Thinspiration?

Yeah ... I'm supposed to be sitting in some auditorium, listening to Sean Astin talk about acting and whatever else he is passionate. Instead, I'm sitting on the couch in too big PJs and trying to find something - anything - on TV.

Yes, there is a story about that. No, I'm not going to share it with you. What I can share with you is the show that provided a good hour of, uh, entertainment while I ate my dinner: "Thintervention" with Jackie Warner. It's sort of "Biggest Loser" meets the Jillian Michael's solo show that aired over the summer meets counseling session. The celeb trainer works with a group of eight overweight/obese Los Angeles residents to get healthy and lose weight as well as find out why they eat with the help of therapy.

I was mildly amused by the show, especially the Australian chick who likes to drink too much. Vodka for breakfast? Yes. Please! And the single cougar on the prowl in a sprawling house with a personal chef ... yeah, can I come live with you?

With these kinds of shows, in addition to tears and resistance, there's always great quips. But the cleverest of one liners aren't coming from Jackie Warner although I did appreciate: "You don't want to avoid the burn; you want to chase it down!" The "funniest" of lines are coming from the other contestants. About each other.

"One horrendous heterosexual who wants to get skinny so he can bang better-looking chicks." That's from the drunk lady. She had lots of negative things to say. Of course, one of the other guys had to liken her appearance to an orka. Touche ... I guess.

While it makes for good TV, I just found it disturbing that we can be so mean to each other. These people should understand, as obese people, what it's like to be called names. I remember what it was like to be called names, even from a young age and crossing the street. I think it was "whale" from a car driving by. The whispers from girls about my "shapely" back side. The negative comments seemed to come from everywhere - from my mom to boys - and each time it hurt me. They made me feel like less of a person.

Knowing how bad it feels to be called names, I couldn't help but wonder: Why are we so mean to each other? We should be supportive and kind. Empathetic. We should talk about people the way they want to be talked about. Doing otherwise really doesn't help the other person.

And it isn't that funny. At all.