Struggles With Weight and the Hatred That Comes With It..

I read a Facebook post from a friend today about weight struggles. As many of you know, I've battled my weight all my life. I still struggle with it today.
A quick synopsis of my story, I grew up battling obesity. I wound up at 500 lbs 10 years ago and had gastric bypass to save my life. I now weigh 250 lbs but it hasn't all been a bed of roses. Overeating turned to alcoholism, and all of the problems that go with drinking.
What is inspiring me today is simple. Dr Martin Luther King said "I have a dream". We all have dreams. We have hopes and desires to live what we perceive to be a normal life. For someone who has a weight struggle, our dream is to be smaller. We diet, exercise,try hypnosis, and in the extreme case, have surgery. All just to fit in and feel good about ourselves. It's hard enough when you're not happy with yourself to look In the mirror everyday, then you have to leave the house and deal with others.
For me, I was comfortable for a long time with my weight. I had always been big, and it was normal to me. My big struggles came with others. I had been a firefighter and paramedic for twenty years of my life. I ALWAYS had to go the extra mile when it came to doing my job. There was always someone there waiting for me to fall on my face. It wasn't one person, it was many. If I had a quarter for everytime I heard a coworker criticize my weight, tell me I'll never be able to do my job, or flat out state their distaste of working with someone who was overweight, I'd be a rich man! It even came down to my employer cutting my pay and transferring me because they said I was too big. If I hadn't gotten a lawyer and threatened to take them to court, they would have gotten away with it. In the end, I came out on top, but at a cost. People I once looked up to and trusted showed their true colors and became irrelevant to me. It also left me very bitter. The only saving grace I have now is Karma. The ones involved in this period of my life have found themselves not achieving what they wanted in life, whether it's not being promoted to chief, not staying in their position of power, or simply retiring because of their attitude and actions they had gone as far as they were going to in their career. Does it give me satisfaction to see these people self destruct? At one time I thought it would, but now it doesn't. It's really sad.
After surgery and weight loss, I thought things would change. They didn't. I had developed a distaste for firefighting and being a paramedic and I wanted out. I got out. At times I miss the good times and good friends I made but for the most part I'm glad to be away.
When I read about how people still have hatred and distaste for someone because they're overweight it still gets me angry. Not only because of weight now though. It also angers me when I see someone treated badly because of skin color, gender, nationality, or religious preference. Also how people are treated because of their lifestyle choices. Hey, it's their life. It's their business. Let them live their life the way they choose.
Jesus told us to love one another. I don't think we're doing that. I include myself in that. I fall short everyday. We all need to be more considerate of others feelings. Next time you think of cracking on someone because of their weight or just because they're different than you are, just remember that person has feelings and emotions. Also remember that person may have it a whole lot worse than you do.
Remember, that person being hated on could be you..