There was SO much controversy surrounding the Bert Show this week regarding the “Cowardly Editorial” aimed at our society and how we respond to ‘fat’ people. I have been so completely irate about the whole thing that I am finally getting it all out in this blog. So, here’s your disclaimer. It’s my blog which means it’s my opinion and they are my thoughts, and I’m not asking you to like them or agree with them. What I do ask though, is that you not judge me until you get to the very end.
If you don’t listen to the Bert Show and are not up to speed, you can read the initial editorial here
While I do think that the anonymous editorial could have been written more delicately, I do agree with the sentiment behind it. Yes it was harsh and obviously full of negative emotions but it also had a lot of valid points. Yes, there are people that cannot exercise for health reasons. But, they are a very small percentage of the population and this editorial isn’t talking about them. It’s talking about obese people who are overweight because of the choices they have made. I don’t believe that the vast majority of overweight people gained weight due to a medical condition. I do however think they will develop them due to poor nutrition and lack of physical activity.
What angered me about this whole situation are the posts that followed and the people behind them. To the listener that was so offended by the editorial but according to your Facebook page, your favorite activities are sleeping and eating . . . I say to you that ‘eating’ is not an activity. We are intended to eat for survival and for nourishment. Our society puts a lot of celebration around food . . . birthday parties, Thanksgiving dinner, brunch with girlfriends (which I am having tomorrow). But listing two out of 3 activities as sleeping and eating paints you in an unmotivated, lazy light.
To the listeners (and there are several) calling specific members of the Bert Show shallow and superficial, cowards and 'pieces of shit,' I have a few things to say. A) You don’t even really know them so B) you are being just as judgmental as the editorial and C) use freaking spellcheck because when you look like an idiot, you lose all credibility.
To the listeners that posted sentiments around skinny people being born with a silver spoon in their mouth and not knowing any kind of emotional distress, I say that you are just as ignorant and judgmental as the author of the editorial. Have you heard of anorexia? It’s an eating disorder born out of mental distress! I am not overweight and I know people look at me and assume my life is and always has been rosy. But let me assure you that those people don’t know me anymore than the author of the editorial knows the overweight folks he or she is judging. Don’t sit on your judgmental throne and say that skinny people have it easy.
To the listener that says she doesn’t have time, you will have to forgive me for my lack of sympathy. I work full time, I have a family, but I also run and play tennis. My day starts at 4:30am most days of the week. If I was a betting girl, I’d bet that those who say they don’t ‘have time’ piss away at least an hour or two a day on something else. You can start small; take the stairs instead of the elevator. Get up and walk to your colleague’s office instead of calling them on the phone or sending them an email.
To the listener that says they ‘can’t afford it’, no one says you have to buy a gym membership or hire a personal trainer. You can go outside and play with your kids, you can walk your dog, you can look up free workouts on YouTube. And yes, there are more coupons for Toaster Strudel than there are for a BOGO banana. But I would bet my next paycheck that the majority of people who say they ‘can’t afford to eat healthy’ are spending their money on some other unnecessary item. There are ways to save at the grocery store. I, too, live on a limited budget and I can tell you that it is cheaper to eat at home than it is to swing through a drive through every day. Buy what is on sale; not only does this help your wallet, but it introduces you to new fruits and vegetables and increases the variety of nutrients your body actually receives.
To the listener crying about needing a solution, it’s called diet and exercise. Someone actually wrote that it was easier to buy a bag of burgers than to buy a bag of apples. When are people going to make the connection between what they eat and how they feel? They eat two meals a day, one of them being fast food cheeseburgers, and then they complain about how sick and exhausted they are.
The truth of the matter is that we are a lazy, unmotivated, finger-pointing society that cannot take responsibility for our actions, let alone our own health. We are always ‘looking for the easy way out.’ That’s why most people would just as soon take a pill than take a walk. We’d rather save money on chemical-laden, over-processed crap than spend time and money teaching our children and grandchildren how to be healthy. And nothing infuriates me more than seeing obese children. Those parents are just setting them up for a lifetime of diabetes, high blood pressure, chronic fatigue, etc. Rather than letting their children be involved in the meal planning and preparation, they’d rather sit them in front of a video game & warm up a chicken nugget. It doesn’t have to be about fat versus skinny. It’s about how excess sugar suppresses your immune system and regular exercise helps you sleep better at night. It's about how excess weight makes your heart work harder and places extra stress on your joints. As you age, you lose muscle mass and bone density, which can be slowed with physical activity.
It’s time that we stop coddling people in general & put an end to the pity party.
Anyone need a soap box? I think I’m done with mine . . .
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