Fat Chicks Rule

Kevin Smith, Michelle Obama and MeMe Roth are walking down the street.

This week many fat activists fought back against Michelle Obama's "Make fat kids thin" campaign and for Kevin Smith being kicked off Southwest.

FattyPatties points out in her blog of Let's Move similarities to 1994 Shape Up America which also came out right after we were unable to fix health care.  She also lists better suggestions to help our children including something I post before: help children who aren't getting enough food. That this is something we always seem to overlook. I would much rather have fat children than malnourished ones. 

Back to Kevin Smith and Southwest. Apparently the only person they could get to preach Southwest praises was fat hater MeMe Roth. She was featured twice talking about how Kevin Smith is so fat and too dangerous to fly despite NAAFA's Peggy Howell pointing out that Smith did in fact adhere to Southwest's rules of putting the seat rests down and not using an extender. I try not to give Roth much time on this blog.  My main problem as mentioned two weeks ago that she is representing "health". This is from a woman who admits to skipping multiple meals every day.  So please media, can you find someone to represent "Health" that doesn't possibly have an eating disorder?

I've never flown Southwest and never will. I will never fly United again. I CAN fit in those seats. At least the ones on Jet Blue and Delta. I have a much bigger problem with Southwest than United, because Southwest has been known to be vicious. Allowing people to fly one way with one seat and then forcing them to buy a second one on the way home. Airlines don't really care about customers at all. It's about filling up those seats regardless of comfort. 

And kudos to Golda Poretsky for her appearance on the Early Show. As you can see none of the people in the airline seats look that comfortable. 

Mrs. Obama and the Kevin Smith Southworst experience.

So Michelle Obama's new initiative to end childhood obesity forever and ever has begun.  So after we waste a pile of money on this, I hope there is enough to spare to treat all the eating disorders.  Unfortunately when you focus on making fat people thin, it causes more harm than good, this is especially true for children who are a vulnerable population.  

The most important thing to understand which no one seems to comprehend is that no one is against encouraging healthy eating and fitness as this discussion on NPR with Paul Campos and Margo Wootan.  Ms. Wootan is constantly arguing with Mr. Campos about the need for healthy food and exercise and seems to ignore the multiple times Paul agrees with her statement.  

But the problem comes about when we make the focus on weight instead of health. They are neither mutually exclusive nor causatively related. And we talk about healthy foods, but we don't talk about fruits, vegetables, milk, meat and grains being treated with hormones, pestitcides, antibiotics, and genetically modified. 

In other news director Kevin Smith (Famous for Clerks, Chasing Amy and playing the character Silent Bob in his films) was kicked off a Southwest flight for being too fat. Southwest has apologized but he points out in his twitter account that the apology probably came because he was famous.  Kevin Smith is a big guy but has no problem fitting into one seat and doesn't need a seatbelt extender.  I'm hoping that this can really nail the problem of Southwest's fat hatred. It is common for them to decide pretty much out of thin (no pun intended) air whether or not you're too fat to fly. 

So please, if you fly, even if you don't mind buying a second seat or can fit in one, STOP FLYING SOUTHWEST and UNITED until they can learn to make reasonable accommodations for their customers, you know, the folks without whom they would be dust in the wind. 

Dieting with Jesus

Found this at local novelity store. The top says "because that ass needs a miracle"

More on "Is it Okay to be Fat"

First off, I would like to let readers know that I will still be blogging every Monday, but I may occasionally post a twitterish comment on other days. 

Last Friday I attended a Nightline forum at Cooper Union in Manhattan.  Panelists were Crystal Renn, Marianne Kirby, MeMe Roth and Kim Bensen.  The panel was run by Good Morning America's Juju Chang.

The audience wasn't that big (No pun intented), maybe only filling half the auditorium. A good potion of the audience was made of size acceptance activists, so we stacked the deck.   

Of course I'm biased but Marianne and Crystal came off as awesome, MeMe came off as crazy, Kim might as well have been wearing a "Lose weight, ask me how" button.  Crystal (who is incredibly beautiful) dicussed her book and her eating disorders and how she is happy now leveling out at size 12. Also in the audience was former CDC head Dr. Richard Besser who, while concerned with obesity, had a much more open opinion on what constitutes health and said plainly that everyone regardless of size needs to eat well and move. (Wow, I've only said that in my blog about a million times).

When they asked for questions, I raised my hand but I wasn't picked.  Maybe because I was wearing Marilyn Wann's Fat! So? T-shirt.  (I say this because they picked Katie LeBesco who was next to me and someone behind me.)

Had I a chance to ask questions, I probably would have asked too many. I would probably have talked about the Flegal Studies and the three other international studies that said overweight people live the longest. I would have probably pointed out to Kim Bensen that she is the exception not the rule in losing weight and keeping it off (She apparently lost 200 lbs with Weight Watchers). I would have also mentioned that most of our health care costs go to take care of the aging population.  The longer we live the more medical care we will need.  And we are living longer, despite this ramapaging murdering obesity epidemic.  So perhaps we should cut off health insurance for those over 60. We know they are going to get sick, so why not let them die off? 

I wouldn't have any questions for MeMe Roth, she hates fat people, end of story. My problem is with her convoluted views on food--I just don't think that she should be respresenting "Healthy living" or be treated as an expert on obesity or anything else except maybe eating disorders, which I firmly believe she has. (She eats 1800 calories a day only if she runs 4 miles.  1800 calories is a low calorie diet.  I've eaten that little on diets and I was miserable and hungry all the time.)

After the filming was over, we were invited to stay and chat. Unfortunately I couldn't, but apparently I missed some fireworks between MeMe Roth and a NYC blogger, who afterwards was harassed by a diet saleswoman working the room.

What a good example of what fat folks have to go through.

Live from NY

Is it okay to be fat? Yes. Okay debate over.

Whole Foods again and the First Lady

Whole foods which I criticised last August is at it again.  Apparently telling us we don't need health care reform because all we need to do is eat from Whole Foods and we would be thin, Ubermenschen wasn't enough.  Now they will give their employees incentives (i.e. discounts on their food) if they keep their blood pressure low, don't smoke, have low cholesterol and of course keep their BMI under 30.  Of course this is only for a food discount, not health insurance or jobs, at least not yet.  But let's not talk about BMI, let's talk about the all or nothing system they have set up.  The Whole Foods system has four tiers, bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum.  However the discount is based on the lowest score.  Get three platinums and a bronze, you get a bronze.  So if say I worked at Whole Foods (like they would hire a fat person), I would have only two platinums, and a bronze, but I wouldn't still get shit because my BMI would be above 30.   If I worked there, I might as well as start smoking and buying my cheaper crappy groceries elsewhere. 

In other news, Michelle Obama's focus will be childhood obesity including her supposedly chubby daughters. (It's common for children, especially girls to get some pre-teen chubbiness that vanishes after adolescence AND if those girls are chubby, I'm Kate Winslett).  While she says the focus is on promoting healthy foods, movement and better school lunches, I worry that it will become all about turning fat kids into thin kids and thin kids into anorexics and disordered eating for everyone.

All people, fat, thin, young, old, poor and rich benefit from the age old advice "eat your vegetables and go out and play."  Forgot about metals, or politics, this is all the advice you need.

Sorry all. Definitely a post tomorrow.

Blog tomorrow

Sick today. Blog post tomorrow