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Apr 13

The obese feel more discrimination? What a crock!

Posted on Sunday, April 13, 2008 in Thoughts

Time.com has an article titled “The Obese Feel More Discrimination”. See the article at: http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1730150,00.html.

As obesity rates continue to rise in the U.S., so might our acceptance of those who are overweight. But a new study from Yale University suggests the converse trend: rather than feeling tolerance in our society, the overweight and obese say they feel more heavily discriminated against now than they did a decade ago.

I personally don’t “discriminate” against obese people but I have a hard time feeling sorry for the fat lady at Wal*Mart when I look in her cart and it’s full of Oreos, soda, chips, and ice cream. I think making the world more “obese-friendly” by making subway turnstiles and bus seats wider is a step in the wrong direction. I think it’s a type of enabling the obese. Rather than saying “we’ll help you become more healthy” (note I say ‘healthy’ and not ’skinny’) we are saying “Ok we’ll accommodate your unhealthy lifestyle.”

Mar 24

What defines “taking it too far”?

Posted on Monday, March 24, 2008 in Thoughts

Earlier this morning while I was watching my mug of coffee revolve, round and round on the microwave’s carousel, I started to ponder the question: Who decides if a certain act of protest is too extreme or is simply taking it too far? I would like to hear your thoughts on what is “too far.”

Recently, an unidentified person set off a bomb in front of the military recruiting center here in Time Square. No one was injured (thank Buddha) but the exterior of the building was damaged to some extent. I cannot say “obviously” as we don’t know this person or his psyche, but I think it is quite clear that he strongly resents the war in Iraq, or any war for that matter. Is a small bombing like that taking things too far? But let me ask you this: How far is too far, when we are dealing with human rights and sociological issues?