http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8314125.stm
you can fix fat, you can't change your ethnicity.
despite the change of michael jacksons skin tone, he was still a black man.

Unless someone actually does have a condition that causes obesity then I have to agree. What they're asking for is another reason to not have to deal with their problem.

but those instances are not very common that someone has a condition.
If you are fat, and you become skinny, by whatever means, no body is still going to call you fat.
if you are black, and you bleach your skin white, people will still sling ethnic slurs at you.

Conditions that cause obesity are very much more uncommon than some people would have you believe. There's no denying that.
And yes, if you've got a problem with how people treat you because of your weight then perhaps it's time to look at how you're treating yourself in that regard.

I just had Jimmy Carr pop into my head.
Fat Woman: "I think you are fattist!"
Jimmy Carr: "No... I think you will find you are fattist."

Looks like the PC crowd is going overboard again. I wonder what's next, a protected class for people who smell bad? One for people with poor social skills (i.e. rude folks)? I suppose I shouldn't be all that surprised that my own city of San Francisco already bought into this nuttiness.
And a choice quote from the article:
Last I checked lady, it is.

Definitely not. It should not be protected, but it should be accomodated for. People with weight issues should be treated fairly so that the journey towards better health is not made more difficult by them being treated rudely by the public.

What do you mean by "accommodated for"? If you mean that as individuals we shouldn't treat overweight people any worse than we treat everyone else, I fully agree, that's just basic human decency (although even that seems to be in short supply these days). However, I don't think there should be any requirement for businesses or employers to accommodate overweight individuals, by which I mean that if a person's weight makes it so they can't perform some job without special accommodations an employer should be under no obligation to hire or refrain from dismissing that individual.

No, the first part, which I left above is what I meant to a T. I don't agree with employees being restricted in terms of hiring in *any* way, ESPECIALLY when it comes to "protected" sstatus (in Canada) like religion, or being native or a minority. If someone wants to work their ass off to be the best fireman they can, and they *are* the best man for the job, they should GET the job.
And anyone claiming that they can wear a turban instead of a firehat, or carry a "ceremonial sword" to school in spite of strict no-weapons policy needs to reevaluate their religion.

Fixed. Thats the first thing i thought of too.
Anyway I have to say hate crimes are fucking stupid anyway.

I don't think it should be called a hate crime, but yes, fat people are treated worse than they should be. The only time it's really acceptable to call someone fat is if you're good friends with them and joking around because you know they can take it, or if there's some person you just can't stand (like Michael Moore) and can call them obese in a clever manner.
But never, EVER, associate teasing fat people with a hate crime. Doing so would be insulting the Jewish people who lived through concentration camps, the black people who were slaves and were (and still are by some people like Rush Limbaugh) verbally abused, and just about every other discriminatory practice. Being fat is not a religion, nor is it a race. It can't even be associated with a sexual lifestyle different from the norm, as there is no gene that makes you want to be fat. It's mostly a conscious decision on the human's part, so if you don't like being teased for being fat, take manners into your own hands, work out, eat healthier, and do your best to lose weight.

If you're fat, you're fat. If you're Mexican, you're Mexican. You can change one, but the other you can't. Get over it and move on. Besides, fat people sometimes don't have a choice in their weight problems. If they hate being made fun of, then do something about it. If not, shut up and quit your bitchin'.

I'm sorry, but there should NEVER be laws against a doctor being able to tell someone that they need to change something to be healthy. =/
If you're fat because you have a medical condition your Dr won't be telling you that you just need to lose weight, they'll be working on the condition that's causing the weight gain (usually a thyroid problem, that results in the irradiation of the thyroid).

Damn, you beat me to the Jimmy Carr plug!

:|
You know Michael Jackson had a disease and didn't bleach his skin, right?