Alcoholism isn’t unhealthy because there is a stigma attached to it. Smoking isn’t unhealthy because people don’t like the smell. Methamphetamine isn’t unhealthy because people sneer at the users. And being fat isn’t unhealthy because of fatphobia.

The only people who actually believe the latter are “experts” and activists, all of whom should be ridiculed mercilessly and derided as killers for spreading dangerous lies.

Campus Reform brings us the story of yet another “expert” whose self-loathing has led her to promote falsehoods that will, literally, lead to the early death of her clients. Erin Harrop should be immediately be fired from her position as a professor and clinical social worker at the University of Denver and blackballed at every similar institution.

I don’t say that because I personally disagree with her, or have any reason to dislike her personally. She may be a perfectly nice and compassionate person in daily life.

But she is also a dedicated killer of her clients, and committed to spreading falsehoods that will lead others to dispense advice that will lead to the early death of perhaps thousands or tens of thousands whose desire to pursue unhealthy lifestyles will be validated by the “Health at Every Size®” movement.

Yes, they have a registered trademark, suggesting that among other things the Association for Size Diversity and Health (ASDAH) is a grift by sociopaths who are indifferent to the health of millions of obese people.

This group, and all adherents to their principles, should be sued into oblivion.

I’m serious. They are killing people.

I am obese. My mother was obese. Her mother was obese. Each of us is or was aware that our obesity contributes to ill health, any advice that promotes the false notion that obesity is not a danger to one’s health simply reinforces the bad habits that did or will lead to an early grave.

That is just a fact.

Erin Harrop and those who with her promote the idea that this isn’t the case are contributors to a health crisis that is killing millions of Americans, hollowing out our military, and costing the health care system billions of dollars. It is not only adults, but children who are being harmed, and that harm will be lifelong. Early obesity and obesity later in life are very highly correlated.

…the argument I’m going to make for you today is that [the] connection between weight and health may be less attributable to the actual adipose tissue in people’s bodies and more attributable to the stigma of that adipose tissue from other folks,” she continued.

Harrop specializes in “eating disorders,” “weight stigma,” and “medical social work,” according to her faculty biography. Her work relies on an “intersectional social-justice-informed, fat liberation, and [HAES] lens.”

HAES is an approach to healthcare articulated by the Association for Size Diversity and Health (ASDAH). After the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) issued new recommendations for treating childhood obesity, ASDAH tweeted that they are “dripping with fatphobia, racism, [and] healthism.”

“Healthism?!” Health, apparently, is a social construct. And social constructs drip with White supremacy. And, of course, gender prejudices.

During one “plug” for HAES, Harrop acknowledged its criticisms, including accusations of HAES “overly focusing on health,” “moralizing health,” and “having a white focus.”

Harrop named symptoms of weight stigma in her presentation, such as heart disease, high blood pressure, and high blood sugar. These are symptoms that, according to the Harvard School of Public Health, are actually attributable to excess fat cells, “the mechanical stress of carrying extra pounds,” and other consequences of being overweight.

Throughout the presentation, Harrop discussed gender identity. During the Q&A session, for example, a participant asked about a neurodiverse and transgender client who wanted top surgery but had difficulty finding a surgeon who would not require her to lose weight.

Harrop said that she felt “so angry” over such requirements for “gender-affirming surgery.”

Earlier in the presentation, she said that neurodiverse clients can make peace with their bodies by exploring their identities, including their gender identities.

The celebration of physical illness, disability, mental illness, and gender dysphoria is all about normalizing the dysfunction of the individuals promoting the underlying ideology, and has nothing to do with promoting the actual well-being of the people for whom these “experts” supposedly advocate.

It is gross, irresponsible, and frankly should be criminal for an actual professional to do. As individuals, I would support their right to say these things because I support the right of people to say and believe any number of insane things, but as licensed professionals, I believe that they should be tossed out of the profession they supposedly represent.

Worst of all, Harrop made these arguments to a whole host of professionals and wasn’t shouted down, although she did get a bit of pushback. Hardly enough, because of course, everybody is scared to tell the truth out loud. Once somebody claims victim status they have carte blanche to say any stupid or harmful thing.

That Denver University would endorse these ideas and spread them to people who actually work with patients is beyond irresponsible. In a just world, they would be held liable for any damage caused by her actions.

And damage there is and will be. People suffering from eating disorders, as with those suffering from other addictions or behavioral disorders, want to hear that their behavior is perfectly fine. Few of us want to face the truth that we need to do hard and unpleasant things, and a licensed clinician reinforcing these behaviors is unforgivable.

Do I sound harsh? Who cares? I am not the one killing people in order to make money and make myself feel affirmed.

She should be fired. Not platformed by a university.