Fat Activists shot down

[Guest $iLk]

I thought this was funny guys:

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November 21, 2001

Fat chicks, lighten up!

The biggest problem facing America, today, isn't terrorism or war or anthrax. It's fatsuits and the portrayal of fat women in society.

At least, that's the ridiculous sentiment of the National Association for the Advancement of Fat Acceptance, a self-styled "civil rights" group whining over new hit movie, "Shallow Hal."

NAAFA representatives and their formerly-fat ally, singer Carnie Wilson, have garnered far too much media attention for this silly non-issue, and they're just plain wrong.

In the comedy, starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Jack Black, Hal ÔÇô a guy who pursues only gorgeous, model-esque women ÔÇô gets hypnotized by real-life "inspirational-speaking" guru, Tony Robbins, to see only the inner beauty in women. Thereafter, he sees fat and/or ugly women as beautiful, and falls for a morbidly obese woman that he sees as the thin, statuesque Paltrow.

Hal pursues the morbidly obese woman ÔÇô even when he becomes de-hypnotized and sees how fat she really is ÔÇô appreciating the person within her. Fat-chick activists should appreciate this silly movie's unrealistic message, far too sympathetic to the calorically-challenged. In real life, unlike Hal, most sane men would run like hell, faced with a 320-pound woman they originally thought looked like a svelte, shapely movie-star. And in the reverse, so would most sane women. Would you want to be with someone who could crush you, merely by sitting in your lap?

Instead of appreciating the fictional bone thrown to them, fat activists protest the fatsuit worn by Paltrow in the movie, as well as jokes involving huge food consumption and furniture that breaks under her weight. "If they targeted a cultural minority group or certain ethnic groups, people would not stand for it," Wilson complained to the Los Angeles Times.

Sorry, Carnie, but obesity is a health hazard for which we all have to pay. It's nothing like being born a different color or ethnicity. More like a sign of slovenliness and lack of discipline ÔÇô being too lazy to exercise more (if at all) and eat less. For most overweight people, it's a choice, not a civil rights matter. Wilson, herself once over 300 pounds, took the easy way out ÔÇô getting her stomach stapled through bariatric surgery to lose the weight. For that, she was ludicrously hailed as some sort of hero. What's heroic about that? Nothing. Just like there's nothing heroic about being fat in the first place.

It's hard not to laugh at the NAAFA and its pro-fat brand of PC. They use slogans like, "A waist is a terrible thing to mind," and hold "Million Pound March" protests. In 1999, 25 NAAFA protesters forced a San Francisco fitness club to apologize for and remove a billboard featuring a leering alien face and the message, "When they come, they will eat the fat ones first." In 2000, they pressured San Francisco to pass laws against weight and height discrimination. The group sent the media instructions on "How Not to Be a Size Bigot," with a comical list of Fat PC things you should or shouldn't say to avoid "sizism." It sounds like a bad Saturday Night Live skit: "Openly admire a fat person's appearance." "Don't say that someone looks good because he or she has lost weight, or comment that we like or don't like certain clothing because it makes us look thin or fat."

Puh-leeze. All these resources and energy are best spent on gym membership and time on a Stairmaster.

NAAFA hails fat celebrities, like actress Camryn Manheim ("I proudly say I'm a size 24. I really, really don't want a life without tiramisu," she told Marie Claire mag), author of New York Times best-seller "Wake Up, I'm Fat." Wake up, you're disgusting. And Starr Jones, the annoying, super-sized co-host of ABC's yenta-fest, "The View." Instead of promoting responsibility and health, she promotes her new plus-size clothing website, complete with giant leather pants, that evidently led to the death of several animals. Where's PETA when you need them? Some people just shouldn't wear leather.

But, with their whines against movies like "Shallow Hal," and novel concepts like diets and exercise, NAAFA is succeeding somewhat. We constantly hear about the crisis of anorexic fashion models, and feminist group NOW complains about ultra-thin "Ally McBeal" actress Calista Flockhart. Yet we hardly hear about America's real health crisis ÔÇô obesity ÔÇô with an estimated 61 percent of Americans overweight or obese, and more than one in 4.5 American adults, according to the 1999 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

Like Shallow Hal, most Americans aren't chubby-chasers, for good reason. Obesity increases the risk of cardiac arrest, heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, stroke and cancer. Obesity is a bigger problem in America than hunger (according to the National Nutrition Summit) and is linked to early puberty in girls. In 1999, the annual health costs of obesity in the U.S. were $238 billion and growing, according to Energy Times. According to studies published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, an estimated over 325,000 deaths in the United States annually are linked to excess body fat, and obesity causes sleeping disorders. An MIT study indicates that eating less slows the aging process and yields a longer life.

Shallow Hal was justified not pursuing this type of woman. And absurd to change his ways.

But not as absurd as fat-chick activists. If they're bothered by their treatment in "Shallow Hal" and the rest of society, they should stop throwing their (considerable) weight around and lighten up  figuratively, and in their figures.

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Debbie Schlussel

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Disclaimer: I am not poking fun at anyone who may be overweight - I think most of us married men have discovered that problem not long after getting married But this is to enlighten all of us to the actual dangers of being overweight and preventativeness rather than acceptance.

[ 11-21-2001: Message edited by: $iLk ]

[aramike]

Finally someone says something about it. LOL!

Seriously, smoking is a health risk, and people have no bones about others avoiding smokers. There's a damned good reason I've never been heavier (or lighter) than 165 lbs in my life. My wife never over 125. That's likely the exact same reason that we've NEVER been to a hospital for anything other than childbirth or incidental injuries.

Maybe we shouldn't avoid people who don't have good dental hygiene. Heck, let's all just wear blindfolds. And plug our noses, for those smelly people. Oh, and plug the ears for people who talk too much, or just talk without a clue. Oh yes, let's also numb our skin so we can't feel those people who have overly-aged, rough skin because of neglect.

And, let's numb our tongues, too -- we need to protect the rights of cheap wine.

[Soback]

Some fat people do have a desease which messes with their metabolism. But mostly, if you regulate your eating right then you will loose weight. When body is starved of nutrients it metabolizes fat first then muscles and then when it starts eating away at bones you basically die. So if you eat right and exercise, even if you weight 400 pounds you will loose weight. You just gotta make sure you don't starve your body of vitamins that it needs to function right and metabolize that fat.

[Fendi]

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calorically-challenged.

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Ahahahahaha!!

*wipes tear of eyes*

Has the world gone politically correct mad?

If thats the case I'm not lazy, Im just MOTIVATIONALLY CHALLENGED

It's okay to have a bit of flesh around the bone though. As long as the person is healthy who gives a damn. Besides some people prefer big people. In fact if I remember corectly if a lady is big, she is considered beautiful and prosperous is some countries.

[Põdi]

2 things:

Any Brits remember 'Not the Nine O'Clock News' from the 80s? There was one sketch about being 'Proud to be Stout' and an extremist organisation F.L.A.B. - Fat Louts Against Bikinis.

Bloody funny stuff, really.

Did you know that Non-Insulin-Dependant Diabetes is actually a default condition? Basically, unless we lead a fairly active lifestyle and eat a relatively balanced diet, we will remain healthy. Stop doing that and you get a fairly high chance of developing diabetes. Yes there are obesity genes, but generally fat people eat too much and don't do enough exercise. Simple really.

[Menchise]

I think that both sides are correct to some extent.

While Schlussel does have a point about the health issues and how obesity should not be accepted rather than tolerated (two different attitudes), the fact that it is a serious health issue actually helps the activists' arguments regarding Shallow Hal, because that would mean that the movie is making fun of someone because they have an illness or a disease.

On another note, Schlussel's comments about Camryn Manheim seem to indicate that either she hasn't read the book or doesn't know about Manheim's history or both. I haven't read the book, but I know about Manheim's turbulent history regarding attempts at weight loss, including a near-fatal overdose of speed. I'm guessing that that's what the book is about.

Finally, there is a difference between being overweight and being obese. Overweight means that you're above the ideal weight for your height (not necessarily a bad thing). Obese means that your weight has reached the point where it's starting to damage your health considerably.

[Wolferz]

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Originally posted by Fendi:

In fact if I remember corectly if a lady is big, she is considered beautiful and prosperous is some countries.

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That is true your Fendiness.

Good woman. Pull plough.

[Guest $iLk]

More cushion for the pushin I guess...

[Fendi]

I'm a hypocrite but I sometimes wish I had a big woman. They're a heater in the winter and they shade in the summer.

Anyway I don't really like the pencil thin alien look on a woman nowadays. There should be more flesh on the bone for women. Too thin and I'm just scared of breaking them.

[Guest]

Mwahahaha.. they cant run, they cant hide!

[aramike]

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While Schlussel does have a point about the health issues and how obesity should not be accepted rather than tolerated (two different attitudes), the fact that it is a serious health issue actually helps the activists' arguments regarding Shallow Hal, because that would mean that the movie is making fun of someone because they have an illness or a disease.

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But it's a self-imposed health problem. Sitcoms have OFTEN made fun of smoking in the same way.

[Hunted]

The Jarhead's take on fat women

THIS IS TO MOST REPEAT MOST FAT WOPMEN

if you don't wanna get made fun of for being fat, get off your ass and lose weight.....yes it is that simple, show some damned discipline and do a damn pushup

to those of you that can't help it, i sincerely apologize, but hope you realize that there are modern ways for you to fix that now

oh and tac that was freakign hilarious!

[ 11-23-2001: Message edited by: JJ ]

[ 11-23-2001: Message edited by: Charles Lindsey ]

[Menchise]

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But it's a self-imposed health problem. Sitcoms have OFTEN made fun of smoking in the same way.

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I have seen many sitcoms, and I haven't seen a single one that made fun of smoking through slapstick.

Secondly, obesity is not necessarily self-imposed: it can be caused (just like anorexia can be caused) by a variety of psychological factors and problems.

[aramike]

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I have seen many sitcoms, and I haven't seen a single one that made fun of smoking through slapstick.

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Spin City, for example, recently had a show where they made fun of smokers.

Seinfeld had one where Kramer's skin got ridiculously leathery due to smoking.

I don't watch much television, but I happen to catch the obligatory "make fun of smoking" episodes once in awhile. Most every sitcom has one, just like the obligatory wedding show.

Just because you haven't seen them, doesn't mean they don't happen.

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Secondly, obesity is not necessarily self-imposed: it can be caused (just like anorexia can be caused) by a variety of psychological factors and problems.

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The person is eating the food, right? That's "self-imposed", regardless of the excuses for it.

[CommanderJohnson]

Hey, i'm a morally devioid serial killer and a evil genius who is bent on taking over the world in my spare time!

"No! All movies are bad! Your making fun of all evil geniuses and morally devioid serial killers when the "good" guy wins! That's discriminatory. If it was black people and not morally devoid evil geniuses and serial killers, society wouldn't stand for it."

What a bunch of loonies. Their brains must have been turned into fat.

[Menchise]

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Seinfeld had one where Kramer's skin got ridiculously leathery due to smoking.

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Oh yeah, I remember that one, but that wasn't slapstick.

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The person is eating the food, right? That's "self-imposed", regardless of the excuses for it.

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Self-imposed implies that the person can stop whenever they want to, which is not necessarily the case with obesity, especially when psychological factors are involved. It works a similar way to alcoholism: once an alcoholic has one drink, it becomes extremely difficult for them not to have another.

[ 11-24-2001: Message edited by: Menchise ]

[aramike]

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Oh yeah, I remember that one, but that wasn't slapstick.

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It was COMEDY at the expense of smokers.

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Self-imposed implies that the person can stop whenever they want to, which is not necessarily the case with obesity, especially when psychological factors are involved.

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LOL. You're saying that such people can't NOT go to the grocery store, prepare the food, then consume it? The lack of self-control is not a disease.

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It works a similar way to alcoholism: once an alcoholic has one drink, it becomes extremely difficult for them not to have another.

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Lack of discipline. But I suppose I should just give up on watching those old Richard Prior drunk routines ... nah, those are too hilarious.

[aramike]

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Originally posted by Captain Dread:

Hey, i'm a morally devioid serial killer and a evil genius who is bent on taking over the world in my spare time!

"No! All movies are bad! Your making fun of all evil geniuses and morally devioid serial killers when the "good" guy wins! That's discriminatory. If it was black people and not morally devoid evil geniuses and serial killers, society wouldn't stand for it."

What a bunch of loonies. Their brains must have been turned into fat.

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LOL! Sad-but-true. We should also get the terrorist activists going against all that bad press they've been receiving lately.

Political correctness is a state of mind surrounded by a world of realism.

[Menchise]

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LOL. You're saying that such people can't NOT go to the grocery store, prepare the food, then consume it? The lack of self-control is not a disease.

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Replace the words "grocery store" with "drug dealer" and "food" with "crack", then try telling me the same thing. The dependencies are different (lack of endorphins instead of psychological problems) but the parallel is there.

[Guest $iLk]

Menchise, you have somewhat of a point, considering that most overweight people have a lack of self-control and moral strength, they are unable to resist temptation.

Aramike, your argument is 100% sound. Unfortunately, most people's minds are not 100% sound and they lack the will power to stand up for their own health.

Overweight people simply have to be willing to put forth effort - just like druggies. It's hard but doable. It isn't impossible, therefore saying they aren't able is making excuses for their weaknesses.

[Menchise]

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Menchise, you have somewhat of a point, considering that most overweight people have a lack of self-control and moral strength, they are unable to resist temptation.

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That wasn't really my point. My point is that obesity can be caused by psychological or social problems that run deeper than a lack of self-control. One common example (which applies to more issues than just obesity) is when depressives search for a temporary means of escape from reality, or at least their interpretation of reality. Some choose food, some choose alcohol, some choose drugs, and some choose a more permanent escape. The point is that these health issues can stem from other issues.

I know people who suffer from depression (the psychiatric kind), and I have seen their bodies deteriorate in a search for temporary escapes. It's no coincidence that as these people recover from these conditions, they start taking better care of their bodies.

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Overweight people simply have to be willing to put forth effort - just like druggies. It's hard but doable. It isn't impossible, therefore saying they aren't able is making excuses for their weaknesses.

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I never said that they weren't able, but it can be argued that making fun of people's illnesses for laughs can be very discouraging.

[ 11-25-2001: Message edited by: Menchise ]

[aramike]

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Replace the words "grocery store" with "drug dealer" and "food" with "crack", then try telling me the same thing. The dependencies are different (lack of endorphins instead of psychological problems) but the parallel is there.

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Yes, there is a parallel there. I make fun of crack heads too. I don't CARE about any psychological excuses. Murderers and rapists can use the same excuse.

No, I don't laugh at murderers and rapists -- they aren't simply victimizing themselves.

[Fendi]

Define overweight guys. I'm having this same argument with my father. For instance. If you I tell you that someone I know is 100 lbs over his recomended weight you'd automatically say he was fat yes?

But what if the guy was actually a bodybuilder? Would you say he was overweight and unhealthy? I would, coming from experience. It is a known fact that bodybuilders (pros) are generally unhealthy. Arnold Swartzenneger had his heart operated upon and Sylvester Stallone either needs viagra now or a certain pump just to get it up.

Knowing this women still find these men sexy but not the average Joe Bloggs thats slightly chubby. It's all about what the media has potrayed to people what is beautiful and what is not. Now before I get bashed for this, I have also dabbled in bodybuilding before when I was younger and I still don't look all too bad now.

Oh yeah the obligatory Fendi's joke:

A big woman is like a scooter or a moped. It's a damn good ride but you don't wanna show it off to your mates down the pub.

[ 11-25-2001: Message edited by: Fendi ]

[aramike]

More about being obese than overweight. Oh yeah, a body builder may have a greater weight than the height dictates, but that's why body fat is also used in the equation.

[Guest $iLk]

Another Story

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November 29, 2001

Hippies made us fat

It wouldn't have taken a fortune-teller to figure that the new hit movie, Shallow Hal, would be stirring up controversy in our overly sensitive society. The National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance (NAAFA)-no joke-is protesting the film's use of fat jokes in a romantic comedy. Never mind that the movie has a redeeming message that beauty is on the inside, regardless of the fat on the outside.

I don't necessarily quibble with the assertion that fat jokes can be cruel-heaven knows I've had thousands hurled at me, but the mindset of the advocacy group is troubling. Fat acceptance, which is the ostensible goal of the NAAFA, should never happen in the minds of people who need to keep off or lose weight. "Accepting" fat (and by fat, I mean significantly overweight) would be devastating-to fat people. Am I advocating the ridicule of obese people? Of course not; such behavior is reprehensible. But it's wrong to say, "Being fat is okay," because it's not okay. Just as Hal tells us, each person should be loved for his or her inner beauty, but that's a whole different animal than "fat acceptance."

Obesity is a severe health problem in America, and "accepting" it is akin to accepting high rates of heart disease and diabetes. With the relatively rare exception of people with chemical or biological disorders, obesity is an affliction that is both beatable and entirely avoidable. To deny that is to throw in the towel and abdicate responsibility for our own general welfare.

Before anyone gets fuming mad at my supposed ignorance and intolerance, keep in mind that I have had a lifelong struggle with weight. Not until I committed my heart and soul did I lose 80 pounds. It is precisely because I don't want anyone to go through what I did that I write this. As a nation, we have watched our girth grow substantially, from our chubby children to our beer-bellied baby boomers.

The real danger is people who think like NAAFA that obesity should just be accepted, as if gluttony were an immutable trait like race or gender. But it's not. (Again, people with legitimate glandular or other problems are excluded.) Weight is completely within our own control, and the first step in losing weight is recognizing that simple, yet profound, fact. For some people, losing weight is no doubt more difficult than for others, but that just means more labor to achieve the desired goal. It should not be the excuse to waive the white flag.

The cultural meltdown caused by the abandonment of personal responsibility has contributed to our current mess. In a world where no one is responsible for his or her actions, why should weight be any different?

Being fat is not just another lifestyle choice. It is one with severe consequences, all of which can be mitigated or prevented with effort. But with the high failure rate of most diets, it's a lot easier for someone to just give up than keep trying. And the more "accepted" obesity becomes, the more reassured one feels in accepting his or her own obesity.

Skeptics will point to either the feminist squeals about waif supermodels or to the plethora of "diet" foods in grocery stores. Of course impossibly thin girls grace the covers of fashion magazines, and there are millions of girls and women who idolize them. But outside the minority who strive for that extreme, many overweight people are content to either make continually meager efforts or do nothing at all.

Look at how we "diet." We want weight loss in a pill or in pre-packaged foods designed to eliminate sacrifice. Dieting is chic so long as it still includes low-fat cookies and potato chips. No wonder we're an increasingly corpulent country.

I speak from experience that eating low-fat snacks and drinking Diet Coke does little more than soothe the conscience. Our instant gratification society has eschewed the time-honored tradition of hard work yielding tangible results. We still want the bigger, better, faster, more-we just want it without sacrifice. This is the eminently foreseeable consequence of the 60's mindset, which divorced freedom from responsibility: a world where you can have your cake without baking it or putting on weight.

The new attitudes about weight are merely one indicator of larger cultural shifts over the last 30 years. The emphasis on self-esteem and loving one's self has actually eroded self-confidence. Rather than believing in one's ability to lose weight, or do any other tough task, someone clinging to the feel-good mantra can now embrace the cop-out, "I like who I am." We should all love ourselves, but not at the expense of self-improvement. To borrow a phrase: hate the fat, but love yourself. Dreams of weight loss cannot become reality until one truly believes in the amazing capacity that lies within.

Let's hope that for the sake of those with weight problems like mine that "fat acceptance" never happens.

- Joel Mowbray

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