Okay, I'm fat...it's a fact...and it sadly doesn't change overnight! Being fat during childbearing years as an NFP user can be very difficult. For instance...I lose a chunk of weight...I get pregnant...I gain a chunk of weight...and so on. Right now I seem to be holding steady at approximately my delivery weight for Charlotte...of course, she'll be 18 months in a couple of weeks.
So, I have to say I am probably overly sensitive about weight and assumptions and statements made about fat people. A blog that I've frequented for at least a year now just had a second post that really offended me! I hate that it offends me...not so much because I feel bad for the guy in the article, but the blogger's post just made me cringe! "Fat Guy Should THANK the State! Next thing you know this inmate will be suing the state of Arkansas because the orange jumpsuit makes him look like a pumpkin." I'm assuming she finds the whole thing funny. I don't. The guy clearly belongs in jail, and I don't believe it is the jail's duty to make his life comfortable. However, losing 100 lbs in less than a year in jail with no exercise to speak of does make me think that maybe this guy has a point.
Now if this were the only occasion where this blogger made statements like this, I'd probably be mad for a day or two and get over it and keep reading her blog. Her first post on fat people ticked me off more than the most recent one. "CURE OBESITY NOW--Two words. Eat less. Oh yeah. And stop blaming TV/DNA/peer pressure/spanking/the Pope/advertising/credit cards/global warming/George Bush/the internet/or hormones. Point to ponder and discuss with your kids: Why is gluttony one of the Seven Deadly Sins? (Hint: Kills the body and the soul.)"
I don't know...am I being overly sensitive?? Or is it difficult for other people to believe that these statements are made by a Catholic blogger/author???
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2 comments:
I'm really scandalized by those remarks. I don't think you are being sensitive at all. And I think it is so wrong. There are so many reasons that a person might be overweight or fat, whether it is nature, metabolism, even drugs.
Perhaps for some it really is portion control, cutting back on junk foods etc, but there are so many different reasons that to lump them all together...eeerrr, I don't even know how to get my thoughts together on this.
I may be back in a few days to share when I've thought through everything and am not moving...:)
What? You don't like this fat free recipe?
http://catholicbabyboomer.blogspot.com/2007/11/sure-recipe-for-fun.html
I think if you address the issue on her site she might give you a fair hearing.
"Pondering and Discussing" is not about one-liners thrown out at someone else's expense. Actually, the definition of gluttony, according to the old Catholic Encyclopedia, is more nuanced, and you might even say "alcoholism" would fall into this category more clearly than "overeating" . http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06590a.htm
In fact, you could even understand the text to say that if a person is struggling with alcoholism or overeating, that person is not engaging in gluttony at all, and certainly not the "mortal sin" version of it.
Gluttony is a sin because it is a spiritual battle that has unique corporal consequences, like many of the other other deadly sins.
That you do battle with the "god of the belly" is more important than the casual observer's assessment with how (un)successful you are in said battle.
You aren't being oversensitive in that she's being tart in her posts, but you are being oversensitive in that I don't think you fit the profile of her strawman.
As an aside, in the comments on the original site, someone mentioned how the inmate may be "protected" from diabetes by being made to lose weight. Well, if he's eating white bread and bologna every day at lunch he's not being protected that much. . .
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