You Don't Know Me

So, as I was reading this last night (not so much the post, but the comments) I really got to thinking about lots of things, blogging, food, obesity, political correctness...etc.

Blogging:
a. Obviously everyone who blogs recognizes that by posting on the internet, people will see what they write, and that not everyone will agree with them. If they aren't willing to accept that, then they shouldn't blog. I think most bloggers get that.

b. It's a strange "society" we've created for ourselves here on the internet. If you read someones blog long enough, you feel like you know them. Some bloggers, don't reveal personal information about themselves, some do. I don't know about everyone else, but I think human nature makes it so that, when reading a person's blog...anything that isn't written, any information that isn't given...is supplied by ones own mind. Like reading a book...you don't know what the character looks like..but you get a picture in your mind.
So what causes us to be so let down, when a blogger no longer fits into our pre-determined mold for them? What makes us take it so personally?
We only know what they say. We don't know any concrete details about peoples sex lives, love lives, financial situations etc. I could have a great husband....and we might never have sex. I could have a great house, and expensive food...but a ton of credit card debt. You wouldn't know....because I don't tell you.

Food:
Um Yeah....food is such a complex issue for some of us. But, Kelly made an excellent point, for some people, it doesn't matter if their food is over processed and filled to high heaven with HCFS...does it make them full? Does it mean that tonight they don't have to dig through the garbage can for someones trash? Then it works. I realize that my health is important, but I feel so greatful for being in the position...that I get to buy the two dollar loaf of bread that is local and doesn't have HCFS in it. And maybe I could learn something from people who truly eat for survival. and maybe a little guilty for forgetting that bigger things happen in the world then when I get my next snack.

I feel like this is a way bigger subject that i could really delve into.

Obesity:
Also a large issue (oh I am sooo punny!), Is it impossible for an obese person to be starving? Also, is it impossible for an obese person to be poor? I know in "the olden days" being fat meant you were rich, and that you had money for good food. I think it is possible for a person to be fat and being in a position that they can't afford food. They probably also can't afford the gym. They may or may not work. I'll be honest.....the whole "fat" and "obese" correlation insults me a little bit. According to society, I am fat, and I am morbidly obese if we look at my BMI (don't even get me started on that bullshit). I also eat mostly whole grains, one sandwhich at a time, lean proteins and healthy fats. I work out 3-5 times a week, and have an active lifestyle. I will always be overweight according to the BMI, does that mean that if my life were to suddenly change, and I found my self needing to eat at a soup kitchen...that I don't need the food as much as the next person? I don't think so. I would like to add that I COMPLETELY recognize that the insult I felt, was due to my own history and issues with the words; fat, obese, epidemic etc. And that Kath has nothing to do with how i feel about that.

Now...for being politically correct, or whatever on one OWN blog:
Guess what? This is my blog and I get to say whatever I want. And guess what? If you had your own blog you could get to say whatever YOU want. No matter how inane or asanine that I think it is.
Before I worked in the job that i have now, I worked as an Americorp Member at the University of Idaho Women's Center. If you ever want a lesson in Inclusive Language...work with feminists. I'm a feminist too....just to throw that out there.
There are all sorts of things that are insulting to all sorts of people. Judging someone who eats in a soup kitchen for how many sandwhiches they eat is no different than calling your friend "Gay" for doing something stupid, or calling your brother "retarded" for falling off his bar stool. It's no different than judging the girl on the treadmill who can't run very far. Or judging the person at wal-mart with 10 kids, paying with foodstamps and saying under your breath "ever heard of birth control?" It's no different than calling someone a "vag" or a "pussy" or a "dick" when they aren't doing what you want. And I can bet, that everyone who dogged on Kath, for making a observation, right or wrong....has made some sort of observation, or judgement, or called someone a name..... so why get up in arms...when Kath said what she did. It's hypocritical.

Now, I do agree that there were bigger things to be learned from the whole incident, the whole comment list.....That we are privileged, that you never know who is reading your blog, that you never know what offends someone, we should all take a minute to think about our selves...and our food, and above all we should remember that bloggers..are people...they may not be people you like, but they have lives and jobs and feelings that are way bigger than the 30 sentences they post everyday about this that or the other.

RANT RANT RANT

Oh my god. Seriously.
So, I am part of this website, buddyslim.com. I got turned on to the website by a friend. It's like myspace for people who want to lose weight. seriously, you have buddies, and leave eachother booster notes, and private message, and there is even a blogging section. The site also allows you to track your weight, BMI, food intake, and caloric output. I mostly like it for tracking my calorie INtake. It's really helping me put things in perspective, but I digress.
The blogging section, I read it, there are few people on there who are funny, witty, sarcastic, and even uplifting. But there are also people who insist on being rediculous. I recognize that no one else reads this blog, and that is fine, but I hope that I am not rediculous. Anyway, people talk about how much they ate, how much they lost, how they stumbled etc. and people leave them encouraging comments. It only took me a few weeks to realize that all the comments are generic, save a few. People pat eachother on the back for their rediculous diets, and unhealthy weight loss. There is this one woman who works at a weight loss center and has lost something stupid like 30 pounds in three weeks, and is currently on a juice cleanse. I am not even going to touch that.
Anyway, my current Rant is this: There is a woman, who clearly is not very well educated about nutrition and health (although her profile says that she has been seeing a nutrionist for a year) anyway, she has a 10 year old son, and she was talking about how he wants to lose weight. Oh god. I was that child and it made me so sad to hear that she wasn't upset that her boy was dieting, she was seeking advice on food for him to eat. HE is a 10 year old boy, he is still developing, dieting is just about the worst thing in the world. I'm all for people losing weight, and getting healthy, but doing in such a manner that your child then thinks they are fat and need to lose weight is awful. I hope that I never shame my children into feeling badly about their bodies. I want to raise them in a healthy, active way, but I want them to be ok with who they are. And first my husband and I need to be ok with who we are.

It was all I could do to not write a repsonse to this woman telling her to wake up and smell the coffe!