Thursday, February 11, 2010

From The Fat Front

Shakesville: Let's Move: "...I just said in January of another similarly disastrous idea: 'Just on the most cursory, simplistic level, this has the I assume every fat, disabled person I see is disabled because they're fat, and don't consider the possibility they're fat because they're disabled problem about which I've written before.' While physically disability that limits movement may be less endemic among children than adults, this is nonetheless a national campaign equating 'moving' with 'getting thin/healthy,' without regard for an implicitly disablist message.

And, naturally, it also fails wholly to take into consideration that not everyone who 'moves' loses weight, anyway. There are fat people who regularly exercise, whose bodies persistently stay 'overweight,' laying waste to the 'calories in, calories out' meme..."

Two times in my entire adult life have I been "normal" weight: once after a two week stint in practice POW camp and years later when I was running a minimum of thirty miles per week. Do you know how much time it takes to run that much? Answer: More than I could spare and tend to my family and my job. So why don't just jump to the inevitable conclusion of this MADD-like campaign and shoot all fat people. That way no one will have to look at us, or smell our second smoke, or be offended by our overheated bodies. As far as that dieting suggestion goes, instead of telling me to stop eating, walk a mile in my sneakers and try not breathing. That's just about how easy it is to stop eating, and yes I've gone the rabbit food route with virtually no success. The only thing that does in fact work for me is massive amounts of exercise. So, the "Move" might help some kids, but for many others, they may be even more demonized by the BMI dictators.

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