Augusta Chronicle Staff: Hypocritical Liars
The Augusta Chronicle out of Augusta, Georgia published a highly ignorant staff editorial that pokes fun at NAAFA's purpose in the fallout of Bill 282.
Since when do fat people need a national advocacy group to help them accept themselves? Judging by current obesity rates, they seem to be doing a fine job by themselves.
This does underscore a problem with the word "acceptance", I suppose, but it mostly comes off as snark. Oh, look, we're all fat! That must mean that fat people are accepted. Nice logic there.
And is being obese really something you should accept? Whoever coined the phrase "fat and happy" left out the reality of hindered mobility, shortness of breath and the vastly increased risk of heart disease, diabetes and the many types of cancer found to be associated with obesity.
"Hi! We're lazy journalists who haven't bothered to do any research and have instead decided that the stereotypes are facts! We're awesome! Fat people suck!"
What's sad is that too many obese people choose to live like that. Not everyone can claim genetics or a thyroid condition as a reason for not dropping pounds. In large part, it's simply a matter of turning down that third piece of pie and exercising more.
Wait, we're supposed to have three pieces of pie? I thought it was two. Well, shoot, I'll go for thirds!
Thinner people have to suffer along with them, too. That's because taxpayers dole out billions every year to Medicare and Medicaid so they can treat a whole raft of obesity-related health problems.
Oh, an Obesity Raft™! Again, instead of specifics, let's just make assumptions.
But this is hilarious:
Should fat people be discriminated against or harassed? Of course not.
And oh gee, we didn't just do that in the past four paragraphs. No - we're helping!
But people should quit treating obesity as a positive lifestyle choice and start addressing it for what it is - a serious health problem that approaches smoking as the No. 1 cause of preventable death in this country.
Disproven bullshit. Liars.
Who wouldn't choose to be healthier and happier?
I dunno. Who would choose to be ignorant? Oh, wait, I have an answer!
Mass Theft of Fatosphere Content | AP Article on Short Seat Belts
Posted by paul on February 6, 2008
I can't believe they are that stupid. It baffles me so much, and they're acting like 15 year olds. I'm 20, and I'm more mature than that. Sheesh..
I wasn't aware that:
Numbers explain acceptance (Especially a fabricated and overstated one).
-The fact that those lifestyle, NOT obesity disorders (I guess those idiots are still stuck in the 90s) ailments don't ever affect thin people, especially when being underweight is sometimes REALLY bad for the joints (I've been there for a month: It's wonderful!).
-The fact that muscle tone isn't the only way a person can avoid joint problems in life.
It's also sad that HAES is one of the few things that blocks things like this, but most of these critical thinkers don't exactly know it exists, because conventions are all about stereotypes fulfillment.
I'm blogging this asshattery.
"Should fat people be discriminated against or harassed? Of course not. "
That IS hilarious! Use an entire article to spew ignorant, incorrect stereotypes and then add that line in. It's like writing an article saying that all Latinos are criminal illegal aliens and then saying "But should Latinos be discriminated against or harassed? Of course not."
THAT would be called bigotry but insulting fat people is just "telling it like it is".
What a fine piece of "journalism".
Aw man, someone let their 15-year-old write the newspaper again!
Seriously, I have the same reaction to this that I have to trolls: does everyone who spouts this line seriously think they made all this shit up? Do they think they're being CREATIVE or INSIGHTFUL or INNOVATIVE? Or is tired old concern-troll-clone crap really good enough for some journalists these days?
Who wouldn't choose to be healthier and happier?
*Waves* I did! I did! Oh, wait. I'm still fat.
Is it lazy journalism, though, or a case of deliberate and wilful ignorance? To me it increasingly seems that many of these hacks don't WANT to have their eyes opened even when the facts are in easy reach, if not actually staring them in the face. Having been introduced to the fat acceptance movement via NAAFA, it wouldn't have taxed their investigative skills too much to have then followed a few links, done a bit of Googling, found out about HAES and the manipulated statistics and disputed science that lie behind the 'obesity epidemic'. The fact that they didn't (or did but preferred to shove their fingers in their ears "I'm still right because, la-la-la!" style) demonstrates that they're not willing to be open-minded or think about presenting a balanced approach - they'd rather play it safe and invoke comfortable black and white stereotypes which they know their readers will accept without question.
In large part, it's simply a matter of turning down that third piece of pie and exercising more.
Oops...I was eating the whole pie.
I wonder if these people actually LOOKED at the facts they mention so blithely. (Actually, of course I do not wonder). Had they bothered to do a simple google search, they could've seen the Associated Press story that debunked the "400,000 deaths from fat" scare figure AND exposed the CDC's flawed data AND provided another figure for "obesity-related" deaths: 25,000 (although it didn't explain how that figure was arrived at). They might've also noticed wonderful Julie Gerberding saying that despite the CDC's error, the CDC wasn't going to make the new number part of the public awareness campaign.
Then they could've gone on to read several excellent books, among them Laura Fraser's "Losing It" and Gina Kolata's "Rethinking Thin" and J. Eric Oliver's "Fat Politics" and of course "The Obesity Myth." The overall verdict on these books might vary, but all are sufficient, either singly or together, to clearly show that fat is not a "choice," nor is it anything we need to "explain" or "justify."
Of course, doing any of the above requires critical thinking. It's so much easier to go with the flow, especially when we just "know" the truth about fat being baaaaad and the result of baaaad behavior, just like 500 years ago, we just "knew" a woman with a brain and the ability to apply herself was a witch; just like 1,000 years ago, we just "knew" the world was flat and the sun revolved around us and anyone who said otherwise was just the medieval equivalent of a tinfoil hat-wearer whom we could burned alive and then go to sleep at night just fine.
If this illustrates a problem with a word it's the word 'obesity', if you are diseased then you cannot be healthy, if you are advocating what is seen as a disease, you see the problem. People have been sold the idea that being fat is a disease, quackery sucks.
Oh, come on. I was smarter than that when I was 15, by a couple of furlongs. The author of this editorial is only 8. Although Mommy probably cleaned up the spelling and punctuation.
Third piece of pie, huh? The only time I can even finish one piece of pie is on Thanksgiving. I don't think I could finish three if I was forced at gunpoint. (Not that I think anyone who does eat three pieces of pie is inferior to me, mind you, I'm just saying they're full of shit if they think that's why I'm fat.)
Go for a walk? I DARE them to give up their cars, as I did years ago, and do 80% of their errand-running on foot. In my neighborhood, I am the ONLY one in my neighborhood, of any size, I ever see pushing groceries down the street, having walked a mile to Trader Joe's and a mile back pushing the cart all the way, in the rain no less. Thin people look at me like I just stepped out of a spaceship. But I do it because my budget will not allow me both car ownership and Trader Joe's groceries/produce from the farmer's market, and I prefer the latter to having to live on Top Ramen and $1 frozen meals from Freddie's. Yeah, imagine that -- a fatass who gave up her car so she can afford organic veggies, and still remains stubbornly fat years later. Sorry if I broke your brain, guys.
Which is, of course, NOT to say that "junk food junkie couch potatoes" don't have the same rights I do or don't deserve respect also. Many of these people who prefer "junk food" and collapsing on the sofa at the end of the day work much harder and have many more responsibilities and life stressors and other disadvantages than I do, so who am I, or anyone else, to tell them they can't have or do what they like?
Maybe it's time for all the fat people to go on strike from anything resembling work (including domestic duties). Then they'll find out just how "useless" and what a "burden to society" we really are.
I think this kind of half-assed story is sadly reflective of the state of journalism today. Since newspapers often operate with the bare minimum staff who are paid abysmal wages, the competency level and integrity and quality of journalism has gone far down. There are papers who will print press releases sent their way with nary a second look. Reporters don't do the deep investigative journalism of Woodward of Bernstein days. If its parroted enough by people who sound "official," it's taken as fact by the media and reported as such.
This is a comment someone posted on the augusta article site:
Not only are we all ill, we break furniture and we eat off of everyone else's plates! I was under the impression that no matter how much food I eat, I always pay for it. I guess I was wrong!
**************
"A diet counselor once told me that all overweight people are angry with their mothers and channel their frustrations into overeating. So I guess that means all thin people are happy, calm, and have resolved their Oedipal entanglements."
As opposed to... killing myself quickly? Because I'll take slowly any day of the week.
Oh yeah, I'm sure YOU were smarter when you were 15, Meowser, but most people aren't. Notably, this person.
It's pretty obvious that they didn't do even a bare minimum of research, so I'm wondering which it is: a) they assumed that they already know everything about fat people already or b) they think that "opinion piece" means "piece written without any reference to facts." Either way, incredibly shoddy work that wouldn't have passed in my freshman writing class.
I don't get it. Maybe I'm extremely naive, but can't people lose their jobs for writing such horrendous mistruths?
Finding a good story is one thing. Making up bullshit so that it seems like a good story is another. I'm almost speechless in my dumbfounded wrath. All these hacks needed to do was f*cking type SEARCH TERMS into Google (as mentioned above).
*dies slowly from fat*
Oh good gods. Aside from being an idiot, the commenter Sarahbear quotes apparently doesn't understand business, either. I mean, even if all us fatties actually DID eat "several peoples share of food," how the hell does s/he get to that to translate into a loss of profits? I mean, the poor thinnies we're stealing from would just get more for themselves, eh? Gah! Offensive hardly begins to describe that post.
As for the main article, maybe someone should send the Augusta Chronicle a link to the Washington Post article from over the weekend showing that a recent study found fat people are actually cheaper to treat than thin people. Apparently, it's because we die younger and therefore don't incur any costs related to illnesses of old age which can be pretty expensive, but since these cretins don't seem to care for anything but the most surface gloss, just the concept should be enough to scramble their brains for a bit.
--
"Ignorance and prejudice and fear go hand in hand" - from "Witch Hunt" by Rush
-.-- -.-- --.. -.-- -.-- --..-.-- -.-- --..
world | time | life | dream | night | heart | day | light | eyes | love
-.-- -.-- --..-.-- -.-- --..-.-- -.-- --..
Sarahbear, I was going to post that comment too. The ignorance is stunning. Do these people ever think of the consequences of their bullshit? For example, they write a hate piece full of lies, and then make a standard disclaimer that fat people shouldn't be bashed or harassed...and the consequence of writing such a thing and passing it off as true, is commenters like the idiot who DOES bash and harass fat people with hateful comments like how it's their own fault, they bust all the chairs, sit on their asses and eat everyone else's food. What else do they think the bottomfeeders DO when they come out with articles like that, aside from use it as another excuse to bash and harass fat people? Idiots.
Third piece of pie? Wtf? Maybe HE/SHE eats three freaking pieces of pie, but I never eat pie except possibly once a year. And when I do, it's a small piece. One. As in single. I might also eat one the next day if it was my own homemade pecan pie. Then that's it until the next year. Sounds like they are the gluttons. I was thinking maybe they meant pizza pie, but even that I never eat more than two slices, when I do eat it. Which is pretty seldom as I only like one pizza place and it's not too close.
Meowzer, ITA with your post on all counts.
Zero isn't a size, it's a warning sign. - Carson Kressley
Unfortunately that's why newspapers have 'opinion columns' which are by definition filled with the ranting author's bias and prejudices. To be honest if I wanted the opinions of some of these writers I'd have asked for them, but then again that's one of the many reasons why I no longer take a newspaper.
How slowly are we talking here? If I'm killing myself slow enough that I've got 70 more good years left, then I'm 100% okay with that
I don't read papers either, richie. Though now that I've commented on that one, I'll be getting their health and fitness updates heh.
The more I think about it, the sicker it is. It starts out as being against the legislation...and then dives right into the "fact" that the people who *didn't* want the legislation were those stupid Fat Fat Fatty McFatty NAAFA types. The whole thing was just an excuse to bash fat people, from the beginning. Um - ok, so if only fat people objected, why did THEY object? Who do they think they're fooling with that? Disgusting, really.
Zero isn't a size, it's a warning sign. - Carson Kressley
This is from the link thorswitch posted above:
Are we REALLY just talking about a 4 year difference between big fat fatties and "healthy" people? because if that's the case, sweet jesus who cares??
Smokers and obese people tended to have more heart disease than the healthy people.
Oh, and don't you like the subtle language here? if you're obese, no way can you be one of the "healthy people."
It's a like an elite high school clique that we're denied admittance to. Whatever. I'll just take my good health and go home then.
Apparently, it's because we die younger and therefore don't incur any costs related to illnesses of old age
...also, didn't I hear that when you get old fat can mean living longer?
I have to question whether that very study actually is a step away from the scarier truth: that fat people cost less because we're in better health...or because we don't seek out treatment because it so often comes with a come-to-Jesus lecture.
Well I guess they put me in my place. Sigh.
Zero isn't a size, it's a warning sign. - Carson Kressley
Richie, I've seen some of the stupidest crap over the years in opinion columns; then again, I've seen some wonderful expositories that would never have been given their own article space (don't know the technical term, I'll defer to the journalists here, I'm a lowly mathie). So I can take and leave them. While I don't cherry-pick my real news, I cherry-pick my opinion columns; I have a few I check up on once in a while.
I think the writers of this particular piece never got out of *that* phase of their life.
Let's see, what's one of the things I've heard most from doctors over the years:
"Wow! Well, you're as healthy as a horse. Are you sure you're not an athlete, your blood pressure is so low."
"Nope. Just a city-walker."
"Huh. Well. Oh, uh, and I noticed you gained ten pounds since your last visit. It would be nice to see those ten pounds off the next you're here, all right?"
Yep. Cuz deh fatz is Baaaaaahhhd.
*continues dying slowly*
Did you see the comment on the op-ed that said people in the fat rights movement are "militant" and then referred people to BFB?
Militant??!? Sorry, I guess I missed the topic that called us all to arms and promoted warfare. (Yes, I know here is more than one way to interpret "militant.") Still, it is a ludicrous statement. Just because we're passionate and adamant does NOT make us "militant."
The worst part of the op-ed itself was the breathless declaration that NAAFA--gasp!--advances this mission statement: " to help obese people "accept themselves, to live more fulfilling lives, and to promote acceptance of fat people within society."
Yes, that is just so shocking. Such an outrage. How could ANYONE support such a crazy notion? There ya have it: an organization with the words "advance fat acceptance" in its name advancing fat acceptance--total conflict of interest! Unlike, say the diet and drug industry shills who have NO conflict of interest in scare mongering and keeping us afraid of our own bodies! Hell, we could even easily employ Journo Rule No. 1 and prove this by FOLLOWING THE MONEY, but it's just so much easier to go along with the flow! Fat people baaaad. Thin people goooood. Fat people who complain miiiiilitaaant...
If the bill (282) itself harks back to days of segregated dining, then these idiots trying to paint NAAFA as having a conflict of interest so great that it merits the term "outrage," is exactly like saying: "Well, although no one should be banned from eating out based on skin color, it's totally outrageous that the NAACP would oppose such an idea! Conflict of interest! Conflict of interest! Ignore the NAACP!"
OF COURSE some dumbass in the comments spews nonsense about the laws of thermodynamics.
I bet he doesn't even know what they ARE.
Rebelle and Rio, yeah, he was replying to me with the thermodynamics thing, because I challenged him on the fat blogs being 'rather sad.' I also said I knew about the laws of thermodynamics because being fat didn't mean I was stupid. Laws of thermodynamics. *Thank you* for linking to that post on your blog, though - if I feel like him patronizing me again I might post about that. If not, I'll file them away in my fat-clogged brain
Zero isn't a size, it's a warning sign. - Carson Kressley
Third piece of pie? Dude, I can't stand more than ONE. I hate sweet stuff. I get sick when I eat fast food, so I don't eat it often- usually only when I don't have time to grab something better.
This article is more just a representation of how ingrained in our culture it is to disregard fat people as human beings and more as a one-dimensional joke, especially in response to a human rights issue or a legitimate argument.
OMG pie! I love pie! I would have to say I am definitely pro-pie and I enjoy pie whenever there is pie to be had, but damn, even I'm not eating three pieces! That goes along with the whole pound of pasta comment on the M&J show. Do they really think that we all eat that much and that's why we're fat? So ridiculous!
Do they really think that we all eat that much and that's why we're fat?
I've posted time and time again on my blog about how I am vegetarian and believe in a sustainable diet. And yet I continue to get trolls who say things like "Stop shoving cheeseburgers down your throat and get your fat ass to a gym."
And even more ironic, I've probably lost more weight in one year than they will lose, regain, and lose again and regain again in a lifetime.
Well I wouldn't think less of you if you ate pie every day. Three pieces even lol. But jeez, that assumption! I still think it shows that they're the ones eating two pieces, turning down a third (which they actually want because they're probably always dieting) and then projecting their own gluttony onto fat people. That's what I think. JMO of course.
Yes yes, we all eat three or four pieces of pie after downing a pound of pasta. A pound. (!) And then we gorge ourselves at midnight on baby-flavored donuts. Because we're that evil.
How silly it all is.
Tonight I actually ate a serving of Entenmann's devil's food cake, and a York Peppermint Patty. I normally don't eat sweets, or if I do, very little. Now I feel rather sick. Must have been those two pounds of pasta. (Ok, 2 or 3 ounces.) Or that garlic meatball - omg that was it. Alka-Seltzer and then bed. Salads tomorrow.
Zero isn't a size, it's a warning sign. - Carson Kressley
"Are we REALLY just talking about a 4 year difference between big fat fatties and "healthy" people? "
And are they referring to fat people who never dieted, chronic dieters or something in-between? Because, to my mind, if they're referring to people who diet continuously or for a good part or their life, those 4 years could very well be due to the yo-yo effect and the various crapola that diet does to our body, not to mention diet pills, beverages and so on...
I bet the edit board at this paper likes pie, too. Maybe we could ship crates of pie to them, see how much of it they eat, then write our own edit on what awful, awful people they are for enjoying pie. Or maybe we should just send in the pie with clowns and let them do as clowns are wont to do.
(Kidding, of course)
Okay, I usually don't talk about the newspaper I write for, but this is relevant. Last year the managing editor convened a voluntary "task force" to talk about an upcoming feature on childhood obesity. I, of course attended, with the primary intention of not seeing it turned into the usual anti-obesity, lifestyle choice rhetoric my paper usually regurgitates.
I found it quite ironic the people who came from all departments who were there - talking about how lazy and sedentary kids today are, and how they eat junk food and fast food, all of which is why they're so fat - when some of the very people saying these things are quite fat themselves. They don't think of themselves in these terms - oh, no. But are so happy and eager to project these assumptions onto other fat people.
rachelr, I think that's related to the "oh, I don't mean you!" response that so many of us get when our friends or family start ranting about fat and obesity. Somehow the image of fat people as lazy gluttons is much less likely when it's people that you know.
Which is why I said this in my Shakesville post the other day about that Mississippi bill:
Feel free to fling that at 'em, Rachel.
if we are on the topic of how much all of us fatties eat, picture this...i'm sitting at the lunch table with my fellow fatties and eating a bag of birds eye steam fresh and a big apple (typical lunch for me) and my table buddies are wondering why i didnt finish my lunch..(i was full) they look at me and shake thier heads and say that they wonder why i wasn't a twigg...still fat......must be those 3 pieces of pie....or the boxes of twinkies...hmmmmmmp
Stop hating! I'm plumb like a roast, and thicker than most!
I always find it amusing when people who don't identify as fat assume they are that way because they are doing it right, meaning they must eat right (only two pieces of pie per day), and they must exercise properly (they move from the couch occasionally), and they never give it a second thought -- and they must be doing it right because they're not fat. It's not like it's even that hard!
Therefore, all the fat people have to do to become thin is to stop doing it wrong -- I mean, we must be doing it wrong; we're fat, right? All we have to do is turn down that third piece of pie and get up off the couch every now and then, at least enough to prevent bedsores -- I mean, that's all they do, and they're thin, right? Am I right?
There are no logical errors here whatsoever!
It goes beyond that, though. I once heard my brother comment that he barely exercises and eats until he's full, so fat people must be *really* lazy and shove way too much food down their throats. In other words, it's not that we don't do it right, but that we must be doing it horribly, horribly wrong.
Of course, he means those *other* fat people, not me!
Another thing I noticed about the Augusta edit was that they seemed so terribly surprised there was such a thing as NAAFA: "we wish we were making this up" (LOL? Snort?) "National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance" !!! It's as if they thought it was some new fad, when all they would've had to do was employ the magic of google to learn otherwise!
I really don't even like pie.
It always amuses me that haters have such a short list of what we must be gorging on 24/7: pie, ice cream, donuts, and cheeseburgers. Now I like me some ice cream, but donuts and cheeseburgers they can keep. Let them eat it. Maybe once they get full, their attitude will improve.
NAAFA has been around since 1969. Which is probably longer than the person who wrote this "editorial" has been alive. Heck, that might be longer than his/her parents have been alive.
And yeah, Lizzy, "I eat a little too much and I'm a little chubby, so those REAL fatasses must REALLY be putting it away" is a common assumption. Which is a little like, "I slack off at my job sometimes and I'm not making the kind of money I could be making, so those poor people must REALLY be screwing off all day."
Ho boy. I hate that assumption. It's like the ultimate response to anything a fat person could ever say about why they're fat: "But I'm naturally thinner by doing just so little, surely you're just not doing enough! I mean, since I have to do next to nothing to maintain a really slim figure, you must be REALLY shoveling the junk food down your throat!"
I got that a lot from my first roommate at college. She was naturally slimmer than I was, though she did carry a bit of what I'd identify as baby fat on her figure. She ate more than I did, stored more snacks in our room than I did, and got out of the room less than I did. I mean, clearly those are the only factors in what makes someone fat, right? I found out from one of our mutual friends that she'd been lying behind my back, saying that the little snackfoods were *mine*, that I must have been snarfing twinkies "or something" whenever I went out of the room. Sounds like she was projecting her personal insecurities onto me, making me into her personal demon- or at the very least, an example of, "At least I'm not like that."
The shortness of breath thing always cracks me up. I'm a singer, and I'm fat. Breathing is a very important part of what I do, and I can tell you that my fat has not hindered it in anyway.
It ain't over til the fat lady sings, waiting. I wonder if these idiots have ever heard of, oh, say, Luciano Pavarotti? Aretha Franklin? Gloria Gaynor? They might (have) laugh(ed) at the idea of being short of breath too
And if they meant stairs, screw them: [url]http://kateharding.net/2007/12/03/stairs-the-great-equalizer/[/url] I had a nasty couple flights of stairs at a job last year, and was always out of breath. You know who else was always out of breath? The thin people. But they were honest enough to admit it.
Zero isn't a size, it's a warning sign. - Carson Kressley
I'm 5'9" and 240+ lbs. My husband is 5'10" and maybe 160. So that must mean I eat like crap and he loves his salad and avoids fast food, right? No. I love me some vegetables and I can't drag the Doritos out of my husband's hands.
Stupid people and their stupid generalizations.
Where were these people two years ago? Their insight could have saved me from myself! I had three surgeries within one year and was more or less housebound for a year and a half. I didn't eat more food, I was totally incapacitated. I wasn't lazy, I was disabled. I gained over 80 pounds. The perceptions that we are lazy, ignorant, unmotivated, yada yada yada are outdated and frankly Medieval in philosophy.
"Nobody can make you feel inferior without your consent" - Eleanor Roosevelt
I doubt I had a slice of pie in the last three years (outside pizza and two slice of pizza fill me up). I'm nearly vegan and I avoid artificial sweeteners including HFCS. I buy most of my food from the produce section and I read the labels of the few prepackaged foods that I buy. I work out to build muscle and to have more energy. I've done those online life expectancy tests and I always come out with an age of over 90 most times over a hundred.
Please, fat doesn't equal 'unhealthy'. I find the largest prejudice in this area from nurses. I have my weight taken at the start of a visit and the nurse looks at the number with horror. I hold my weight very well. (haha, I exercise and I'm fortunate to have broad shoulders and narrow hips.) I would never discriminate against someone that can't run up a flight of stairs. But don't assume because I'm not 'thin' that I can't run up several flights of stairs. We aren't all built the same. It would be a boring world if we all looked the same. Perish the thought!