Sunday 5 January 2014

Fatphobic Helmet

Fat suit wearing by slimmer people is quite awkward for fatter people. It explains exactly  the meaning invested in the 'obesity' construct. That to a slim(mer) person, being fat(ter) is like wearing an adipose suit of disease.

Rather like in torrid soap operas when a character refers to the community's malevolent nemesis as- being like a cancer. Don't let anyone kid on that this merits offense. Nor even that anyone could be so frigid with entitlement, that they cannot cope unless they insist everybody is like them, underneath.

The real offense is that this foolishness can be imposed on others by those who have the influence and kudos to do so. That show their gratitude for the privilege of being paid to pursue knowledge by using research as a route to bypass people's self awareness critical faculties. 
 
And no, none of this is made better by substituting 'bariatric' for 'obese' or especially 'fat'. (There is nothing wrong with being fat that hasn't been made wrong by this tedious self absorption.) The issue is not the wording, its the solipsistic defining of bodies that aren't like your own as disease that's the problem.

Underlying premise.

Peterborough hospital treats all comers, including those at the top of the weight spectrum. In the past, several staff have injured themselves trying to manoeuvre patients around. This is negligence on the part of their employers-who are supposed to ensure safe working conditions-is being rectified by using a £1,000 fat suit to help staff to practice safe handling/lifting. In the course of this, they've apparently learnt to empathize.

Repeat. Unlearning default arseholery is not 'compassion' or even 'empathy' is you emerging out a state of foolishness. If I keep stepping on your foot, I'm at fault. Getting off your foot is no kudos to me.

It's the norm not to be on your foot. It's the norm of hospital staff, or should be, to look after their patients. Whether professional or not, that requires you to become aware of their needs and be attentive to their requirements.

Having said that, I'm glad that this is happening, because it will hopefully be the beginning of movement towards finally usurping the mostly moribund non-science that is 'obesity', call it "bariatrics" if you wish but I warn you baria-trick. We tend to hear all about the great discoveries of medicine, but what can be neglected is medical progress is like a necklace with a pattern of small beads with intermittent large ones-the latter being the important discoveries. The smaller beads are made up of the information gleaned from caring for people, properly.

Caring for a person or group means you get to know and understand something of the workings of their condition or state of being, through catering to them. Courtesy and respect enables a better quality of communication and therefore insight. This is one of the many reasons "obesity science/medicine" has made little discernible progress in the last 3 or 4 decades is this carelessness. Willful ignorance likes to stop where it is.

You cannot tell what information with be key and what will be by the by. Often the things assumed to be important fall into the latter rather category. It is the small but sometimes significant beads of knowledge learned from patterns that emerge from the observation and thought that goes into looking after people, that is the basis of tomorrow's advance.

But rather than just something for the staff, I think the patients need something. A fatphobic helmet. This heretofore undiscovered thing, when put on, would manipulate brainwaves, plunging the wearer into the mindset of the typical ignorant slim fat phobe (self hating fatz just follow their thinking like obedient pets).

Only when fat people of all sizes get to hear just how messed up, bigoted, idiotic and willfully obtuse the noisier element of this faction are will they finally gain insight enough to stop feeling and acting remotely inferior to them.

That would hopefully finish off all pandering, which keeps their derangement hogging (yes) any discourse on weight. Enabling fat people to start addressing their remarks to the quieter and more thoughtful people.

I sense they're waiting.

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