(no subject)

[serene]

My latest post to the McDougall board:

This new newsletter's main article made me so sad. Here's a quote:

Research Shows:

American society adores the slim and deplores the fat.

Obese applicants are rated as less qualified for jobs.

Obesity has led to weight-focused job interviews, forced resignations, denials of promotions and insurance coverage, and exclusion from office social functions.

..and of course he goes on to encourage people to get thin, or "healthy" (healthy is NOT the same as thin). How do you think this would go over if instead it read:

Research Shows:

American society adores the white and deplores the black.

Black applicants are rated as less qualified for jobs.

Dark skin has led to race-focused job interviews, forced resignations, denials of promotions and insurance coverage, and exclusion from office social functions.

...and then encouraged people to bleach their skin or become paler?

I need to leave these boards. I feel anti-fat bigotry every day here, and I'm tired of fighting it right now, while I'm trying to regain my health.

Comments

[willendorf5761.livejournal.com]

I'll miss seeing you there, but you have to take care of yourself first. I'm strictly a lurker there.

I hope the anti-fat bigotry doesn't keep you from getting what you need to be healthy.

[ptor.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you talk about things like this. It's nice to see a voice for sanity!

[inflectionpoint.livejournal.com]

It's hard to know when to stay or go.

I have a lot of sympathy for your decision. I have to step back from some discussions for now and step back from places where they are likely to come up, because I don't have it in me to keep on Going There. Sometimes I feel sad to not be in a space or place because of this, but right now I need to focus on what I'm focused on.

Self care is good stuff. I learn from watching how you do it.

Good luck with regaining your health and with finding the way to do it that works for you.

[hmms-sio.livejournal.com]

I am out of words. And you know why.

hugs

[lumpyone.livejournal.com]

I respect you have the courage to voice your thoughts like that, especially against the prevailing ideas of society, and appreciate those who do stand for their beliefs. We need more people in this country willing to stand and speak out a LOT more than we have now.

Your analogy is very fitting, as I've been hearing more of such anti-fat feelings all over the place in the media and articles "health" articles on the web. Its sad to see our society going on about "tolerance" yet crap like this continues to rear its ugly head. What's really sad is someone can't (at least yet) seek some legal action against people like you could for age, religion, etc.

[haleth.livejournal.com]

(((Serene)))

[necturus.livejournal.com]

Obese applicants are rated as less qualified for jobs.

My former wife, who weighed more than twice what I weigh, never had trouble finding work, and always made more money than I did. She was never forced to resign, denied a promotion or insurance coverage, or excluded from anything as far as I could see.

America can shove its moronic attitudes up its Alabama.

[firecat]

Good for you. I hope there's another place you can go for support without hatred.

[serenejournal.livejournal.com]

I belong to a couple of listservs that are super-supportive, and fat-friendly. Thank you!

[darklily1.livejournal.com]

My DH has gotten alot of comments over the years from co-workers essentially saying "How'd you get her" after they have either met me or seen my picture in his office...based apparently exclusively on the fact that he is very overwight and I am not. He has at any given time weighed at least twice as much as I do...and though I'm not really large, I'm nowhere near a stick figure.

Whenever he comes home and tells me about another incident of this, I always ask him "So, you told them it's because you're ******* awesome in bed, right?"

It's aggravating to see him (and myself) judged entirely by exterior appearances.

[mollyf.livejournal.com]

I'll miss you there, but I'm glad to have the opportunity to continue to read your thoughts here. (((hugs)))

[lizzibabe.livejournal.com]

You are my hero, you know that?

I love how you see these things so clearly. The other day, after seeing magazines splashed with exhortations to "End Belly Fat Now!" my mind compared them to: "Protect yourself against Witches! Use this holy talisman to guard yourself against witchcraft!"

It's scarey.

Leaving

[(Anonymous)]

You should email him and tell him why. He IS rather fixated on looks in his articles, on the other hand that is why most people out there want to lose weight. (well, really it's because THEY base opinions of other people on appearance, and so they don't want to reap what they have sowed!)

Are you healthier/feeling better/however you define a positive result from McDougalling? You could always start a topic about McDougalling for health but not necessarily for weight loss -- or maybe not....Never mind. Stick to the boards where you know you are supported. But think about sending McDougall an email.

tiranda from mcd 12day list

Re: Leaving

[mollyf.livejournal.com]

I wonder what he would say. He does read his email and actually responds. I called him out once for some misinformation and he responded and agreed, though he never retracted.

Dr. McD has a lot of good stuff to read as long as he sticks to how diet relates to health. Trying to get me to eat a health supporting diet by saying "hey, you're fat and ugly and research proves that people hate you just because you look like crap" just ain't it. I suspect the money is in the weight-loss diet business, though, so I just try to ignore the offensive fat-hating stuff. It's really hard. The participants on the message board are difficult to filter out, but when it comes straight from the source like that it really makes me sad.

Re: Leaving

[serenejournal.livejournal.com]

The one time I had an email exchange with him, it went like this:

Me: "I'm doing your program for my health, not to lose weight. I wonder if you have a referral to a McDougall-friendly physician in my area; if not, are you accepting new patients?"

Him, ignoring the referral question: "I only take patients who do the ten-day program. You should look at my essays on obesity."

Re: Leaving

[mollyf.livejournal.com]

Oh, brother.

He's on the right track with his plan, but it's not the only track. I'm totally convinced a whole-foods vegan diet'll help you feel better even if you eat avocados, nuts, olives and good whole wheat bread. You like veggies, so you are already most of the way there. You know.

Re: Leaving, or, Left already

[(Anonymous)]

To be honest, there's only so much time any one human has for anything. Fuhrman charges a heck of a lot for consultation (somebody mentioned $435, plus a couple hundred for a weekly checkup for fasting) which keeps some people away. McDougall qualifies people by whether they attend his ten-day program. He can't save us all.

Also, the essays on obesity might have information about health conditions affected by diet. If you look at the Star McDougaller profiles, most of them had improvements in cholesterol numbers and whatnot concomitent to losing (a lot of) weight. Did you look at the essays? The 10-day program is pretty pricey for me, did you consider doing it?

About the referral, I don't know. Maybe he just doesn't do referrals. I know that if people have sent him their numbers and asked about what needs improvement, he has answered them.

Anyway, don't know if you looked back, but people are discussing your ideas, agreeing and disagreeing, so you did spark some discussion!

tiranda from McD board and 12day Mcd yahoo group

Research Shows

[(Anonymous)]

Research shows what it shows. Nothing more, nothing less. If I tell you what research shows it doesn't mean I believe it, think it's right, or think it's wrong. If I tell you what research shows, that's all I'm telling you.

I personally chose to read Dr. McDougall's report as a statement of the dirty little secret about what goes on in the minds of people as they attempt to portray themselves as politically correct. They'd never say out loud that they think I'm less qualified for a job because I'm 70 pounds overweight. But if research shows that's what they are thinking...that's good to know. Better to know, than live in a little bubble void of the realities of living in this world we live in.

Re: Research Shows

[serenejournal.livejournal.com]

First of all, nothing's as simple as "nothing more, nothing less". People choose what to focus on.

Secondly, the answer to "People are going to be bigoted toward you" is not "...so change yourself so they will be nicer to you," but "...so fight the bigotry and hatred wherever you can, and never give up, because this world can be a better place if you don't give in to the bigotry around you."

But thanks for playing.

[fifi-the-turtle.livejournal.com]

WELL SAID. There are too many qualities people have that are seen as bad because they are 'not what the public / the client / the business world wants' but they are just how those people ARE, and none of us should try to mold ourselves to fit into the world, but we should instead mold the world to fit US.