I didn’t see it as fat shaming at all. It’s no different than saying someone has liver or pancreatic cancer, even if it’s suspected that their lifestyle brought those on. Those aren’t the scientific names for the types of cancer found there, it’s simply an easy way to describe what’s wrong in terms most people would understand. If you say someone has glioblastoma multiforme, most people won’t know what the hell you’re talking about. If you say he has a brain tumor, they get it. Saying he has cancer affecting fat cells is the same thing. I’m actually surprised I haven’t heard any reporters saying he has “fat cancer”.
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If it was “affecting muscle cells” or “affecting the brain” I wouldn’t see an underhanded comment about hypertrophy or stupidity. My thought was, “Holy crap! I didn’t know fat cancer was even a thing.” My next thought was, “This might actually be relatively good news for him. I can imagine fat is one of the safer things to take out of a person.”
Of course, they seem to be going with chemo, which highlights my unfamiliarity with all things cancer-related.
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Poor sod. I think chemotherapy is sufficient of an ordeal not to wish it on anyone. I hope his health recovers
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I’ve avoided joking about his weight but not his criminal activity, deliberate lies to the public, amazing ability to get caught doing things wrong, the words that come out of his mouth, etc etc
Some of that may be attributable to his substance abuse, but not necessarily. Doubtless he is a product of his environment like the rest of us, but his environment was one of privilege which offered him every avenue of escape or reformation.
I don’t lack empathy for his condition, but he remains repugnant.
Watch now as he & his brother, mother, sister & friends utilize this turn of events to further their corrupt & self-serving agendas at the expense of the general public whose trust they have & intend to abuse.
Believe me, Toronto will fall for this if every effort is not made to derail the effort. His brother, mother, sister, friends & cronies may shed real tears for him but that won’t prevent a one of them from taking full advantage.
Not all Rob Ford jokes are created equally.
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Rob Ford has flouted the law for years and gotten away with it, but he might now be before the one magistrate that can’t be conned or paid off.
Turns out he needed much more help than I thought all the time.
People certainly like to show off their petty side in forums. I live in Ontario, was born in Toronto. I have heard plenty from the media about Rob Ford and most of it was blown out of proportion in order to “sell newspapers”. He still has children in school, he has been protective of them during the media circus. I wish him well.
That’s interesting. I’ve been a Torontonian too.
Which allegations were blown out of proportion exactly?
There’s police evidence/witness accounts that have him leaving his children unattended with convicted violent drug dealers while conducting their “business”, but journalists are just as bad to some public officials so maybe we have to take that into account?
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Some of it was pretty sensational and I can recall once thinking that I didn’t think they should have printed something, but I really don’t see how “blown out of proportion” fits.
He came to work late, left early, missed important committees about the city’s finances, used city dollars to hire a football coach for his football team, engaged in conflicts of interest, redirect city maintenance workers to benefit his private business, directed staff to look into using extraordinary powers to seize private land to help a client of his private business, slandered his opponents, reflexively voted against everything in council without any thought, committed a number of petty crimes (then lied about them until the videotape showed up), and embarrassed the city internationally.
People said that he should step down as mayor. Is that blowing things out of proportion?
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Do you live in a suburb of Toronto? Apparently Ford can do no wrong there. My cousin in Toronto (the actual city) would love to argue with you about how blown out of proportion the media coverage of his crimes has been. As in: there should have been even more, not less.
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Oh yes, the saint Rob Ford, garnishing the sympathy vote for Ward 2. Fuck him.
To be fair, it’s only partially his fault if Ward 2 votes him in.
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My friend, and friends - I have a thing about this tabloid-esque diminution and categorisation of specific nasty treatments of people into handy sound-bites. We should simply say, and emphatically highlight, that the diminishment of people for irrelevant detail is outrageously rude and obnoxious, so that we recall always that treating people badly is awful in and of itself.
By assigning unique and specific labels like “slut shaming” (I am so utterly disgusted by that pejorative term), and “fat shaming”, we passively allow the acceptance of ill-treatment, which diminishes all of us. It splinters the sense of language, makes each sub-mode of behaviour into its own category to be accepted or highlighted as unacceptable.
It erodes the principle of “be nice”, thereby eroding our capability to get along.
So please, call it what you will, but your usage of the term gives it authenticity, validation, and spreads it.
I agree in general with your comments; although I suspect rather more has gone on behind the scenes between Rob Ford’s extended office and BB; but would love to see the form “X-shaming” eradicated, and call to all Boingers to drop it like a steaming hot turd.
I don’t think this is “splintering the sense” of language at all. Giving something a name makes it easier to call to mind and easier to remember. People say negative things about people who are fat without thinking about whether they are being mean to those people or not. They do it under cover of a culture that has decided fat=bad. By giving a specific name to saying nasty things about fat people, it’s easier to call people’s attention to the fact that they are doing it, and it’s easier to ask ourselves whether we are doing it.
We have specific words for bullying, butting in line, cutting off, insulting, theft, murder and lots of other ways of not being nice. I don’t see how that diminishes the idea of being nice.
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But think of the evolution.
Fat shaming. Slut shaming. Ugly shaming. Stinky Feet shaming. Yearning shaming. Jealousy shaming. Quiet shaming. Nice shaming. Love shaming.
It’s too easy an epithet. Mind you, I think it’s an empty enough fad that it’ll run its course quickly.
Hey, quit shame shaming.
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