- submitted by s.levenstein on 06/05/2009
Hey, Fatties. Stop Blaming Everyone But Yourselves!
By Steve Levenstein
Much has been made about the so-called Obesity Epidemic and how Something Must Be Done about it for the sake of society. We've all heard the horror stories: fat people get sick more often and put a strain on the already overburdened health care system, just to name one. The number of morbidly obese seems to be rising as well, at least if the number of programs dealing with the phenomena on TLC are any measure.
It used to be a major news story when some sad sack ate himself into a state (well, not a "state" but close enough) where a crane had to be employed to remove him from his home and, if he died, the coffin was a grand piano case. Not anymore, which is bad news for everyone except piano case manufacturers.
What irks me is that apologists for the obese get all riled up when fatties get targeted in some way. Airlines want to charge those over a certain weight for 2 seats? Sorry, that's discrimination. No matter that the reason they're being charged for seats is that their various folds, flabs and pannuses (yes, PANnuses -- what did you think I said?) do occupy a second seat. Google "pannus" if the Latin term for a hanging flap of loose, hanging abdominal... well, never mind.
Anyway, these self-appointed advocates for the larger than life leap into action -- somewhat ironic, that -- at the first hint of some threat to the overindulging lifestyle of the obese. In fact, "overindulging" itself is pejorative in their eyes: the obese do not OVER indulge, they have every right to eat what they want and in mass quantities if they choose. To criticize the obese as overindulgers is prejudicial, un-American even. Thou shalt not take away my supersized megameal, my gas-guzzling SUV nor my vibrant green Arizona lawn!
But you know, things weren't always this way. Obesity was much less common when I was a lad, which wasn't all that long ago. Sure, there were always one or two fat kids in the classroom, usually one boy and one girl. They stood out -- not because of their size, but because they were rare. It seemed to be the way things were meant to be: there was one double-bass in band class and it was always assigned to the fat guy. Need a poster child for misery? Picture a chubby kid lugging his cased double-bass home in the depth of winter. It had to be brutal, and though I hated playing the violin I knew things could be much, much worse.
So what happened between then & now? Some blame the prevalence of high-fructose corn syrup in processed foods. It's pretty much everywhere; attempting to avoid it can be likened to trying not to buy anything Made In China at Wal-Mart. Even so, HFCS alone isn't to blame for the obesity boom. I loved the stuff when I was a kid... and I swigged it straight from the jug. There you have it, my admission of guilt -- that jug of Beehive Corn Syrup in the lazy susan called to me time and time again like a beehive to a bear. Don't ask me why it was there -- I don't recall Mom ever using the stuff -- and I haven't tasted raw corn syrup in decades, but I remember the cloyingly sweet taste of the golden nectar like it was yesterday. She kept a can of Hershey's Chocolate Syrup in there as well, which if dusted would also show my sticky little fingerprints but that's another story for another time. Point being, I was a thin kid and an even thinner teen. It seems to me that WHAT people are eating isn't really an issue, it's HOW MUCH they're eating.
So please, stop equating obesity with actual disabilities or even worse, with "normal" characteristics of average people... even though as time goes by, obesity is becoming more and more the new normal. Hey now, that's a scary thought: our fate and destiny is fat and density. Maybe that's their nefarious plan, their revenge as it were: when everyone's fat, there'll be no more discrimination! Toilet seats will be made wider and sturdier... that's actually happening, in the construction of facilities for the 2012 London Olympics. One can imagine airplane seats will be similarly enlarged in the future, and you know what? That's fine by me: I can't wait to submit a claim to the airlines for only taking up half a seat.
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Steve Levenstein was born & raised at the then-northern edge of metro Toronto, Canada. Looking through the prism of the suburbs has not only given him a slightly skewed view of society, but has also helped frame the wider world as a series of variations on a theme. Closer to home, Toronto's multicultural mix acts as a rich, vibrant tonic -- an essential elixer that, by putting people out of their place, highlights the common humanity which lies within.
After a 15-year dip in the corporate pool, Steve abandoned the daily commute to focus on his first love, writing, and spending time with his family. Steve's wife of 18 years hails from Tokyo, Japan, and provides a unique window into the delights and diversions of modern Japanese culture while his 2 sons (the younger an established tech blogger in his own right) help keep the house from getting too quiet. Steve writes for a number of respected blogs including InventorSpot, WebUrbanist, Dark Roasted Blend and The Thinking Blog. ...read more rants
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