Bill Maher must be one of the most controversial TV hosts of this moment. He has never been known for mincing his words and his latest controversy is one he must have seen coming from miles away…
It has to do with obesity. If you’re up for it, give it a click below. If you don’t feel like listening to his slightly annoying voice and arrogant demeanor, skip the vid and read my summary further down.
So basically, what Bill Maher is saying is that we should not be making fat people feel OK about the fact that they are overweight. He literally says “fat shaming should make a comeback” and that telling people otherwise is sending them to an early grave.
Enter James Corden, who was having none of Bill’s shit. He manages to make some good points as well as some self deprecating jokes, without watering down his message.
I thought that was awesome. And true!
But still… Hurtful as his choice of words may be, I do think Bill Maher has a point. Not in the sense that I feel we should be pointing and laughing at our large boned friends and family members (obviously), but I do feel that there is a growing acceptance that may not be as right as we are letting ourselves believe.
Actually… This is pretty much how politics (should) work, don’t you think?
Someone pinpoints a problem and offers a solution. Insiders and experts pitch in, creating nuance and a more complete understanding. Empathetic outsiders step in to find a place of mutual understanding and consensus.
From there you build a healthy and balanced policy that is satisfying (enough) for all parties involved.
Ah yes… I remember those days…
Epiphany 
Epi, I think your posts exemplify that thoughtful, reasoned, civil, discourse that is getting pretty thin on the ground these days. I haven’t followed these incident (though I did notice it on Facebook), so I read your summary instead–thank you. And BTW, I love your idea of a periodic “mind cleanup;” I’ve decided to to start doing one–as soon as I can get my head together! J
Wow, I would love to read your mind cleanups!
In all honesty I think my mind cleanup blogs are my least interesting posts for others to read. They are not very coherent and tend to get quite long.
Writing down and publishing my scatterbrainy thoughts does help me put my thoughts together though, and often leads to new and better blog ideas further down the road.
In your case, I can hardly believe you even need that!
Oh believe me, I do need them!
When it comes to overweight people, 90% (a guess) are victims of the actions of others, It starts with food producers and manufacturers that remove (again a guess) over 50% of nutrition from most food items sold. We need to eat more to get a reasonal amount of our daily nutrition. They inundate us with commercials to eat fatty foods and copious amounts of starches. They encourage fast food, and meals that only take three minutes in a microwave. Children are growing up obese, and have no idea what healthy food is. They enourage kids to sit in front of gameboys and playstations rather than getting out and getting exercise. They fill us up with take-out and delivery.
And then people with good metabolisms want to shame us. They don’t know how lucky they are.
A lot of producers use growth hormones in their animals and crops, but we eat them in the food they send us. You think GMOs are healthy? I grew up in the days before all these additives were being used. I was a 98 lb weakling when I was 16. At 35 I weighed about 140. Then I got sick, and suddenly I was 240. But look at me, and all you see is another obese person.
How many billions of dollars are spent every year on diets and beauty products? Who can afford healthy food anymore?
I have medical conditions and prescription medicines that cause my body to bloat, medicines the doctors tell me I cannot live without. Yes, i am obese, but my body gives me no choice. And obesity will help kill me one day. The alternative is dying today instead of next year. Some choice.