FAMILIES AGAINST FAT
Fatness is against my Faith
It is my deepest belief, that their blubber is a blasphemy
Gluttony is one of the deadliest sins
God wants for everyone to be beautiful and thin
I love fat people, I really do
but I hate their fatness
I do not intend to offend fat people in any way
I am very diplomatic, in everything that I say
They are as repulsive as milky, mashed potatoes
sticking out on your tongue
They make poor role models for our impressionable young
The State should have the right to intrude
before our kids are persuaded to gobble junk food
It is so unfair, to say that I have a mean streak
Fat slobs like them are pleasure-seeking, and weak
The effect on their health is a total disaster
They should not be allowed to be teachers or Scout masters
I believe that it is my most basic right
to have their offensive presence removed from my sight
Their fat behinds should be kicked, and told to move it!
Their children will tend to become like them-
I have scientific studies, to prove it!
They should not be allowed to wed,
because it grosses me out, to picture them in bed
I pity them, the grotesquely obese
Prematurely, do they become deceased
They stuff their faces with pie, and greasy chicken wings
If you try hard enough, you can blame them for nearly everything
They make inadequate policemen, or soldiers, or athletes
On the airlines, they can barely squeeze into their seats
They undermine society, at every turn
The fat should be thrown into a fire, and summarily burned
It ought to be a right, left up to the States
to rub their disgrace, right in their fat faces
and to turn them over to the Obesity Police
They want approval, and we must not give that stamp
We should round them up, and send them to fat camp
Where we can shame them, about how much they ate
On their reeducation, in the camp, they can better concentrate
Back into a closet, their fat guts should be shoved
And believe me, I do this, purely out of love
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Poet's Postscript:
Heavy-set people do indeed face discrimination and
nasty attitudes, at times, which I do not mean
minimize in this commentary on homophobia.
The weight-based prejudice is not nearly so
aggressive, so virulent, or so organized as it
is against gays.
It would be unthinkable to have the language above
mouthed by politicians, preachers,and family groups,
as applied to overweight people. For gay people,
this is an everyday thing.
In some ways, the hate language would be more
rationally applied against the overweight. The effect
on health is inherent. Right-wing bigots act as if
the supposed "health consequences" of homosexuality
are inherent, but it really applies to people who
are promiscuous, or doing drugs, or being unsafe,
sexually. Any gay person who is responsible about
their health has no more problem than an average
heterosexual, and can live to be 100.
There may well be a genetic basis for obesity
in some people, but it is still something that can
be controlled by eating habits, with enough will
power. Gays can change their overt behavior, but
it is hardly a wise idea to enter into heterosexual
relationships if your real orientation is not
compatible. The notion that basic orientations
can reverse is mostly a propaganda ploy
to promote an anti-gay agenda.
At the very least, the existence of people who make
this dubious claim cannot prove that it must
necessarily be true for everyone.
Overweight can cause some legitimate barriers in
employment, that require certain levels of physical
activity. Sexual orientation causes no such inherent
barriers.
The purpose of pointing this out is not to make things
any worse for obese people, who have enough already
with which to deal. It is to point out the hypocritical
double standards that our society feels free to make
against gays.
Obseity may not be attractive to everyone, but that
attitude has not been true in everyone's eyes,
in all times and places. Regardless of one's reactions,
it is clear enough, how a mature adult approaches
the issue of overweight people. If you find it
unattractive, you keep your mouth shut. You don't
offend people- not at work, not in your community,
not in public pronouncements. You most certainly
do not even think of limiting their civil rights
as a way of making a "statement".
If an overweight person wants to lose weight,
you support them. If they say that they don't
want to lose weight, you respect that choice
without moralizing about what a mistake they
are making.
Longevity isn't everything, and it isn't a requirement
for everyone.
Mamma Cass Elliott wouldn't have been Mamma Cass,
if she had been supermodel-thin. She would have lost
her character, and lost some of the fun. Maybe that
is why her music was picked for one of the best gay
movies ever made, "Beautiful Thing'.
Cass once said that at a party, no male would have
looked at her twice, because of her weight, before
she became famous. After she became a superstar,
suddenly the hangers-on and wannabes all came
courting.
Most responsible grown-ups know how to behave,
when it comes to overweight people. The question is,
when our society grow up in its attitudes
toward gays?
Tom Keske
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