A plea for assistance
Feb. 10th, 2008 11:32 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
snoweeOkay, I'm really putting myself out there in a way on this one. I don't know how well this will even go over, but I'd really appreciate some help. I read this opinion article in a local paper today and I just needed to respond. Please help me make this better.
I wrote this response, but the thing is I am putting myself out there with my beliefs and sort of feel like every thin person out there is just going to blow it off as not meaningful, easily dismissed. I know that I'm fat because of my choices and I'm not saying that it is impossible for me to lose weight (though research shows that if you've been obese most of your life, you'll never be able to lose enough weight to match the BMI, but I try not to think about that because it just depresses me), but in the end is it not me who suffers the real consequences? We do not have socialized health care in the country. Meanwhile I could point out that recent studies by Dutch scientists are showing that while obese health care costs more in a year, thin and healthy health care costs more over a lifetime. Hmm, interesting.
Of course, certain people will agree with me, but I'd really like to know if this might make some people think twice about their opinions. I suspect this isn't the best crowd to ask for help because I probably wouldn't be your friend if I saw you as a judgmental jerk, but... you'll see what I mean when you get to the end:
It is a good thing we have people like Danny Quintana to point out our faults and simplify obesity into a black and white problem. [“Beached Whales,” Feb. 7, City Weekly] It is obvious he understands what it is like to be obese – or to understand that things are not always as simple as they seem, really. Yes, some people do buy junk food and eat at fast food restaurants nightly. Others struggle with inner demons constantly and try to eat better, exercise more. Anyone who thinks it is as easy as caloric intake and pulse rates is ignorant.
I may, however, need him to explain to me why delivering wheelchairs is relevant to his article unless it was to show what a humanitarian he is while referring to fellow human beings as whales. (Did he say “people” when referring to the obese even once? If so, I missed it.) Has he ever delivered a chair to someone who lost their legs in an unfortunate incident that occurred while they were drunk or high? I wonder. When it comes to wheelchairs, people are usually too polite to ask.
I understand where people who criticize obese people in relation to healthcare comes from (ignorance). Personally I do not want national health coverage, but I think if we went that way, then health care should cover personal trainers and weight loss clinics. Research claims that people who go it alone are much less successful than those with help, but help costs money to people who are less likely to be able to afford it.
So, if I followed Danny around, would I find fault with him? Just because my “sin” is obvious does not mean you should throw stones at me. In the end, it is my struggle and no one else’s. Tell me, do you make such insulting comments about drunk or otherwise impaired drivers? Or people who don’t recycle? You mentioned smoking and drug addicts offhandedly, but have you such strong convictions against their choices expressing them in such a heartless manner?
I have grown very tired of people using healthcare as an excuse to belittle another person and act like a prejudiced child. That article was not about healthcare as the title claimed nearly as much as it was about how overweight people are just a mistake by mere existence. It does not matter if obesity is a choice or not. We are still human beings and your selfish perspective does absolutely nothing productive. Maybe the food I put in my mouth and the amount of exercise I do is a choice, but it is not like I woke up one day when I was 10 and said “I want to start getting fat today!”
So, while I work on my weight, why don’t you work on your personality? It is obviously lacking empathy and intelligence. I am at wits end with the fact that obese people are subjected to rude comments, stares, and judgment. Meanwhile, they are being made to feel they cannot fight back to the prejudice because they are just opening ourselves up for further attack or are told they are just making excuses. So, I tell you what. I won’t point out your faults if you won’t point out mine.
I wrote this response, but the thing is I am putting myself out there with my beliefs and sort of feel like every thin person out there is just going to blow it off as not meaningful, easily dismissed. I know that I'm fat because of my choices and I'm not saying that it is impossible for me to lose weight (though research shows that if you've been obese most of your life, you'll never be able to lose enough weight to match the BMI, but I try not to think about that because it just depresses me), but in the end is it not me who suffers the real consequences? We do not have socialized health care in the country. Meanwhile I could point out that recent studies by Dutch scientists are showing that while obese health care costs more in a year, thin and healthy health care costs more over a lifetime. Hmm, interesting.
Of course, certain people will agree with me, but I'd really like to know if this might make some people think twice about their opinions. I suspect this isn't the best crowd to ask for help because I probably wouldn't be your friend if I saw you as a judgmental jerk, but... you'll see what I mean when you get to the end:
It is a good thing we have people like Danny Quintana to point out our faults and simplify obesity into a black and white problem. [“Beached Whales,” Feb. 7, City Weekly] It is obvious he understands what it is like to be obese – or to understand that things are not always as simple as they seem, really. Yes, some people do buy junk food and eat at fast food restaurants nightly. Others struggle with inner demons constantly and try to eat better, exercise more. Anyone who thinks it is as easy as caloric intake and pulse rates is ignorant.
I may, however, need him to explain to me why delivering wheelchairs is relevant to his article unless it was to show what a humanitarian he is while referring to fellow human beings as whales. (Did he say “people” when referring to the obese even once? If so, I missed it.) Has he ever delivered a chair to someone who lost their legs in an unfortunate incident that occurred while they were drunk or high? I wonder. When it comes to wheelchairs, people are usually too polite to ask.
I understand where people who criticize obese people in relation to healthcare comes from (ignorance). Personally I do not want national health coverage, but I think if we went that way, then health care should cover personal trainers and weight loss clinics. Research claims that people who go it alone are much less successful than those with help, but help costs money to people who are less likely to be able to afford it.
So, if I followed Danny around, would I find fault with him? Just because my “sin” is obvious does not mean you should throw stones at me. In the end, it is my struggle and no one else’s. Tell me, do you make such insulting comments about drunk or otherwise impaired drivers? Or people who don’t recycle? You mentioned smoking and drug addicts offhandedly, but have you such strong convictions against their choices expressing them in such a heartless manner?
I have grown very tired of people using healthcare as an excuse to belittle another person and act like a prejudiced child. That article was not about healthcare as the title claimed nearly as much as it was about how overweight people are just a mistake by mere existence. It does not matter if obesity is a choice or not. We are still human beings and your selfish perspective does absolutely nothing productive. Maybe the food I put in my mouth and the amount of exercise I do is a choice, but it is not like I woke up one day when I was 10 and said “I want to start getting fat today!”
So, while I work on my weight, why don’t you work on your personality? It is obviously lacking empathy and intelligence. I am at wits end with the fact that obese people are subjected to rude comments, stares, and judgment. Meanwhile, they are being made to feel they cannot fight back to the prejudice because they are just opening ourselves up for further attack or are told they are just making excuses. So, I tell you what. I won’t point out your faults if you won’t point out mine.