The 'War on Obesity' & Scapegoating (A very sweary post.)
Boris fucking Johnson and his merry band of cunts have managed to do it it again haven’t they?
They’ve taken an issue which is literally killing people because of how they have royally fucked up
governing the nation, which has serious systemic and institutionalised problems created by their
government, and they’ve still managed to find a way to weasel the fuck out of responsibility and try
to put he blame squarely on the shoulders of the individuals who are suffering. Well fucking done,
lads, you’re nothing if not consistent, committed bastards. I am speaking, of course, about the
COVID-19 pandemic, the government’s shameful response (or would be if they were capable of
that emotion) first not doing a fucking thing, then doing the exact opposite of what was recommended
by healthcare professionals, then implementing lockdown too fucking late, then releasing infectious
patients back into care homes to cull the elderly (like they’ve been previously trying to by just making
them criminally neglectful) and now ending lockdown too fucking early, and for their final performance
of bullshit so far, blaming obesity for the high death rates.
They’ve taken an issue which is literally killing people because of how they have royally fucked up
governing the nation, which has serious systemic and institutionalised problems created by their
government, and they’ve still managed to find a way to weasel the fuck out of responsibility and try
to put he blame squarely on the shoulders of the individuals who are suffering. Well fucking done,
lads, you’re nothing if not consistent, committed bastards. I am speaking, of course, about the
COVID-19 pandemic, the government’s shameful response (or would be if they were capable of
that emotion) first not doing a fucking thing, then doing the exact opposite of what was recommended
by healthcare professionals, then implementing lockdown too fucking late, then releasing infectious
patients back into care homes to cull the elderly (like they’ve been previously trying to by just making
them criminally neglectful) and now ending lockdown too fucking early, and for their final performance
of bullshit so far, blaming obesity for the high death rates.
I suppose you have to give them some credit for the ingenious way they have hit upon the perfect
scapegoat after running shit-scared from their responsibilities and the uncovering of blatant prejudice
and discrimination across our society. Fatphobia really is the cure all prejudice bandwagon our society
will happily and self-loathingly jump upon. Their new exciting plan is to ‘encourage’ rapid weight loss
across the nation in preparation for a second wave because obesity is positively correlated with more
serious illness and mortality in people with COVID-19. Basically ‘if you get ill or die, it’s your own fault,
fatty.’ Now, fat people are used to this kind of shit. We pretty much just get blamed for our own health
issues across the board despite any evidence to the contrary and even when it has no relation to weight,
or weight gain is a symptom of the health issue, not the cause. And this plays beautifully well into their
excuses for failing to protect the most vulnerable groups in society, for example BMI measures make it
seem like ethnic minorities are more likely to be ‘obese’ than White British, meaning that, despite the
many, many flaws in BMI as a measure of health, Boris and Co can say ‘oh it’s not us we’re not racist,
it’s just ‘they’re’ fatter than ‘us’, not our fault.’ And it’s such a simple, clickbait ready explanation, instead
of the difficult and nuanced reality.
scapegoat after running shit-scared from their responsibilities and the uncovering of blatant prejudice
and discrimination across our society. Fatphobia really is the cure all prejudice bandwagon our society
will happily and self-loathingly jump upon. Their new exciting plan is to ‘encourage’ rapid weight loss
across the nation in preparation for a second wave because obesity is positively correlated with more
serious illness and mortality in people with COVID-19. Basically ‘if you get ill or die, it’s your own fault,
fatty.’ Now, fat people are used to this kind of shit. We pretty much just get blamed for our own health
issues across the board despite any evidence to the contrary and even when it has no relation to weight,
or weight gain is a symptom of the health issue, not the cause. And this plays beautifully well into their
excuses for failing to protect the most vulnerable groups in society, for example BMI measures make it
seem like ethnic minorities are more likely to be ‘obese’ than White British, meaning that, despite the
many, many flaws in BMI as a measure of health, Boris and Co can say ‘oh it’s not us we’re not racist,
it’s just ‘they’re’ fatter than ‘us’, not our fault.’ And it’s such a simple, clickbait ready explanation, instead
of the difficult and nuanced reality.
So exactly why is this complete bullshit? Well to kick off, BMI is a measure created by the diet industry,
and only developed using white participants, and has a positive correlation with health issues, but not a
proven causation of those health issues. So we are using a tool which was designed by and for the very
people whose aim it is to profit from people believing they need to lose weight, which hasn’t taken into
account the variations among ethnicities in their measures, and only indicates that weight is linked to
health issues, not that it causes health issues. We have created an entire NHS policy and strategy
around what is basically a straw man. The best part for the government is that it feeds into existing
prejudices around beauty, but puts a health spin on it to make it seem more valid, and coupled it with the
moral obligation to ‘save the NHS money’ by not wasting it on ‘lifestyle choices’. This puts the
responsibility firmly back on the individual rather than the system, giving the government an excuse
when they are facing questions about their underfunding of the NHS and other systemic issues which
actually cause illness. Weight gain can be a symptom of an underlying health issue, and it can become
a vicious cycle where increased weight exacerbates the issue, but the solution is to deal with the
underlying health issue, not to just pressure people into trying to lose weight. That’s also not to say that
we should give up on eating healthily and exercising, we do need to do these things, just not with the
goal of weight loss. The most damning evidence that ‘obesity’ is just a convenient distraction, is that the
health outcomes for people who are disadvantaged, due to poverty in particular, are the most dire and
those people are less likely to be able to change their lifestyle. One of the most damaging things for our
health is prolonged stress and trauma, psychological issues that stem from circumstances beyond the
control of the most vulnerable. It is systemic inequalities that cause the most psychological stress and
physical deprivation, which cause the worst health outcomes. Those are issues that can only be solved
through radical social change, not fat shaming.
and only developed using white participants, and has a positive correlation with health issues, but not a
proven causation of those health issues. So we are using a tool which was designed by and for the very
people whose aim it is to profit from people believing they need to lose weight, which hasn’t taken into
account the variations among ethnicities in their measures, and only indicates that weight is linked to
health issues, not that it causes health issues. We have created an entire NHS policy and strategy
around what is basically a straw man. The best part for the government is that it feeds into existing
prejudices around beauty, but puts a health spin on it to make it seem more valid, and coupled it with the
moral obligation to ‘save the NHS money’ by not wasting it on ‘lifestyle choices’. This puts the
responsibility firmly back on the individual rather than the system, giving the government an excuse
when they are facing questions about their underfunding of the NHS and other systemic issues which
actually cause illness. Weight gain can be a symptom of an underlying health issue, and it can become
a vicious cycle where increased weight exacerbates the issue, but the solution is to deal with the
underlying health issue, not to just pressure people into trying to lose weight. That’s also not to say that
we should give up on eating healthily and exercising, we do need to do these things, just not with the
goal of weight loss. The most damning evidence that ‘obesity’ is just a convenient distraction, is that the
health outcomes for people who are disadvantaged, due to poverty in particular, are the most dire and
those people are less likely to be able to change their lifestyle. One of the most damaging things for our
health is prolonged stress and trauma, psychological issues that stem from circumstances beyond the
control of the most vulnerable. It is systemic inequalities that cause the most psychological stress and
physical deprivation, which cause the worst health outcomes. Those are issues that can only be solved
through radical social change, not fat shaming.
The next issue is specifically related to COVID-19 which is clearly not a ‘lifestyle choice’ and so requires
a systemic solution, meaning the government has to take responsibility for protecting people. As we
have seen, they have done a fucking terrible job. The genuinely horrendous decisions they have made
however, are actually in line with the way our society is set up, we’re just currently seeing it at its most
extreme. Poor people and marginalised groups are always being sacrificed so that a small number of
people can remain in positions of power and privilege, it’s just never been quite as blatant as it is now,
and the effects are coming in rapid succession rather than over a longer period of time. Talking about
saving the economy by re-opening the service industry puts the poorest in the most danger in order to
make profits for the richest. The government knows that this means a ‘second wave’ is inevitable and
that it will disproportionately affect the people who have been made to put themselves at risk to keep
their low paid job, because they don’t have a choice. So in this drive to have a ‘war on obesity’ what
they are doing is trying to pre-emptively blame individuals for being too fat, instead of themselves for
being fucking self-interested bastards willing to cling onto power at any cost. The worst thing however,
the seriously malicious part of this, is that rapid weight loss is actually incredibly harmful and causes a
huge amount of stress to the very systems that are most vulnerable if someone does catch COVID-19.
They are not just creating a scapegoat and trying to sacrifice it to avoid blame, if people do try to conform
and are scared and harassed into rapid weight loss, it’s actually more dangerous for them than it would
be if their weight stayed the same. It’s terrifying to be in a situation where we have so little control over
our lives, and it is tempting to cling to any illusion of control we might have. But if we do, we are giving up
the little power we do have so that the already privileged can keep theirs. Let’s not sacrifice ourselves for
the very people who are so willing to sacrifice us for their own self interests.
a systemic solution, meaning the government has to take responsibility for protecting people. As we
have seen, they have done a fucking terrible job. The genuinely horrendous decisions they have made
however, are actually in line with the way our society is set up, we’re just currently seeing it at its most
extreme. Poor people and marginalised groups are always being sacrificed so that a small number of
people can remain in positions of power and privilege, it’s just never been quite as blatant as it is now,
and the effects are coming in rapid succession rather than over a longer period of time. Talking about
saving the economy by re-opening the service industry puts the poorest in the most danger in order to
make profits for the richest. The government knows that this means a ‘second wave’ is inevitable and
that it will disproportionately affect the people who have been made to put themselves at risk to keep
their low paid job, because they don’t have a choice. So in this drive to have a ‘war on obesity’ what
they are doing is trying to pre-emptively blame individuals for being too fat, instead of themselves for
being fucking self-interested bastards willing to cling onto power at any cost. The worst thing however,
the seriously malicious part of this, is that rapid weight loss is actually incredibly harmful and causes a
huge amount of stress to the very systems that are most vulnerable if someone does catch COVID-19.
They are not just creating a scapegoat and trying to sacrifice it to avoid blame, if people do try to conform
and are scared and harassed into rapid weight loss, it’s actually more dangerous for them than it would
be if their weight stayed the same. It’s terrifying to be in a situation where we have so little control over
our lives, and it is tempting to cling to any illusion of control we might have. But if we do, we are giving up
the little power we do have so that the already privileged can keep theirs. Let’s not sacrifice ourselves for
the very people who are so willing to sacrifice us for their own self interests.
Comments
Post a Comment