Posted on 03/12/2004 4:03:07 PM PST by ComtedeMaistre
The Secretary of Health and Human Services, Tommy Thompson, recently launched a campaign to reduce the 400,000 deaths caused in America each year by obesity.
There is a civil rights group that fights for the rights of obese people, called the National Association for Fat Acceptance (NAAFA), which was founded in 1969. It is a group that opposes work like that which Secretary Thompson is trying to do. It works towards reducing prejudice against fat people, by claiming that they were "born that way", that that they cannot help themselves. It is an organization that campaigns against corporations such as those airlines which charge very obese people for 2 seats, instead of one.
It is a known fact that, obesity is partly genetic. Studies among the group of Native Americans known as the Pima Indians, has shown that 90 percent of the tribe is obese. Research has shown that, on average, they are more likely to possess a genetic marker commonly known as the "fat gene", at a higher rate than the rest of the population. This is an evolutionary genetic adaptation, which results from the fact that the tribe suffered severe famines in the past, which resulted in the survival of only those tribe members who could accumulate as much fat as possible, within the shortest time possible, in the harsh environment. But with today's consumption habits, the genetic trait that is helpful to surviving famine, leads to obesity.
The scientific evidence for a "fat gene", is much stronger than the evidence for a "gay gene". We know that "fat genes" are hereditary and are found in families (along with family histories of heart disease).
Does this mean that people who are obese are "born that way", and that there is absolutely nothing they can do about it?
I am not writing this as a disinterested person. I struggled with my weight for years, stabilizing at 288 pounds for decades. I rationalized my weight to the fact that obesity ran in my family. But 9 years ago, after a health scare, I decided to get serious, and cut down to a trim 171 pounds, after 6 months of a hellish struggle. I have to work out very vigorously, every day, to maintain my 171 pounds. I have had to give up foods I have loved for years, especially Southern cooking. And I eat plenty of raw vegetables (yuck - I would still rather have a steak).
Many of my friends are able to maintain a trim weight without working out, and are able to indulge in pizza, burgers, ice cream, etc. But I can never get away with that. It isn't fair that I have to work out vigorously daily, and eat lean and unappetizing foods, just to maintain the same weight as buddies of mine who do nothing more than sit infront of the TV with the remote in one hand, a beer in the other, and a large bag of peanuts on the lap, yet never gain weight.
Does what we know about weight gain apply to homosexuals? We can certainly accept that, homosexuality may be part genetic, just like obesity. And just as it is harder for genetically-inclined homosexuals to live a straight life, that does not mean that it is impossible.
The message they sell to overweight people, is one of fatalism. They tell obese people that they are born that way, and there is absolutely nothing they can do to change their circumstances. That message is wrong, when given to obese people, and equally wrong, when given to gays.
Generally speaking, the fat people in society are sedentary and overeat. You may have some fat gene that makes it harder for you to lose, but I refuse to believe that you can't lose.
What does matter is that there are psychological and physiological components of alchoholism that result in socially unacceptable and morally abberant behavior. Some alcoholics make an effort to normalize their lives and refrain from the behavior, recognizing the damage we cause, to our own lives and to those around us. I suppose some homosexuals do to, but they are certainly not the ones applying for marriage licenses...
If, supposing, I have a genetic predisposition to drink, does that mean I can rely on the, "I couldn't help it, it's just the way I am," excuse bandied about by homo activists? Even if the predisposition to some behaviors may be inborn, the consummation (no pun intended) of that predisposition need not be accepted or excused by society at large, and in many cases, IMHO should be eschewed and stigmatized.
You have figured out the secret of life: Nothing worth having is easy.
Good point, but I think if you talk to fat people you'll find what they really object to are the assumptions and commentary of thin (especially "skinny-fat") people.
Being fat is not immoral, and subjectively determined anyway.
I work with men everyday who sport guts like beachballs, yet consistently perform heavy manual labor for hours on end... and that in hundred degree heat at 100+ percent humidity. Good luck stigmatizing them!
Funny story. A longtime coworker of mine was pal-ing around with me once (he has a very fit physique) and started playfully boxing at my stomach. He said "Woahhs, I see a belly like that and I just can't help myself." Without missing a beat, I playfully flicked out my 5 inch spyderco pocket knife (with the serrated edge) and said "yes you can."
I think this is probably a good analogy. There may or may not be a "gay gene" but some people are certainly inclined that way. I find it beyond belief that anyone could think gays "choose" to be that way.
So, if it's in their nature to be gay, why all the societal pressure for them to act in a way that's contrary to their nature, basically to fake being straight? It seems a bit pointless.
You may have Bible-based moral objections to homosexuality. That's fine. Don't be a homosexual. That's your obligation to God and your religion. But we have no authority to impose our morals on gays who have no religious moral objection to being gay, or who have found a way to reconcile their homosexuality with their religion.
Sure, you may say you have a right to object because you have to see them in public. Well, get real. There are all kinds of things we might object to that we're nonetheless subjected to. If we weren't, this wouldn't be a free country.
Personally, I'll put up with being subjected to some things I find objectionable for the benefit of living in a free country.
I don't see any overweight people in the famine communities of Africa. It's what you eat.
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