(03/04/04)
Update (02/06/08) - It's been nearly 4 years since I wrote this. I don't really follow the comment thread anymore because it's a bunch of kids being assholes. I don't agree with everything I wrote here, but I still believe in taking personal responsibility and taking care of your kids' health. If you are interested in using this photograph, I don't own the rights - if you think your use falls under fair use for your jurisdiction (I'm talking to you, kids from the UK who keep emailing me) by all means, use it. I personally don't mind but then again it's not my decision to make.
You and your parents make me cry.
I caught myself defending a fat girl the other day, and then alarm bells rang in my head. What the hell was I doing? I subscribe to the belief that "fat people are fair game" when it comes to belittling and otherwise making people feel worthless.
Fat people are increasing in number. Yes, you can blame the Fritoy-Lays and the McDonald's and other corporations for your unattractive obesity, but let's be real. Marketing can only do so much. Most fat people can do something about it. Unless people with obesity genes have had better success on the reproductive market in this country over the last 30 years (highly doubtful), the genes are not to blame for the massive increase in the average American's mass.
So what do we do? First, fat people should stop ordering food from my restaurant. They never order salads or potatoes. They order like 20 buffalo wings and a hamburger with fries. Then they finish it off with a cheesecake. I've seen it. They never intend to have leftovers, and yet they still spend $25 on their food at a casual dining restaurant where the average person spends $10 including tax and tip. I should just refuse service to these people. Or at least "accidentally" bring them a salad with a low calorie dressing. You know how 1% of taxpayers pay over 30% of the nation's taxes? I think 1% of our customers account for 30% of our revenue.
Consumption's not the only problem. How many fat people do you know who will take the slow-ass elevator to the second floor instead of walking? Watching fat people and elevators just makes me sad. When I used to live in Jester, I'd have to wait for dumb fat bitches who would squeeze into the elevator to get from the 2nd floor to the 3rd floor. It would piss me off because the elevators in Jester were in high demand. In the end I started using the stairs to and from the 12th floor because it was more comfortable than being sandwiched between too many fat people, half of whom would be sweaty from walking 2 blocks from their classes. I see so many fat people in my classes and so few fat people in the gym or the track or the football field.
And then there's NAAFA, the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance, is all about preventing insurance companies, airlines, and other companies from "discriminating" against fat people. Their site spews ridiculous 'facts' like "You have about as much chance of winning the lottery as you do of permanently losing weight by dieting." There are articles that discourage all forms of watching diet, and suggesting that doctors and the health-care industry are part of the conspiracy. Screw that. First off, I'm not letting the high cost of insuring fat people affect my rates, and I sure as hell am not sitting between two fat people on an airplane. In fact, fat people cause plane crashes. If you decide to ship a package somewhere by air, your postage costs are directly related to the weight and size of the package. Why can't passenger airlines do the same? Make them sit in first class; I don't want to see them.
I'm sick of seeing 12 year olds with type-2 diabetes in the waiting room at the pediatrician's clinic while slurping down cokes. It doesn't help that the first thing education budgets cut is Physical Education. Teaching kids to run and play sports is definitely more important to me than anything else they teach in elementary school. Elementary school didn't teach me a damn thing. My parents taught me how to read, and I learned arithmetic from textbooks years before my incompetent teachers stumbled onto fractions and multiplication. Elementary school is so worthless. It didn't even prepare me for junior high. I never learned how to fight in elementary, so I was grossly underprepared for life in junior high.
If you have children, your job is to make them love physical activity. Get them away from the damn TV. Take them rock climbing or something. A one-year pass to the rock gym is cheaper than a Playstation 2 anyway. That kid's menu garbage is no good either. McDonald's is terrible, not only because it's bad for you, but because it's bad food. I mean, why eat unhealthy food that doesn't even taste good? If you're already fat, it's not that hard to switch from regular to diet soda, from beer to liquor, from fried chicken to grilled chicken, etc. Get off your ass and play some football or basketball or something. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Walk the 4 blocks instead of taking the damn bus to class. Go paintballing instead of playing Counter-Strike all day.
