who body shamed you.”
Stevens’s story proves that behaving courteously in a social setting isn’t old-fashioned, it’s classy - and we could use a lot more of it these days.
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