In Which My Ire Is Ignited by an Anti-Obesity Activist

I recently saw a blog entry at The Zero Boss with a video that got me really angry. It was a Fox News clip discussing the alleged obesity of American Idol star Jordin Sparks. Rail-thin MeMe Roth, a representative of the National Action Against Obesity organization, described Sparks as a picture of poor health, and decried her fame as a bad example for children.

I am totally out of the loop and I had never heard of Jordin Sparks. So I looked her up on the internet, and saw that she is an attractive young lady of large stature. She looks like she is at least six feet tall, and she is curvaceous. But Ms. Roth can't appreciate the aesthetics of Jordin Sparks, instead prognosticating that she's a walking case of diabetes, heart disease, and cancer just waiting to happen. When asked if Sparks was obese, Roth demurred that was a question that should be settled between Sparks and her doctor, which meant "yes, but I'm too much of a coward to say it."

MeMe Roth came off as an aptly-named, self-centered, condescending prig in the interview segment, and I really think that's too bad. The goals of her organization, as outlined in her (otherwise ridiculous) letter reproduced in this blog entry, seem like noble, lofty goals. I'm all for eliminating junk food from schools, getting rid of unhealthy food additives, and stopping obesity from being handed down from one generation to the next. Unfortunately, her smug attitude undermines her organization's effectiveness.

If she had any iota of compassion in her body, Ms. Roth would realize that obesity is not something that can be shamed out of people. Obesity is a result of genetics, food choices, and exercise habits! If she truly cared about stopping obesity instead of feeding her own superiority complex, then she would exercise compassion for obese people and find constructive ways to help them make different choices when it comes to food and exercise.

I think that she must have no experience with excessive weight. She's never had to rethink all her assumptions about food, or change her eating habits. She's never been "good" for a week, only to get on the scale and find that she's gained five pounds. She's never been snubbed, discriminated against, or ridiculed for her size. She's never been told that the ugliness of her body is due to a flaw in her own character. She's never had trouble finding clothes that couldn't be used as tents for thin people. She's never experienced the humiliation of spilling over into somebody else's seat on an airplane. She's never stayed home out of self-consciousness and fear that people will stare. She's never struggled to exercise because the weight she's accumulated makes her knees creak, or makes it difficult to walk from one end of the room to another. Until she's had at least one of these experiences, I suggest that she kindly shut the f*ck up!

I think Jordin Sparks is a positive role model for children, because she shows that you don't have to be anorexic and toothpick-thin in order to succeed in life. I wish her all the success in the world.