Stigmatized for Who I Am: A Deep Dive into Discrimination and Resilience

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Bing AI

Welcome once again to my blog. Today I'm going to talk to you about the effects of stigma.

And this is an interesting topic like the recent ones we've been covering these months, because it can come in different forms.

I'm going to speak from my perspective, about how I've been stigmatized for more than 50 years.

I dare say my entire life, since childhood, I've had the tendency to be somewhat obese, someone with weight problems, because my bones are large and long and I have a big body.

I'm a high-volume person, and because of this I've been quite segregated and stigmatized as someone who can't move or can't do things.

And because of this I've had problems in various places.

For example, I've been denied access to public entertainment venues like nightclubs because of my appearance.

For being obese, they haven't let me enter certain places.

Other things have also happened regarding public transportation: there are no seats for people of my volume on public transportation. The seats are made exclusively for average-sized people, they don't consider large-volume people, and this represents segregation for me.

Maybe others don't see it that way.

But besides that, there are other things that are even stronger.

The fact of having tattoos on my body makes people point at me as if I were antisocial or someone who represents a risk to them.

Bing AI

And for this same reason I've been denied access to movie theaters, to restaurants.

I've even been denied job opportunities at different companies because of the seven tattoos I have distributed on my arms and body.

For me it's been quite difficult because I'm a person of principles and I have foundations for having these tattoos that represent something to me.

They represent my beliefs and very personal beliefs that I won't share here, because precisely they're very personal ideas and concepts that I share with other types of people who aren't suitable to share them here on this blog, or I don't wish to share them here.

But I've had to live with this.

Moreover, lately I've been stigmatized not just for that, but also for being Venezuelan.

Due to the country's major problems, I'm labeled as unwelcome by other nationalities.

They label me as an invader because many people have had to emigrate due to the country's complex situation.

They've gone to other countries seeking better opportunities and better quality of life.

Venezuelans are spread across all continents, and this has led to us being branded with this stigma that we're bad people or associated with criminals or crimes, when obviously only a small part of our population is involved in that and it doesn't represent all of us, who are the majority and are good citizens, citizens seeking to progress in life and who, through our work, move forward and share our talents.

And those who don't know should know that Venezuelans are enterprising and fighting people.

Bing AI

We've had to overcome all these types of stigma, and we've managed to get through them by speaking directly, in my case, by talking to people and making ourselves known, showing them who I really am.

And I must tell you that I truly feel very bad when I have to tell someone I'm Venezuelan, because I don't want them to stigmatize me and associate me with all this.

Often I prefer to stay silent or say I'm from any other nationality to avoid this stigma of being called a criminal or desperate, because they associate the country or all of us living in this country with people who are starving due to the major humanitarian crisis we're experiencing.

There are many memes and things that, largely, are recent about this, but there comes a point when it truly affects you and hurts to be associated with something you're not and that doesn't represent you.

Yes, there may be people who are desperate, but there are others like me who have worked and keep working for over 50 years to get ahead and continue fighting hard.

And I think it's very harsh and lacking in empathy not to put yourself in the shoes of those of us being stigmatized this way and understand everything we've been through.

To overcome this, what's needed is much empathy and understanding, and above all much generosity from others who see this from the outside, so they can better understand the effects of this stigma.

Among the effects I can highlight is that people become more antisocial, more irritable, and develop many traumas, which hinders their progress and functioning in society.

And it's important that these groups and people being stigmatized have help, support that helps us see life better and, above all, to show that this stigma doesn't define us and that others understand that.

I believe that's what's really needed.

This has been my contribution to today's topic.

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