"I want butter on my burger!"
Posted on 05/30/2012 3:08:07 AM PDT by markomalley
British MPs have suggested that calling someone "fatty" or "obese" should be considered a hate crime on a par with racism or homophobia. Generations of children have traded banter - or bullying, depending on your perspective - about body weight in the schoolyard, and Enid Blyton even named one of her characters "Fatty" in her Five Find-Outers series.
But a report by the all-party parliamentary group on body image has recommended that the Government should investigate putting "appearance-based discrimination" on the same legal basis as race and sexual discrimination.
Under the Equalities Act 2010, it is illegal to harass, victimise or discriminate against anyone on the basis of a number of "protected" characteristics, such as their race, gender, sexual orientation, age, or disability. The parliamentary group, supported by the charity Central YMCA, today (Tuesday) publishes a report, Reflections on Body Image, recommending "a review into the scale of the problem of appearance-based discrimination and how this would be best tackled".
It says: "This may include exploring whether an amendment to the Equalities Act would be the most appropriate way of tackling such discrimination."
Under the current Act, people can and are prosecuted for verbal abuse if it is deemed serious enough. Rosi Prescott, the chief executive of Central YMCA, said if there was strong evidence that appearance-related discrimination was widespread, the Equalities Act should make it a punishable offence. This could make it a crime to draw attention to a person's weight.
She said: "All the rules that apply under the Equalities Act now would also apply to appearance-related discrimination; they would be applied consistently."
The report found one in five people had been victimised because of their weight, and that appearance was the major cause of bullying in schools. Miss Prescott even questioned whether doctors should refrain from telling patients they were carrying excess pounds. She said: "If they don't feel overweight, and there are no health indications, what is the problem?"
Numerous studies have shown that overweight people consistently underestimate how fat they are, and that those who are overweight when young are more likely to develop heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and cancer and die younger than those of a healthy weight. Almost two thirds of British adults are now either overweight or obese. Tam Fry, of the National Obesity Forum, agreed with the concept of outlawing "size-discrimination" and harassment. But he said doctors must be able to tell patients, for their own good, if they are overweight. "There are a lot of people who are very fat and are quite happy being so," he said. "However, the problem arises if they don't know the medical consequences that result from their fatness. Doctors must be able to give them 'tough love'."
Al would be in jail in no time...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9dfREH95_M
Sergeant Stadinko: Hat! Hardhat! Give me that! Hello radio dispatch? This is Codename: Hardhat, Codename: Hardhat, do you read me? Over.
Chong: Was that Lard Ass?
Sergeant Stadinko: Hardhat. Codename: Hardhat. Do you read radio dispatch?
Chong: Hey, got somethin’ for ya Lard Ass!
Sergeant Stadinko: Hardhat! Hard! Hat! Do you understand?!
Cheech: Lard Ass! Lard Ass!
Sergeant Stadinko: Hardhat! Radio dispatch, do you know who this is?!
Cheech: No, who is this is?
Sergeant Stadinko: This is Sergeant Stadinko!
Cheech: Oh yeah, you know who this is?
Sergeant Stadinko: No!
Cheech: Bye-bye Lard Ass!
"I want butter on my burger!"
Awwww isn’t that special, it’s the kid’s birthday, and he has on his segmented Iron Man costume.
Good one!
Precisely. There should be no official 'hatespeech'. People should be as free to be as callous as they want.
Of course, I believe we should also revive the concept of 'fighting words'.
Not only will those who desire to be offensive expose themselves for what they are, they would run the risk of having their teeth smacked in.
So, by this reasoning, the 5 foot, 275 lb person would be guilty of calling attention to their own obesity.
I guess using the term 'lard a$$' would find me guilty and in solitary confinement.
Did you happen to notice what is written on the chalkboard in the background?
Only after I posted the picture...
“I say: “I admire your ability to store energy.”
_____________________________
LOL! :)
I’m not half bad in that department myself. ;)
LOL. :)
For some reason, your tagline seems appropriate for this thread. Particularly since you brought up Michael Moore. ;)
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