Walking into work this afternoon I passed, as I always do, the Skiddaw pub, something of an old man's hang-out not two minutes from my front door. In recent weeks the Skid's been clad in scaffolding and surrounded by builders. Naturally, this being about half past one, a couple of labourers were taking some time out, propping up a bit of wall unobscured by their metal poles.

And as I ambled past, one of them looked me in the eye, smirked, and said, "Fatty!"

His friend found it hilarious.

I just carried on walking.

I could have nonchalantly replied with "Idiot". Alternatively I could have stopped and asked the smug, bigoted, moronic, and likely pencil-dicked arsehole exactly what gave him the right to comment on passers-by and whether I had the right to reply with a more lengthy critique. This could perhaps have included mentioning that if, as was likely, he conformed to the stereotype of the manual labourer his cholesterol and carbohydrate-laden eating, drinking and smoking habits would probably see him undergoing a heart bypass in his late forties or early fifties. At that point he might feel he could have used his life in better ways than the persecution of innocents.

Or, despite not being the size he thought I was, I could have put my nevertheless considerable heft into perpetrating the acts of extreme and savage violence that flashed through my mind. The bigger they are, the harder they fall on you.

But fortunately, I just carried on walking.

It's something I've had to deal with on a sporadic basis throughout my life, and while it still hurts a little, I know that despite being overweight, I'm hardly a major league fatty. Something of a Halifax Town, in fact.

I'm much more depressed and angry about the people who feel entitled to get their kicks by hurling uninvited abuse at perfect strangers. Why do they do it? What makes them think they have the right to belittle people who could well be trying to deal with the matter for which they're being berated? Do they consider the possible effect their words may have? And is it only done to help them feel better about themselves?

Body fascism is not on a level with racisim, sexism or homophobia, but it is an unacceptable and unjust form of prejudice all the same.

And it takes every ounce of my self control to stop myself from taking these bastards on for all those who they have ridiculed for the sake of a cheap laugh.

The funny thing is that rather than making me want to lose a bit of weight, their words make me more resistant to the overwhelming culture of being thin and beautiful. I conform for nobody, especially not ignorant, abusive fuckwits on London street corners. So if you've got a problem with the way I look in your perfect world, well fuck you, and pass me a Mars Bar.