America’s Fatties Rise up in protest - how long before they need to sit down again?

M

Mystech

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Registered Senior Member
NEW YORK (AP) -- Unashamed of their size, fed up with fat jokes, and angry at the national obsession with dieting, overweight activists are mounting a feisty protest movement against what it calls the medical establishment's campaign against obesity.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/LAW/08/02/gay.parade.court.ap/index.html
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Being somewhat involved with activism of a sort myself I usually find it hard to turn my nose up at a group of disenfranchised people trying to stick up for their rights, and representation; It's just a knee jerk reaction for me. However in this case I find it hard to do much more than have a good laugh at the expense of these poor people, and their organization, "NAAFA".

What exactly are these crackpots protesting against? People trying to sell you diet pills and hook you on the latest diet to slim down doesn't seem like such a bad deal to me, targeted advertising can be kind of annoying and relentless I know, but is it really this bad? Hell as a gay man I'm pretty stoked to have the Logo network coming out, it's about time we had an overtly homosexual network to bombard us with programming and advertising designed to appeal to us (VH1 doesn't count), It's pretty cool to be part of an emerging demographic! It makes me feel like I’m trendy!

Fighting for civil rights and breaking down the barriers of discrimination is one thing, for sure, I can understand that, but let’s take a look at the sort of thing that these people are aiming for:

NAAFA and others have tried to combat what they see as rampant discrimination against fat people, but progress has been sporadic. Southwest Airlines, for example, resisted protests targeting its policy of requiring large passengers to purchase a second ticket if they can't fit in a single seat.
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That’s right! They don’t want to pay extra for two seats! These poor girthy beasts, what horrid oppression they face! In an ironic twist of fate I recently reviewed Southwest Airlines seating policy myself, as I’m planning a trip to New York and haven’t flown since 9/11 and thought it might be handy to brush up on the airline’s crayon policy. In their own documentation they mention that no passenger will be allowed to board who can not fit in a single seat, or whom can not fit a seatbelt around themselves! This seems more like a prudent safety policy than discrimination to me.

This may seem a little harsh, but if you don’t want to have to buy two plane tickets for both the seats that your big butt takes up, then don’t head out to protest, lose a few pounds so that you’re not a disgusting blob!

Now I know it’s easy for me to be critical of fatties on the war path, weighing in at a whopping 119lbs, I’ve never had to deal with being even moderately pudgy let alone obese, so maybe I don’t know what it’s like to be so huge that one seat on an airplane isn’t enough, but once you get to being somewhere near that size, isn’t it perhaps time to take a step back and say “You know what, I’ve got to start doing something different”? I don’t want to hear about people’s glandular problems (boo hoo!) or slow metabolism (you know that your metabolism speeds up if you work out regularly, right? No? Well maybe you should try it!), there’s just no way that you’re going to get that fat unless you’re doing something wrong, and you shouldn’t swagger (hmm or waddle?) around like your extra rolls of flesh make you entitled to anything.

This whole movement to get people to accept that they are fat and convince themselves that that’s just fine and they’re still beautiful and healthy seems like nothing more than a bunch of lazy defeatist propaganda to me. Look, don’t get me wrong, even I have to admit that a black girl with a big ol’ butt is something rather appealing to look at, but there’s certainly a line between someone who’s well filled out and morbidly obese, and once you cross it it’s just not pretty. It really boggles my mind how people can just accept that they’re formless lumps of lard and not try to change that.

Ahh but whatever, I don’t know where I’m exactly going with any of this, but if anyone else happens to have an opinion, then let the fat jokes ensue!
 
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Many people have personal esteem problems due to what they perceive as unattractive physical features. From their own viewpoint they may be too heavy, too thin, have a bad complexion, crooked teeth, etc. More likely than not, all of us have physical traits that we would like to alter if such were possible.

But the truth is, while physical characteristics may make an initial impression upon others, they are subordinated rapidly to personality qualities. Some, who are quite attractive physically, are so obnoxious in disposition that folks are loath to be around them. Others, who are a bit “plainer,” have tons of friends because intelligent people are attracted to their charm, wit, compassion, or overall spiritual depth.

http://www.christiancourier.com/archives/self_esteem.htm


This is sadly a self esteem issue.

I do understand that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but societal influence or not, there comes a time when fat becomes repulsive. Imagine rubbing your face on your grandmother's bare chest. That is what repulsive feels like.

It doesn't matter whether you were born that way or you ate into it, it doesn't change a perception of you. I doubt humans were "built" to be heavier than necessary.


In conclusion:
They are not protesting because they are "unashamed", but are protesting because they are ashamed and want no remedy.

Remember, just because you don't think you are fat doesn't mean you aren't.
 
These arn't just your run of the mill fat people I assume. here in phoenix we have quite an array of fat people because this is a hot spot for immigrants from the middwest of the US. You see all sorts of fat people here, and some that are well past anything you would have thought actualy existed. People who are actualy deformed by their fat, they dont fit into regular human cloths, they dont LOOK particularly human. This is the sort of person who cant fit into one seat at a theatre or on an airplane, and its really quite a stunningly awful sight to see. If it really was some sort of glandular condition then they really aught to get a note from their doctor and keep it with them, print it on one of their custom shirts or something, because I just dont buy that somone can get THAT fat and not be complicit in it.
 
119 pounds Mystech? No offense intended, but you must be around David Spade size.

Though it isn't a problem I'm likely to encounter, the women in my family tend to get large as they age. My mother is getting pretty big, and has many of the health problems associated with it.

She has always had more weight on her than she would like, but she was never much for exercise, and had a sedentary job. Now she is retired, lives alone, has no social life, and her knees and ankles are giving out from arthritis.

Her main joy in life seems to be going out to eat, and she is sure to take me out to Denny's when I visit her. I feel as though I should lecture her about what she eats, but I know it wouldn't do any good. She often needs help to get out of the booth, and I can almost hear what onlookers are thinking.

But she is a sweet woman, and has spent most of her life making the best of a bad hand that was dealt her. She has always been the one to rely on for her whole family.

I've had to struggle to accept that I cannot prevent her from hastening her end with food, anymore than I could keep my father from smoking and drinking himself to an early grave.

But it infuriates me nontheless. She made it to retirement, and at 65, she could have some time to enjoy herself if she ate more wisely, and participated
in some sort of exercise program. But she has to choose to do so, I can't make her.

So I don't make fun of overweight people much anymore.

But those who are overweight, while often having a slower metabolism than the rest of us, don't get off the hook completely. You don't catch 50 to 75 pounds the way you catch a cold.

No amount of fat acceptance advocacy will make the very real consequences to peoples health and appearance go away.
 
What are the obese worth in casting terms?

I had the misfortune to see Not Another Teen Movie recently, though I will tip a nod to the token black character.

If you watch, there is also an idea of a token fat character in many comedies.

That's what I liked about Shag and Scoob. Shag was thin as a rail, and I've literally seen a six-four, 140-lb. Irishman put down potatoes like an evil stereotype. I don't need a fat man spilling his sub sandwich on the controls. Give me a rail-skinny, beer-drinking stoner.

And as a nod to body size in general, fat-bottomed girls do make the rockin' world go round. I won't go so far as to claim to be massively-endowed, but it's nice to be able to bury yourself to the hilt in a woman without hearing, "Ow! goddammit!" I say with mild reservation inasmuch as I do wear the green hat in this forum that the superfine may be easy on the eyes, but it's not worth it if you have to take it so easy that you're better off accommodating yourself.

Nor are people standardized according to such stereotypes, but beyond such superficialities, it's merely a health issue, and as long as you don't stink, I don't care what shape you are.

My favorite fat jokes come from David Lee Roth videos:

• "Excuse me, sir, but aren't there some places you just can't reach with a washcloth?"

• "My doctor says I have to take a laxative!"
--Not in my store, you don't!

I can't even type them with a straight face.
 
So, the fat Americans are rising up, how amusing...

Now, I sadly have a case of severe obesity in my family, my sister-in-law weights about 150 kg, that´s about 331 lbs, at least we think the she is that heavy, normal scales only work up to a weight of 150 kg...

Anyway, what are those fat-assed idiots protesting about? When they need two seats in an airplane, they should damn well pay for two seats.

And they don´t need to buy all that get-thinner stuff that is advertised if they don´t want to. I mean, it is only for people that want to lose weight, if they like the way they are, good for them. But nonetheless, I do not think that someone can feel comfortable in such circumstances. My sister-in-law always told us she is happy with the way she is (I also came to the conclusion that there must be something wrong with my brother...), but recently, she tries to lose weight, why? Easy, she can only walk for about 30 minutes, and her joints ache all the time. Her skin looks somewhat stretched (ow, I nearly died when I saw her belly this summer :( ) and her little daughter gets out of control because she is unable to hold her back, due to the fact that it is too difficukt to rise from the couch.
So, now she tries to loose some weight, and guess what, if she manages to look tolerable by the end of this year, I have to correct my opinion of her, I always thought she was just a fat whinning bitch... if she does not lose weight, she will be dead by 30, so who cares...

Me, I will just keep on laughing at the fat slimeballs that nearly melt in the heat of summer, while I sit there, eating tons of sweets, drinking whiskey and beer while still keeping my 154 lbs, which makes me look a bit skinny with my 6 feet 8 inches. :cool:
EDIT: (Metric system) 70 kg and 2.03 meters
 
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I weight 55kg and am 1.74m high and it feels damn good :)
http://piparmetra.net/outer_realms/images/surreal.jpg

This whole movement to get people to accept that they are fat and convince themselves that that’s just fine and they’re still beautiful and healthy
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that is BS. how can one be healthy and not be able to run, dance, hike...
they are just being easy on their own dissabilities so they don't have to do anything about it
 
There are few places that I hate going more than Walmart. Has anyone else noticed that Walmart now seems to be inundated by fat people riding around in those little electric carts? I'm pretty sure that those are supposed to be for people who can't walk very well because they're crippled, injured, or very old - not for fat people who are simply too lazy to haul their flab around the store. They're actually able to get food without even having to walk over to it. Yikes, I hope they don't expect to burn any fat that way.
 
Mystech said:
I don’t want to hear about people’s glandular problems (boo hoo!)
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Actually it does suck. I know someone who suffers from this.

or slow metabolism (you know that your metabolism speeds up if you work out regularly, right? No? Well maybe you should try it!)
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...and she does. It is unaviodable.

...but I agree. I decided to do something about my weight....I didn't accept it and thought I was beautiful (disturbing). I hit the gym and worked up my resistence and pushed myself.

If you hit Mcdonalds and then join a obesity support group you need help.

With that said I think these groups exist not to gain special abilities to accomodate their weight problems but to protect their already dwindling rights. You must admit if the obese stayed quiet throughout eventually more and more institutions would take it upon themselves to make laws and rules to help their pockets and efficiency. Whether they accept their weight or not the obese do get teased a lot and are expected to take it in as light humor because even moderetly or outright skinny do not understand the self-defeating images the mirror throws back.....

So in retrospect I can understand why these support groups would form to encourage and accept their healthy shapes......It's not about truly accepting your bulges but more about getting solice and hope from others who suffer the same fate as you. They aren't really tackling their problems, instead getting comfort from the fact that their suffering and fears aren't theirs alone to bare. Hell, mostly all support groups really come down to that.....eventually those in these groups may realize this and overcome their problems.

Buttt....with that said these support groups do have to pick their battles....Look if you can't fit in one seat then YOU CAN'T FIT IN ONE SEAT....Southwest isn't going to defy the laws of physics to be PC and reserve your rights.

No one really wants to accept the fact that they are 300+ lbs while tight assed women and fit men walk 5 feet away from them wherever they go. Be it lazyness, fear, biological problems, constant humiliation or depression...solice is solice but so is commen sense.
 
I have been steadily 138 lbs for the past two years. Can't remember how the metric system works though ever since I came to America..
 
Mystech said:
it's about time we had an overtly homosexual network to bombard us with programming and advertising designed to appeal to us (VH1 doesn't count)
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Hey!
What about Bravo?
 
The airlines should not only put people's bags on a scale but also people themselves. If people are overweight they have to pay for the extra kilos.

Thin people get a discount so they have some extra money to buy a greasy burger.
 
I've heard of various thin small skinny people on airplane flights being charged for baggage being a kilo or two overweight, whilst the airplane lets people who weigh twice their weight walk straight on.
 
that has been a view of mine for many years, surely it should be a charge for passaenger and luggage, not just luggage
 
Having gained 40lbs while unemployed, I have taken quite a liking to my new girth. I haven't reached the waddling stage yet, but have moved from a belt to suspenders. I like being fat. It's cool. And if anyone gives me any grief about it, I will sit on their skinny bag of bones.
 
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