Drilling down the war on obesity into that sentence -- the one I quoted -- makes it sounds like there is an attempt to systematical eliminate a group of people -- fat people -- based solely on their appearance. Isn't that what Hitler did?
The intentions are different, of course. The scale is different. The methods are different. But the underlying goal is frighteningly similar.
Discrimination based on pseudo-science is still discrimination. Obesity is a lot more complicated than the average person believes, and the First Lady's attempts at eliminating it are often times more shaming than helpful.
The person I quoted is a self-proclaimed fat activist. She's a bit on the extreme side, in some ways, but she has a point. Her quote. The Hitler comparison was all mine.
It probably makes more sense if you read the associated blog post, maybe several of her posts.
Not trying to attack the First Lady, just think her fight against obesity campaign is more harmful than helpful. How is a "war on" a group of American citizens a good thing?
You use the word 'eliminate'. Killing people by gassing them to death is different then trying to make sure young kids get out and exercise and lose weight. Seriously. Think about that.
I'm going to just leave it at that. I disagree. Hey, it's your journal and a safe place to post your thoughts. So I'm not here to hassle you about your views. I'm a larger gal. So I get the sensitivity and hurt that comes from this sort of issue. But I will never be against a program that tries to steer children from ending up overweight and Diabetic etc.
I don't know that I agree with all of the blogger's thoughts. But her research on mortality rates from weight loss surgery -- which she calls stomach amputation -- are certainly higher than I've heard elsewhere. She's asserted that much of the high cost of health care for the obese is due to the stigma of fat people seeking healthcare. That you could go in seeking medical assistance for a broken arm and be told to loose weight. She's also asserted that there is no medically proven long term success with any weight loss method. That almost any attempt leads to yo-yo cycling which makes things worse.
Her term was eradicate. I don't find the term eliminate to be much different.
She was going for shock value and I suppose I added another layer to that.
I know you didn't mean to trigger, so I'm not going there but I don't think that eliminating unhealthy obesity is a bad thing. Think about yourself. If you were thinner isn't the likelihood that you would have fewer physical problems? That doesn't mean that there is anything wrong with being overweight. I'm still overweight. I know there are deaths with weight loss surgery. There are also deaths with people having nose jobs, knee replacements and vasectomies. Any surgery is a risk. It's why they don't let people who only have twenty pounds to lose have the surgery
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I apologize if this was especially distasteful to you. I didn't intend it to sound like it apparently sounded. So .... yeah.
If there was a magic wand that could eliminate obesity, I'd wave the hell out of it. The problem is I think that most of the attempts to get people to loose weight are just plain wrong. Maybe I'm spending too much time listening to this blogger who is extreme in being anti weight loss and pro health at any size. But she's providing a point of view that not only resounds, but shows a side of things people don't seem to want to see.
I am totally in favor of pro health at any size. If you're healthy, who cares what you weigh? I know a number of "heavy" people who are entirely healthy. I had doctor's tell me I should lose weight like it was something I had neither thought of nor attempted. Just saying a thing doesn't make it happen and surgery is only a tool not a solution.
Medical costs are rising but that's not because of the obesity problem. That's a result of the insidious CYA virus for which they can do nothing to cure because that might involve taking responsibility. Okay, I've raised my hands and stepped slowly away from the keyboard. Hijacking is over.
Sorry. Having one of those weeks. Sleep deprived, scatter brained, and apparently my common decency filter is on the fritz.
I was basically trying to capture that quote. It was meant to be a drive by posting. I gave very little thought to my commentary.
Lately I've had some luck with writing "don't self-edit yourself" raw posts. But apparently while some fall on the good side of things, others not so much.
Should have started my LJ post with the same jpg I started my day with on twitter.
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The intentions are different, of course. The scale is different. The methods are different. But the underlying goal is frighteningly similar.
Discrimination based on pseudo-science is still discrimination. Obesity is a lot more complicated than the average person believes, and the First Lady's attempts at eliminating it are often times more shaming than helpful.
The person I quoted is a self-proclaimed fat activist. She's a bit on the extreme side, in some ways, but she has a point. Her quote. The Hitler comparison was all mine.
It probably makes more sense if you read the associated blog post, maybe several of her posts.
Not trying to attack the First Lady, just think her fight against obesity campaign is more harmful than helpful. How is a "war on" a group of American citizens a good thing?
Reply
I'm going to just leave it at that. I disagree. Hey, it's your journal and a safe place to post your thoughts. So I'm not here to hassle you about your views. I'm a larger gal. So I get the sensitivity and hurt that comes from this sort of issue. But I will never be against a program that tries to steer children from ending up overweight and Diabetic etc.
Reply
I don't know that I agree with all of the blogger's thoughts. But her research on mortality rates from weight loss surgery -- which she calls stomach amputation -- are certainly higher than I've heard elsewhere. She's asserted that much of the high cost of health care for the obese is due to the stigma of fat people seeking healthcare. That you could go in seeking medical assistance for a broken arm and be told to loose weight. She's also asserted that there is no medically proven long term success with any weight loss method. That almost any attempt leads to yo-yo cycling which makes things worse.
Her term was eradicate. I don't find the term eliminate to be much different.
She was going for shock value and I suppose I added another layer to that.
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If there was a magic wand that could eliminate obesity, I'd wave the hell out of it. The problem is I think that most of the attempts to get people to loose weight are just plain wrong. Maybe I'm spending too much time listening to this blogger who is extreme in being anti weight loss and pro health at any size. But she's providing a point of view that not only resounds, but shows a side of things people don't seem to want to see.
Reply
Medical costs are rising but that's not because of the obesity problem. That's a result of the insidious CYA virus for which they can do nothing to cure because that might involve taking responsibility. Okay, I've raised my hands and stepped slowly away from the keyboard. Hijacking is over.
Reply
I was basically trying to capture that quote. It was meant to be a drive by posting. I gave very little thought to my commentary.
Lately I've had some luck with writing "don't self-edit yourself" raw posts. But apparently while some fall on the good side of things, others not so much.
Should have started my LJ post with the same jpg I started my day with on twitter.
( ... )
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