tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6106221024087263603.post123173515030357901..comments2023-06-10T09:32:50.096-04:00Comments on Everyday Glory: Obephobia: The Last Acceptable BigotrySarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06261420110467034277noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6106221024087263603.post-48826397469962268292009-08-29T10:50:32.346-04:002009-08-29T10:50:32.346-04:00Who gets to decide what's "bad and avoida...Who gets to decide what's "bad and avoidable"? Why sugared (I assume you mean HFCSed) sodas and not ice cream? Why not beef instead of or in addition to fossil fuels? Beef is actually avoidable; fossil fuels are not. And there's evidence a little red wine is good for the heart.<br /><br />You might try reading <a href="http://anglachelg.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow">Anglachel</a>:<br /><br /><i>... food snobbery and obesssion with body image maps very nicely onto the metaphors used by WFN [Whole Foods Nation] to discuss politics. ... An intersection of body, gender, class and politics. They are actually considering putting sin taxes on "junk food" in California, punishing those who ingest lower order things.</i>Elisehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06594477709835944165noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6106221024087263603.post-16327160563807158982009-08-27T20:28:48.329-04:002009-08-27T20:28:48.329-04:00No one has proposed a complete junk food tax, main...No one has proposed a complete junk food tax, mainly because there is no easy way to define 'junk food'.<br /><br />The only concrete proposals I've seen is to tax sugared sodas and corn. You don't even need to tax corn, just stop subsidizing it.<br /><br />I support both of these, but concede there won't actually be much of a reduction in obesity. Corn subsidies are still worth getting rid of for a host of reasons (safer beef, getting rid of HFCS, even reducing illegal immigration).<br /><br />Why do it then? Well as tax revenues go, I'd rather tax something both bad and avoidable - tobacco, alcohol, definable junk food, fossil fuels - than things that are good, like work, savings, and investment.<br /><br />As an aside, how did you manage to lose 90 lbs? How long have you kept it off? I am 70 lbs overweight, and have never lost more than 10 lbs, and never sustained that for more than a year. I'd given up hope that weight loss is possible.Tyronehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05483604468510361372noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6106221024087263603.post-86889373537554716962009-08-26T17:01:32.357-04:002009-08-26T17:01:32.357-04:00Tyrone, Elise said it well. I'd also question ...Tyrone, Elise said it well. I'd also question the reason behind a junk food tax. Is it punitive? Is it to make up for the supposed correlation between obesity and health? My original post spells out my objections to that.<br /><br />I also question what foods would be included. 100% fruit juice? I think that's junk. <br /><br />I also object to this trend of taxing any behavior we don't like. It feels a little fascist to me, and feels like one more step toward the total nanny state we're creating.Sarahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13173621157483762091noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6106221024087263603.post-91502755664709420962009-08-25T11:49:16.729-04:002009-08-25T11:49:16.729-04:00Why exactly do you object to a junk food tax?
I k...<i>Why exactly do you object to a junk food tax?</i><br /><br />I know this wasn't directed at me but ...<br /><br />I object to a junk food tax for two reasons. First, it's too inexact. What's junk food? Coke? Diet Coke? Coke Zero? Twinkies? Newman's Cookies? All food from McDonald's? Some food from McDonald's? How about that plate of nachos at Friday's - is that junk food?<br /><br />More than 25% of calories from fat? Then olive oil is junk food. More than so many calories per ounce? Butter.<br /><br />Second, the problem with a junk food tax is that if we classify as junk what most people think of as junk - say, McDonald's - thin people and fat people might both pay it but poor people will feel the pinch a lot more than rich people. Fast food is very cheap and it's very convenient for families where mom and dad are both working long hours.<br /><br />What I would support is a tax on high fructose corn syrup and its bastard child, crystalline fructose. Make it high enough (and stop subsidizing it and lower tariffs enough) to drive the manufacturers who use it back to sugar. Think of it as a real-world experiment to see if HFCS really does have any impact on obesity.Elisehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06594477709835944165noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6106221024087263603.post-27438217358064165002009-08-21T20:19:11.248-04:002009-08-21T20:19:11.248-04:00Why exactly do you object to a junk food tax? Thi...Why exactly do you object to a junk food tax? Thin people would pay it as much as the overweight.Tyronehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05483604468510361372noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6106221024087263603.post-11564532557902217792009-08-20T15:46:37.090-04:002009-08-20T15:46:37.090-04:00One further clarification: As I understand it, the...One further clarification: As I understand it, the determining factor on whether you are considered too large to fit in the seat is whether or not you can lower the armrest between the seats. That rule would appear to exclude bodybuilders, so perhaps the employees have some discretion about people who are very large at the shoulders. <br /><br />For non-bodybuilders, if you can lower the armrest you are not a customer of size. If you cannot lower the armrest, then you should buy the second seat. <br /><br />Southwest flies Boeing narrowbody planes which, if I recall correctly, have 16 inches between the armrests. The front two rows are narrower, so avoid them. Seat 11E has open space to the right, which may help. (There is no seat 11F; it's the exit window area.)<br /><br />Or find an airline like JetBlue that operates Airbus aircraft, which are 6 inches wider, allowing up to one inch extra width per seat. For those with deep pockets, paid first class tickets are cheaper now in real terms than they've ever been.<br /><br />All this and much more is regularly discussed on the flyertalk forums, by the way.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6106221024087263603.post-35175629159046112092009-08-20T14:11:25.345-04:002009-08-20T14:11:25.345-04:00Thanks for your comments.Thanks for your comments.Sarahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13173621157483762091noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6106221024087263603.post-40429639173382757792009-08-20T11:38:59.614-04:002009-08-20T11:38:59.614-04:00Airline seats in coach class are not large enough ...Airline seats in coach class are not large enough for everyone. If you are too big, the airlines cannot just let you sit on the person in the next seat. Airlines that have done so have lost lawsuits.<br /><br />EVERY airline has this problem. Most airlines wait until you don't fit and then bump you if the flight is full. That's both embarrassing and inconvenient.<br /><br />Southwest gives you the ability to plan ahead and prevent this from happening. Just pay for a second seat and you get to pre-board and use two seats. It's almost like flying first class. You'll never be bumped or have to try to squeeze into one seat.<br /><br />But here's the best part: You can get a refund of the money you paid for the second seat virtually every time! Unless the flight was oversold, your refund request will be honored. If they filled the plane with standbys, you still get the refund.<br /><br />Customers who have used this feature swear by it. No other airline will give you a refund for a second seat.<br /><br />The question of how to determine in advance whether you need a second seat is legitimate, but there is no good solution. Butt sizers at the gate? I don't think so. <br /><br />Here's my solution: If in doubt, buy the second seat. If you aren't large enough to need it, the people at the gate will tell you so. Then you can get a refund and you'll know where you stand. <br /><br />Many people who are not quite too large to fit would like to buy the refundable second seat, but they are not allowed to. You can only get this deal if you actually don't fit in the seat.<br /><br />See http://flyerguide.com/wiki/index.php/Category:Southwest_Rapid_Rewards#What.27s_all_this_I_hear_about_.22Customers_of_Size.22_having_to_purchase_a_second_seat.3F for more information.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6106221024087263603.post-84069875303426878242009-08-20T11:07:36.091-04:002009-08-20T11:07:36.091-04:00Great post. Thanks so much for writing it. I look ...Great post. Thanks so much for writing it. I look forward to your future posts on these topics - especially the "decimating" one.Elisehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06594477709835944165noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6106221024087263603.post-90022536223275288372009-08-19T17:56:16.642-04:002009-08-19T17:56:16.642-04:00Wow. I'm horrified by that SWA question and an...Wow. I'm horrified by that SWA question and answer page. The vagueness seems custom-designed to use the policy in a discriminatory way (i.e. to use it against some customers but not others, in this case). And, the vagueness creates a "prior restraint" worry, that is, a customer being afraid of flying Southwest because they're worried that they might be a "customer of size.", thus encouraging people to self-censor themselves out of flying Southwest. <br /><br />They're on my avoid list now. If they published a specific size or weight guideline, I might reconsider. For example, they could state that everyone over a certain weight or over a physical dimension or offer people seat tests in the airport. But the way they've written the guideline and answered the questions makes the practice very questionable.zbhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13205346985598789513noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6106221024087263603.post-15186122432153290752009-08-19T17:35:26.796-04:002009-08-19T17:35:26.796-04:00This was a lovely post. Meanness sucks, no matter ...This was a lovely post. Meanness sucks, no matter who it's directed toward.Anjalihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03942336985162828835noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6106221024087263603.post-64230625763173420002009-08-09T15:54:42.231-04:002009-08-09T15:54:42.231-04:00I think lots of forms of discrimination still exis...I think lots of forms of discrimination still exist - and I really like the way you closed this entry: Be kind. That's "all" it takes. <br /><br />Gosh, how many ills would be solved (eliminated!) if we all just followed that very simple suggestion?<br /><br />StefStefhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09959894132014755608noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6106221024087263603.post-80635169152599755142009-08-02T18:51:20.008-04:002009-08-02T18:51:20.008-04:00I agree. When I pressed their phone rep for guidel...I agree. When I pressed their phone rep for guidelines on how to tell if you're obese enough to require the second seat, she was deliberately vague. I guess SWA doesn't want to box itself into a corner.Sarahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13173621157483762091noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6106221024087263603.post-74262411277054021352009-08-02T14:03:04.297-04:002009-08-02T14:03:04.297-04:00The SouthWest airlines thing is the one that gets ...The SouthWest airlines thing is the one that gets to me the most. I am pretty much dead-center average for height and weight for an American male - however, after reading their guidelines, I have no idea whether or not those restrictions would apply to me. Am I a "customer of size"? Well, no, because I'm not a customer; but if I chose to fly SouthWest, then I certainly would be a "customer of size" - one of the definitions of something existing in the three-dimensional world is that it possesses size and volume - therefore, everyone from Yao Ming to Mini-Me would be a "Customer of Size."<br /><br />Even worse, SouthWest <i>only has one model of airplane</i> - just how hard would it be for them to specify precisely how many inches there are between the armrests? Apparently it's hard enough that they're unwilling to do so...Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16491386537225283381noreply@blogger.com