Tag Archives: discrimination

National Crazy Breakfast

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By Jeffrey the Barak

In the tale, The Emperor’s New Clothes by Hans Christian Anderson, first published in 1837, the hero of the story is the little boy who screams “He’s naked”. In his innocence and honesty, he sees the truth.

This little boy is sorely needed today. Today we have organizations convincing people of untruths. Terrorists kill because they believe at that moment that it is the right path. And intelligence and reason are constantly suppressed by the world’s religions. Millions believe in the imaginary, and are seemingly quite oblivious of the beauty of truth, reason and intelligence.

And even our great President, arguably the most intelligent we’ve had, right about most things, has endorsed the organization named The Fellowship Foundation, also known as “The Family,” who’s goal it seems is to ignore separation of “Church and State”. When religion and politics kill or oppress millions every day, why do we invite a “National Prayer Breakfast” to occur in Washington and show such disregard for the letter and spirit of our First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States?

Praying should have no place in our government. Religion and God do not belong there. In fact that’s the law of our nation. When omnipotent imaginary characters are invoked (God, son of God, the Devil, Angels etc.,) and these organizations of hate, intolerance and discrimination are given credibility and respect by our leaders, then the dream of fairness for all recedes ever further into the future. Minorities will be victimized, and the tricksters and megalomaniacs of the religion business will continue to amass wealth and power over the weak and gullible.

Today, the modern American fundamentalist Christians are as scary and dangerous as the radical Islamists that our armed forces are sacrificing themselves to protect us from. They may not attack in a deadly fashion with explosives, but they apply pressure en masse and bully the more reasonable people who share residence in their strongholds. If you imagine it is safe for a mixed-race couple or a same-sex couple to go, for example, into a Southern restaurant and hold hands, then you don’t realize how dangerous the American Christians are. The good people of the South are being taught intolerance, dressed up in a cloak called “Family Values”. And of course the most obvious victims are the Americans who were born gay, but it does not end with them.

By legitimizing American religion in the American government we are sowing the seeds for an internal culture war, and reinforcing narrow-mindedness and hatred. Those who do not comply with the predominant philosophy will be the victims.

Human beings, ordinary men and women, are using the God myth to control people for their evil ends, and they have succeeded, because belief in God is legitimized and made to seem correct and normal. If you dare to interrupt a prayer at the start of a sporting event, you are being “disrespectful”, but why is the inclusion of a prayer, when religious affiliation is not required of a person attending, not also disrespectful? After all, we non-believers have the law and the Constitution on our side, don’t we?

Personally I feel disappointment when I see my President endorsing an organization such as The Family. But I put my feeling aside and continue to support him as the least unreasonable man in Washington. Perhaps the outcry should not be directed at the President himself, but we need that innocent and honest little boy from The Emperor’s New Clothes to jump up and shout out the truth, and stop the crazy train before anyone else gets victimized.

Jeffrey the Barak is a non-believer, and is proud to live in a free country, with a reasonable constitution.

The Good Quiz

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The Good Quiz: How good are you?

Answer the following questions with absolute honesty and tally your number of yes answers and no answers to see how good you are.

Question MarkDo you think that female humans are in any way inferior to male humans? Yes or No
Do you think that people who do not share your identical and exact religious views are inferior to you? Yes or No
Do you think that people of a certain ethnicity are in any way inferior to you and your own exact blend of ethnic backgrounds? Yes or No
Do you think that people who do not believe in God are in any way inferior to you or less good than you? Yes or No
Do you think that people who are attracted to their own gender are imperfect? Yes or No
Do you think that homosexual people are a potential dangerous threat to the safety and well-being of children? Yes or No
Do you think that female humans should be treated differently to male humans with regards to rights and freedoms?  Yes or No
Do you think that physically less able people are less important or of less value than the able? Yes or No
Do you think that “mentally unwell” people are less important than the “normal”? Yes or No
Do you think that people who have different moral standards with regards to sex and promiscuity are not as good as yourself? Yes or No
Do you think that gay people are not naturally so inclined? Yes or No
Do you think that governments and religions should prevent two people of the same gender from marrying each other? Yes or No
Do you think it is alright to put someone to death or imprison them for adultery or flirting? Yes or No
Do you think that the poor and/or homeless should be completely responsible for their current circumstances? Yes or No
Do you think that elderly people are less important or valuable than the young? Yes or No

    Answers:

    • If you answered with 15 NO answers, you are good.
    • If you answered with 14 or less NO answers, you are not good, and you should seriously consider being less horrible.

    Note, some contentious  issues, such as abortion, and euthanasia etc., have been deliberately omitted from the quiz, because everyone seems to think one camp is right and the other wrong, and few people ever change their mind. Among the truly objective, there may never be a general yes or no answer on such issues, but the truly objective are a rare minority.

    Size Matters, Especially When It’s Fat

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    By S.D. Craig

    Anyone who thinks size doesn’t matter, doesn’t live in America. You can laugh all the way to the grocery aisle packed full of Slim Fast and diet candy, but you can’t imagine the world we live in without the words non-fat, low fat or no fat, can you? Not if you’re able to buy, hear or read.

    What is awful is the fact that a large person, a person of size, someone bigger than the life insurance charts of old, really isn’t made to feel they matter in this, the good old U.S. of A. They are, in spite of their bulk, made to feel invisible, or worse yet, made fun of.

    Who decides what normal is and who decides that seats for airplanes, amusement park rides and movie theatres are just so big? Who figures out that a restaurant chair can’t be comfortable enough for a large derriere even though they’re willing to feed that same person until the cows come home. Or that a bathroom stall can’t accommodate someone larger than 180 pounds unless they sheepishly sneak into the one handicapped stall?

    It matters not what the reason or even if there is a reason, it’s humiliating and needs to be stopped. Size does matter and it matters most to those of size. If we preach that we should not discriminate between race, between skin colors and languages and backgrounds, between first class and middle class, the rich or poor, than tell me, what is the difference if thin, short, tall or fat?

    There shouldn’t be one. Shame on you.

    Seats need to expand, hearts need to accept, the world we live in needs to relax on this issue. Models need to be heavier to look like the American public and need to eat beyond saltines and lettuce (I know this as I’m related to a former model). Actors need to be realistic in size. We can’t imagine ourselves as Meg Ryan and Colin Farrel. We just can’t.

    But what we should know, feel and experience is how badly someone of size is treated, and see that it is the meanest form of prejudice. Size matters, but it shouldn’t.

    Love and acceptance should.

    SD Craig is a freelance writer and editor of LovingYourCurves.com and was given the nickname “Chatterbox” by fellow writers. At age fifty, Craigs Southern flair and sense of humor give her plenty to write about with a rapier wit and a wacky outlook. Her articles on body image (her biggest passion), marriage/divorce and relationships, family, friends, career issues, computers, the Internet, horses, baseball, movie reviews and writing tips remind one of Erma Bombeck or Dave Barry. A freelance writer who once juggled five columns then got real, Craig welcomes your e-mails and feedback on her articles. Drop her a hello at sdcraig922@yahoo.com or stop by www.lovingyourcurves.com.

    Your Size

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    By S.D. Craig

    Size matters. That’s what they tell me. Only a lot of the time, they’re simply not referring to a man’s pride and joy.

    As I once again tuned in to my taped version of a Dr. Phil episode, I hear the man himself introduce a slender, pretty young woman who despises fat people. I shake my head, my husband shakes his. And we sit and listen to her opinion on why fat people are fat, stay fat and infringe on her space.

    Next, Dr. Phil has her wear a 300 lb. suit for the day and they put fake implants put in her cheeks (yes, both sets). Just for the day, I said. Just to see how the other half feels and what they continually go through on a daily basis. Funny, but it isn’t that funny to me. You see, in order to understand how being fat really is, you must live it.

    This young woman just didn’t get it.

    In her eyes, her mind, those of us that are heavy can change our lives if we want to. Some people cannot. There are a myriad of reasons for overweight statistics in America. Some are guilty of overeating, not exercising, indulging themselves in their passion (mine is chocolate). Others have health problems, family heredity, or issues, as Dr. Phil calls them.

    She abhors people larger than her taking up room in her movie theatre seat, her airplane seat, her bus seat. She thinks they’re disgusting, arrogant and selfish.

    You know what I think? I think, no, I know, that she’s never even taken the time to get to know a person whom she’d call fat. Underneath everyone’s size, color of skin, or disabilities happens to be a real person. Someone special she’s just missed knowing because she can’t see past her own nose in the air.

    Now, to me, a curvy woman myself, that’s what arrogance really is.

    Size does matter. It’s all about heart.

    SD Craig is a freelance writer and editor of LovingYourCurves.com and was given the nickname “Chatterbox” by fellow writers. At age fifty, Craigs Southern flair and sense of humor give her plenty to write about with a rapier wit and a wacky outlook. Her articles on body image (her biggest passion), marriage/divorce and relationships, family, friends, career issues, computers, the Internet, horses, baseball, movie reviews and writing tips remind one of Erma Bombeck or Dave Barry. A freelance writer who once juggled five columns then got real, Craig welcomes your e-mails and feedback on her articles. Drop her a hello at sdcraig922@yahoo.com or stop by www.lovingyourcurves.com.

    Floating with the Flock

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    By S.D. Craig

    How many times have you thought something bad about someone who is heavier than you?  Or said it out loud?  And do you realize that this is discrimination, that it hurts, that it isn’t helpful or supportive?  No, probably you haven’t thought about those things until it was too late.  Or maybe, you just didn’t think.  Period.  Ouch.

    So many times in my life, someone has hurt my feelings and though I admit I’m a ‘sensitive plant,’ (my husband says so), it doesn’t take much to have someone prick you in an area that they feel you need improvement in.  The key word here is “they.”  It seems that either they are insensitive louts or they’re busybodies.  All in the name of love, most times.  Whether you wanted the advice or opinion matters not.

    They are floating with the flock, as it were.

    The flock is society and the media, magazines and advertisements, flaunting that the only way to be popular, to be lovely, is to weigh no more than a girl of thirteen.  The damage this is doing to our young children, not to mention ourselves, is horrendous.  And floating with the flock sickens me.

    People need to stop this behavior.  I would no sooner think to inform someone they needed to gain weight or lose weight than I would think to murder them in cold blood.  It just never occurs to me to advise where it’s not wanted.  I learned my lesson long ago to be tactful and keep my nose in my own business.  Most days.

    If I thought someone was in grave danger, I might change my mind.  But for the most part, I try to be helpful in a myriad of other ways and, if someone needs me, to be there for them and be supportive.

    Society will never learn if we keep pointing out fat people (is there a nice reason to do this?) or saying to a friend, “Doesn’t she need to lose twenty pounds before she wears that outfit again?”  It’s human decency, it’s consideration of feelings.

    Floating with the flock will eventually mean you’re one of them.  The non-people.

    Stay down to earth and love your neighbors, whether they’re big, little, old or young, rich or poor.  Wouldn’t that be a feather in your cap?

    About the writer:

    SD Craig is a freelance writer and editor of LovingYourCurves.com and was given the nickname “Chatterbox” by fellow writers. At age fifty, Craigs Southern flair and sense of humor give her plenty to write about with a rapier wit and a wacky outlook. Her articles on body image (her biggest passion), marriage/divorce and relationships, family, friends, career issues, computers, the Internet, horses, baseball, movie reviews and writing tips remind one of Erma Bombeck or Dave Barry. A freelance writer who once juggled five columns then got real, Craig welcomes your e-mails and feedback on her articles. Drop her a hello at sdcraig922@yahoo.com or stop by www.lovingyourcurves.com.

    Fat Habitat

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    By S.D. Craig

    In reading a fellow author’s article this morning about loving fat people, it got me started again. Yep, you got it. On my favorite subject. Weight. Or anything to do with someone who has what the world considers a weight problem.

    Is there a reason that people need titles or names, other than their given one? Explain this to me, would you?

    Why must we point out that a woman who was rude to us today at Wal-Mart was black? Or that this crazy driver was Asian? Or the bank teller who was so slow was white trash, it seemed? Then again, it leads me to my point.

    Why must someone be categorized at all? Isn’t this racism? And isn’t there a category for the person claiming all these things?

    If we say, look at that heavy-set man over there eating the two ice cream cones, why was that necessary? As easily explained in saying he is wearing Teva sandals or brown shorts that are too long? How about “Look at the guy eating two ice cream cones?” Better yet.

    Why must one be so specific, to the point that is it considered rude or racist or downright bad manners? I don’t understand it, but I know I’m guilty, too, at times.

    This must be the week for admitting I’m not perfect or always sweet.

    Writing an article that states that you love fat people, well, let’s face it — the word is abrasive to me. Maybe because I’m considered one of “them.” It offends me to be singled out this way. How about, I just love people of all ages, types, natures, and nationalities?

    For me, that is a much better choice, and one nobody can argue much with.

    To say I love skinny people, tall people, fat people, people with straight hair, come on. In being so damned specific, you are telling me there’s a problem somewhere in there down deep.

    I guess it reverts back to that old song about loving your brother.

    Why can’t we all just get along?

    SD Craig is a freelance writer and editor of LovingYourCurves.com and was given the nickname “Chatterbox” by fellow writers. At age fifty, Craigs Southern flair and sense of humor give her plenty to write about with a rapier wit and a wacky outlook. Her articles on body image (her biggest passion), marriage/divorce and relationships, family, friends, career issues, computers, the Internet, horses, baseball, movie reviews and writing tips remind one of Erma Bombeck or Dave Barry. A freelance writer who once juggled five columns then got real, Craig welcomes your e-mails and feedback on her articles. Drop her a hello at sdcraig922@yahoo.com or stop by www.lovingyourcurves.com.