Let the debate begin...
When I open my email this morning, I read this article; however, what really concerned me is the reader remarks. Just goes to prove that weight discrimination in not only alive and well, it's flourishing...
http://jobs.aol.com/articles/2011/09/29/600-pound-forklift-o perator-claims-his-dismissal-is-weight-discr/?icid=maing-gri d10%7Chtmlws-main-bb%7Cdl9%7Csec1_lnk3%7C100218
Black men had the right to vote before women. Back when black men had to step off the sidewalk when passing a white person, ALL women were considered less than that.
More women than men are obese. And too often we blame ourselves for our weight. We are too easy to subjugate. That's why we are last.
Check out my profile: http://www.obesityhelp.com/member/goodkel/Or click on my name
DS SW 265 CW 120 5'7"
In most cities in the U.S., it is perfectly legal to discriminate based on sexual orientation. It is legal to fire someone for being OK or to refuse to rent them an apartment or any of that stuff. And in fact, the discrimination is written into law in some places - some laws specifically state the gay people are not permitted to marry, for instance. That's prejudice.
Kelly
Please note: I AM NOT A DOCTOR. If you want medical advice, talk to your doctor. Whatever I post, there is probably some surgeon or other health care provider somewhere that disagrees with me. If you want to know what your surgeon thinks, then ask him or her. Check out my blog.
In most cities in the U.S., it is perfectly legal to discriminate based on sexual orientation. It is legal to fire someone for being OK or to refuse to rent them an apartment or any of that stuff. And in fact, the discrimination is written into law in some places - some laws specifically state the gay people are not permitted to marry, for instance. That's prejudice.
Yes, but we are actively working to change that. Laws are being changed and derogatory slang like "******" is no longer socially acceptable.
But, it is still ok to make fun of the fat people and I haven't seen any push for new laws that make it illegal to discriminate against them due to their weight.
Check out my profile: http://www.obesityhelp.com/member/goodkel/Or click on my name
DS SW 265 CW 120 5'7"
Obesity is definitely an area where people feel comfortable saying things they wouldn't say about their mother.
There was an interesting discussion on "The Talk" yesterday about whether or not David Letterman would be making the comments about a politicians weight that he makes about the NJ governor if the politician were female. Then they got into Seth Rogan and that some interviewers have seriously asked Seth if he can still be funny now that he has slimmed down (what? The reporters need to check out some of our posts!).
That said, there is a safety and economic side that employers face with employees with special health needs and accomodation needs. So, how do they balance it without being discriminatory? What is fact and what is attitude? Employers face these issues when they have employees with bad backs, carpal tunnel, heart disease (I won't even get into what accomodations we are making at work for a coworker who just had triple bypass) and the employee recipients of these accomodations are, in my experience, alternately grateful for the help and annoyed at being singled out for their need.
I don't know where the balance is in the discussion, but flaming comments (as in the article) don't help the discussion. Should I be fussing at my heart diseased coworker because he regularly ate fried food in front of me? Not really. He's suffering enough. It's time for humanity and kindness to make a return to the workplace.
Janice
Obesity is definitely an area where people feel comfortable saying things they wouldn't say about their mother.
There was an interesting discussion on "The Talk" yesterday about whether or not David Letterman would be making the comments about a politicians weight that he makes about the NJ governor if the politician were female. Then they got into Seth Rogan and that some interviewers have seriously asked Seth if he can still be funny now that he has slimmed down (what? The reporters need to check out some of our posts!).
That said, there is a safety and economic side that employers face with employees with special health needs and accomodation needs. So, how do they balance it without being discriminatory? What is fact and what is attitude? Employers face these issues when they have employees with bad backs, carpal tunnel, heart disease (I won't even get into what accomodations we are making at work for a coworker who just had triple bypass) and the employee recipients of these accomodations are, in my experience, alternately grateful for the help and annoyed at being singled out for their need.
I don't know where the balance is in the discussion, but flaming comments (as in the article) don't help the discussion. Should I be fussing at my heart diseased coworker because he regularly ate fried food in front of me? Not really. He's suffering enough. It's time for humanity and kindness to make a return to the workplace.
Janice
And I REALLY like this, even though I was VERY straightforward with my Mother:
"Obesity is definitely an area where people feel comfortable saying things they wouldn't say about their mother. "
Check out my profile: http://www.obesityhelp.com/member/goodkel/Or click on my name
DS SW 265 CW 120 5'7"
Obesity: Pain and Prejudice
Barbara M. Maxwell, RN, PhD
It behooves us, as medical professionals, to examine and work through our own feelings about obesity and the personality characteristics that we have knowingly, or unknowingly, attached to the obese person -- without even being acquainted with the person. There are numerous social psychology studies demonstrating that people shown pictures of obese people, and then pictures of nonobese people, consistently rate the obese person as less attractive, less intelligent, lazy, weak-willed, gluttonous, and less likely to succeed.[5-8] Is it any wonder that the obese person usually works out of the public eye, accepts abuse and discrimination in the workplace that you or I would not tolerate, and stays in that job for fear of having to go out and find another? This pattern is also true in personal relationships, from friendship to intimacy.I would like to urge all healthcare professionals to educate themselves and their office and hospital staff personnel to be sensitive to the plight of the obese person. Don't be like the doctor who told his patient that she would have to be weighed "at the zoo." Monitor your language and facial expression: Avoid adding to the pain your patient already feels. Don't tolerate disparaging remarks by staff. Make yourself a power for positive change in a subset of the population that is already punished by society and by their own bodies, and certainly by themselves. These people need your medical expertise and they need to know that you care about and accept them.[6] Many patients avoid going to the doctor because of the humiliation they have suffered in the past. Don't be part of that; provide those few kindnesses that will mean so much to the obese patient. A few wide chairs in the waiting room and a scale that goes over 350 lb would be nice! These are but a few of the ways in which you can tell the obese patient, "You are welcome in my practice."
"What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls the butterfly." Richard Bach
"Support fosters your growth. If you are getting enough of the right support, you will experience a major transformation in yourself. You will discover a sense of empowerment and peace you have never before experienced. You will come to believe you can overcome your challenges and find some joy in this world." Katie Jay
Essay from the New York Times
For Obese People, Prejudice in Plain Sight
By HARRIET BROWN
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/16/health/16essa.html
"What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls the butterfly." Richard Bach
"Support fosters your growth. If you are getting enough of the right support, you will experience a major transformation in yourself. You will discover a sense of empowerment and peace you have never before experienced. You will come to believe you can overcome your challenges and find some joy in this world." Katie Jay
I have experienced the prejudice in my own family for years and years.
"What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls the butterfly." Richard Bach
"Support fosters your growth. If you are getting enough of the right support, you will experience a major transformation in yourself. You will discover a sense of empowerment and peace you have never before experienced. You will come to believe you can overcome your challenges and find some joy in this world." Katie Jay
I think that I was in my late 30's when I finally stood up to her after one of her remarks...I held my plate out to her and said * here, you eat it, this way I won't get any fatter*...I walked out of the room in tears...I went into the kitchen and was doing dishes, in tears, and here she comes...She said * I shouldnt have said that*...Never once did she say that she was sorry...I said to her * no, you shouldnt have said that.*...that was the last time that I ever spoke to her...I went to her viewing only out of respect to my mother...May the old ***** rest in HELL !!!!
I only wanted her to love me like she did the rest of the grandkids...She didn't deserve to be called Grandma.
Many people will walk in and out of your life, but only TRUE FRIENDS 
will leave footprints in your heart...And may that friendship have such a ONENESS that when one weeps the other will taste salt...Friends are like balloons ; once you let them go you can't get them back....So I'm going to tie you to my heart so I never lose you.
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