Political Correctness Part I

Please do not call me fat. I am not fat, I am calorie challenged. Do not call me balding, I am follicle challenged. Do not call me four eyes, I am visually impaired. Do not call me lazy, I am athletically disenfranchised. All of these afflictions have one thing in common. They are all appearance driven. We have become super sensitive to the way people see us and do not want to be presented with any negative self image remarks. Bull shit!

I had a chat with my doctor about my weight the last time I was in. I initiated it because I wanted to exercise and was asking for any suggestions on the best approach to eating right and working out. After answering my questions, he commented that he does not bring up weight issues with patients as a rule. Many people do not want to hear that they are obese and resent the doctors implication that they are over weight. I have even heard that doctors have been warned not to tell people they need to lose weight for fear of lawsuits. A doctor should not have to tell you that you are overweight. Look in the mirror or just see the water displacement when you get in the tub. I disagree with the medical definition on the weight charts because to get to the weight I am supposed to be, I would be freakishly thin. A little meat, looks good. Those people who are at modeling weight, at least in my opinion look like they are next in line for immigrating to Ethiopia.

Now I do not believe that name calling is nice either. You should never treat someone who was born with a defect with any less respect than you would expect. Whether it is mental or physical, calling them a retard or flipper boy is demeaning. But using the phrase retarded should not be considered as insulting. Their mental functioning is retarded. Calling someone a cripple sounds insulting. Cripple has connotations that go beyond the physical condition. Physically handicapped to me is acceptable because they are not able to perform in a normal manner. Of course the word challenged seems to be the preferred method of describing the condition. I can’t wait until that takes on a negative connotation.

I have much more to say on this but will save it for a part II.

Icool

Cobb