Fat

Fat. Its not an insult, its just an adjective. People pick up the photo of my mother and brother and they state the obvious. “Your mother. She is fat” Back home, these are fighting words. In Botswana, they’re descriptors; neither bad nor good like “big” or “small.” Like “long” or “short,” fat is a relative adjective. Last week I was fat because I stood next to someone thinner than I. More often than not, I’m too skinny. I should eat more. It’s all relative. A qualifier. Without the same connotation we think of, like “stupid” or “ugly.” Fat. Either you are or you aren’t. There’s no malice behind it.