It's not what three women were expecting as they sought to settle their tab at Chilly D's restaurant based at the Cameo Club Casino in Stockton on Thursday.
The bill hurt the feelings of the three women, according to ABC News.
"I got the bill, I was looking at the bill [and] I was like, 'Why does this receipt say 'fat girls?'" customer Christine Duran told ABC News in this story.
When the trio demanded an explanation from management about the "Fat Girls" comment on the bill, which was for three tri-tip dinners totaling $25.50, they offered to give the ladies as much as a 50-percent discount on the meal.
But the women refused to pay, and were shocked that the waiter, who apparently used the term to keep track of the bill, according to the story, could be so cruel. They were also shocked that the restaurant would force them to pay the bill after basically insulting them.
The owner of the casino, Jimmy Siemers, apologized for the rude comment and told the women that the casino would take measures to avoid any future incidents. The casino did not make the women pay.
Now we put the question to the readers of the Patch. Would you pay for a bill that insulted you? How would you have handled this situation? Did they overreact? Did the women do the right thing?
Why would these women choose to make the issue of their size even bigger (no pun intended)? ...and somehow I doubt that fit people would get offended if they saw "six packers" or "buffed chicks" as a term to describe them written on their restaurant bill.
tables. He may have used "blind man" or "one legged man" or "sexy woman" or "dykes" or "bearded man" or "old women". Seems silly not to use the table numbers, but maybe it made things more interesting for him, or maybe he's ADD!
The pain these women felt--the women to whom the bias (discrimination) was directed--was obvious. Maybe you've been lucky enough never to have felt discrimination directed at you. Perhaps you cannot imagine how it feels to be the recipient of direct bias-driven language.
Judgement is necessary for survival. Imagine that the waiter used these words not as judgement, but only as observation. Have you ever observed a fat person, a blue bird, a thin teen, a white cloud, an orange sunset, and old person, a disabled person, etc.? Consider as you go through your day, how many times you make observations and judgements? Really, check in on yourself honestly.
On the "FAT" topic, I also have my preferences. I prefer "a FAT, BLACK penis to a thin white one. Am I discriminating? You bet I am! And I prefer a tall, slender male lover, to a short fat one. Money wouldn't make any difference! Can we admit our own discriminating? It might be a step in understanding other's. Anyone else willing to share?
See how powerful words are; they can bring up instant reactions, depending on your state of mind, your perspective, and your experience with the meaning behind the words for you. FAT is only a word, but look at the reactions it created. There are layers of meaning attached to this word. In Hawaiian history, the fatter you were, the more you were held in high esteem. Many kings were fat, and I think we know that it wasn't a thyroid problem. I actually think that the word "FAT" is used by young people to describe something great or awesome, as in "That's FAT man!" I guess we're way beyond the childhood song "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never harm me!" Nowadays we give lots of power to words, and blame others for hurting our feelings, when we don't realize that only we can hurt our feelings. Back to this case in point, I think these women saw an opportunity, and ran with it, and way beyond what was necessary after being comped their meal. When will they be satisfied?