"A Sure Sign We're Too Fat"

Personally, I think the gun violence comes from the fear factor of
living
in a non-homogeneous population. Our melting pot ethos means we are
surrounded by unknowable strangers. The news media plays to those
fears
and heightens them. That's my theory, anyway.

Wendy

BINGO, though, i believe that the hatred learned at "the dinner table"
is much more responsible for today's violence in the USA.

............................ I'm starting to wonder if the fact the
media constantly telling us
we're fat might not be acting as a deterrent for people to do
something about
it.


knowing that, what is being taught to our children?
i KNOW that i influenced my daughters "body images"
negatively........................
and i was THIN!

On 18 Oct 2003 17:26:04 -0700, (Brad
Sheppard) wrote:

Wendy,

Perhaps because guns are so widely available. In the UK and Canada I
believe it's very hard to get a gun. Also, did u know that most
violent crimes occur under the influence of alcohol?

Although gun crime has recently started to increase in the UK, I think
it's true to say that the majority of people here find it almost
incomprehensible that holding guns is so easy in the US, and that so
many people there regard it as their right to do so. I know it's
difficult to understand another culture when you haven't lived in the
country, but I must confess it baffles me too.

janice
233/161/133

You wild Canadians.

Cat

""Half-Canadian"" wrote in message
...

Snip

All I evr got up here in Toronto is a glue gun and of course I pack a
staple gun in case the glue gun doesn't fire.

This Vancouverite also owns two guns -- a nail gun and a heat gun :-)

I had a nice gun I "inherited" from my ex. It was a 357 something or other
(Smith & Wesson?) handgun. I gave it to a young man at church who is a
missionary and is going to be a police officer when he finishes his mission.
I don't want anything to do with a gun.

Except...I do have a stun gun. But I never take it out of the house. If I
start walking at night, I think I'll carry it, though.

Cat

Ooops, sorry, Bees. I admit, I fell into the gun pit.

Okay, I'm reforming right now.

As for the "We're too fat" thing.... interesting. I feel a little guilty
that I, too, am distancing myself from that old song and dance. The media is
doing its usual feeding frenzy (sorry for the bad pun), this time at the
expense of "fat America" or whatever the latest buzz phrase is.

I don't know why I feel guilty, though. I was overweight, and I did
something about it. What others chose to do is their business.

I can't say this focus on "we're fat" bothers me especially. Maybe it is
because I just don't feel a part of it.... But then, I ignore a lot of what
goes on in the media. I don't watch a lot of what's on TV, don't attend any
films, don't have AOL, etc. Nevertheless, I have definitely noticed an
increase in alarmist fat-reporting when I'm surfing the tube or the net.

What does bother me is people agitating for legislation against fat people
(like sanctions against the obese in the work place, on airlines, etc. etc.)
It seems like a thinly-veiled excuse to persecute a class of people, some of
whom are struggling with low self-esteem. There is such an amazing
fat-phobia where I used to live in LA. You can be a scumming low-life, but
if you're thin, you're considered to be a wonderful person. You can be an
overweight Saint, but you'll be treated like a pariah.

Anyway, I figure the media will be on to the next bone in awhile and they'll
lose interest. They've got a short attention span.


Cat

Awww, I'm glad you brought it up, Bees. I realized I needed to brush up on
my Netiquette. What's the big deal for us to change the thread title? Makes
sense to me.
I guess you can't win fer losin' sometimes.

Cat (holding out bandaid and glitter to Bees....thinks glitter is important
in peace offerings.)

What I think is comical is how Wendy's comment used the word "us".

Heck, as long as I'm curing us of poor body image I may as well throw
in a
cure for casual violence, too, don't you think?

This just totally drives home your comments in the OP about the whole
"we" thing beeswing.


Susan
260/215/160
---
1month 1weeks 4days 19:38hours of being smoke-free, 1,680 cigs not
smoked, $310.80 saved, 5day 20:00hours of my life saved

Susan Jones-Anderson wrote:
What I think is comical is how Wendy's comment used the word "us".

Heck, as long as I'm curing us of poor body image I may as well throw
in a
cure for casual violence, too, don't you think?

Beeswing and I have been discussing disatisfaction with our bodies in
several threads. I'm (obvioulsy) not that good at keeping an entire
thread on the same topic sentence. I didn't actually mean to use a royal
"we". But on the other hand, I was joking about curing violence as
well. Take it for what it's worth.

Wendy