We live in topsy-turvy times.“Body positivity” has become about celebrating unhealthy bodies. “Being your true self” has become about injecting yourself with hormones, changing your name, and undergoing invasive surgery. Mental illness has become merely “another way to be.”
“Body positivity” has become about celebrating unhealthy bodies. “Being your true self” has become about injecting yourself with hormones, changing your name, and undergoing invasive surgery. Mental illness has become merely “another way to be."
A few years ago I referred to Trump as "the fat oaf." Some person responded and implored me to refrain from "body shaming." This is what you mention in your first sentence above.
I got furious. I got fat once from Zoloft and after I stopped I dieted off the lard and took eight inches off my waistline. But I didn't mention that. I wrote about how both my parents died of cancer and how several of my friends have grave and lifelong medical conditions like multiple sclerosis and schizophrenia, and how thrilled all of them would be if they could escape those conditions by nothing more challenging than eating less for a while.
I've 'body-shamed' Trump as well, along with the North Korean dictator I routinely refer to as the 'Fat Kid', and the late Toronto ex-mayor Rob Ford (although not anymore...he had just begun to get his alcoholic, crack-smoking shit together when he died of stomach cancer).
My reasoning is thus: Trump body-shamed many and particularly women he didn't consider 'wank worthy', although he seems to have had no problem raping a then-47-year-old E. Jean Carroll. But his prior body-shaming makes him a legitimate target, AFAIC.
Kim Jon Yum-Yum has slimmed down a bit in recent years but is still overweight, and it was offensive to see him when he was obese when most of his country was starving and eating grass and bark to survive.
Rob Ford ran afoul of me because he was, before his recovery started, a self-described '300 lbs of fun' yet he didn't want to allocate tax money to poor kids' lunches because it was 'too expensive'.
This was a guy who announced he was going to lose weight and then got busted by journalists coming out of KFC with a big bucket.
So yeah, there's still a place for fat-shaming. When you ask for it.
I don't fat-shame Chris Christie or anyone else who isn't a bloody hypocrite, or downright evil.
“The key privilege in the point you're making here is ‘rich.’ Poor white people fall through the cracks in the system too. Because, you guessed it, poor people, regardless of their skin colour, can't afford to get the help they need. That's what being poor means.”
The hidden premise in the syllogism is that, by definition, white means rich and black means poor. Because, you know, racism. It’s not about truth, just truthiness. Once you grasp that, the reasoning becomes clear.
It’s truly insane that human behavior that is over the line of unacceptable becomes somehow excusable if your skin is dark. What in the literal hell are you saying? To excuse the inexcusable based on skin tone is frankly racist. Why should people of darker skin tones be given a pass on shitty behavior? Why should anyone? Don’t masterbate I
Oops sorry cut off - don’t masterbate in public. Don’t scream at innocents. Upgrade mental health to keep those out of control off the streets. Why is this hard?
Mental illness is tragic. When we see it in a loved one and interventions fail it breaks our hearts. It doesn't excuse the damage that they do to others or the potential for it.
I was not there for the event in question and cannot judge the perception, real and imagined by those in the presence of Jordan Neely and his behavior. Would you know if his behavior was partly due to one of the drugs that not only brings violent behavior, but near imperviousness to pain? A brutal beat down or a risky carotid (blood) choke, not to be confused with crushing his larynx. I would most likely go for a carotid choke with its known danger as the most humane choice. I seriously doubt that Daniel Penny intended to kill Jordan Neely.
But Lois and her tribe will react as she did. And of course, hers is not the only tribe. I'll admit that I have a brotherhood filter pertaining to a fellow Marine. What kind of trial will Penny get? At risk of sounding like Tucker Carlson, will a jurist fear arson and riots accompanying an acquittal even if every witness opined justification? Will they choose acquittal because they are tired of anxiety of their daily subway commute accompanied by screaming public meat beaters?
It is sad and tragic that Jordan Neely didn't get the help he needed and could run amok until he met his fate. It is also sad that Daniel Penny's life may be brought to ruin for trying to do the right thing. But this commentary shines a bright light on the mental health, or lack of it, on a large swath of the population. A problem that will persist after this event is forgotten.
One aspect of privilege she's overlooked is the resistance many mentally ill people will have to being treated - because, of course, the problem isn't *them*, the problem is *everyone else* aligned against them, and they know this because the voices in their head told them so. A rich white man who may be bugspit insane will have the power and resources to not get treated unless he really pulls some serious shit.
I'm open to the idea that the chokehold was a bad way to restrain Neely but I do think pre-emptive action was necessary. With violent crime skyrocketing everywhere and mass killings an everyday occurrence, crazy-ass ranters are more of a threat than they've *ever* been. I've been subjected to four crazy-ass racist ranters on the Toronto transit system and not a single one of them so far as been white. Back then, we didn't worry too much about violence but in the last few years, since lockdown ended, Toronto and other Canadian cities have seen similar, if not as serious, spikes in violent crime.
The victims and the perps are multicultural; no one is above suspicion. I will be less tolerant of crazy-ass ranters than I was in the past; I'm getting off at the next stop whether it's mine or not. Given how many violent attacks - stabbings, beatings, and one young woman set on fire (she died) by a total stranger - I can imagine eventually we're going to have our own Jordan Neely case here too. Whether he's a POC or not remains to be seen.
The mental health issue is real, but I expect few partisans will get behind any real change, like getting these people off the streets, forcibly if necessary. Because many resist treatment and men especially. That's the canard offered by the right in relation to mass shootings; awwwww, we need to get them mental health treatment! Yeah, and what happens if they refuse? Or they're good at faking out their therapists? Because the research I've done on abusive men surprised me at how good they are at faking out even highly trained professionals that they've seen the error or their ways, turned over a new leaf - and then go right home and beat the shit out of or kill the woman who was responsible for this embarrassing inconvenience.
I'm not sure what the answer is but I suspect it may involve a highly uncomfortable debate in a 'rights'-obsessed society about keeping the genuinely koo-koo off the streets and offered compassionate treatment - which is the exact opposite of what they'll get in prison if they succeed in pulling of a violent criminal act (or several).
“Body positivity” has become about celebrating unhealthy bodies. “Being your true self” has become about injecting yourself with hormones, changing your name, and undergoing invasive surgery. Mental illness has become merely “another way to be."
This is what comes of anathematizing judgment.
"This is what comes of anathematizing judgment"
Yep. And ironically the people who espouse these ideas are amongst the most judgemental human beings in history.
A few years ago I referred to Trump as "the fat oaf." Some person responded and implored me to refrain from "body shaming." This is what you mention in your first sentence above.
I got furious. I got fat once from Zoloft and after I stopped I dieted off the lard and took eight inches off my waistline. But I didn't mention that. I wrote about how both my parents died of cancer and how several of my friends have grave and lifelong medical conditions like multiple sclerosis and schizophrenia, and how thrilled all of them would be if they could escape those conditions by nothing more challenging than eating less for a while.
"Body shaming."
I've 'body-shamed' Trump as well, along with the North Korean dictator I routinely refer to as the 'Fat Kid', and the late Toronto ex-mayor Rob Ford (although not anymore...he had just begun to get his alcoholic, crack-smoking shit together when he died of stomach cancer).
My reasoning is thus: Trump body-shamed many and particularly women he didn't consider 'wank worthy', although he seems to have had no problem raping a then-47-year-old E. Jean Carroll. But his prior body-shaming makes him a legitimate target, AFAIC.
Kim Jon Yum-Yum has slimmed down a bit in recent years but is still overweight, and it was offensive to see him when he was obese when most of his country was starving and eating grass and bark to survive.
Rob Ford ran afoul of me because he was, before his recovery started, a self-described '300 lbs of fun' yet he didn't want to allocate tax money to poor kids' lunches because it was 'too expensive'.
This was a guy who announced he was going to lose weight and then got busted by journalists coming out of KFC with a big bucket.
So yeah, there's still a place for fat-shaming. When you ask for it.
I don't fat-shame Chris Christie or anyone else who isn't a bloody hypocrite, or downright evil.
“The key privilege in the point you're making here is ‘rich.’ Poor white people fall through the cracks in the system too. Because, you guessed it, poor people, regardless of their skin colour, can't afford to get the help they need. That's what being poor means.”
The hidden premise in the syllogism is that, by definition, white means rich and black means poor. Because, you know, racism. It’s not about truth, just truthiness. Once you grasp that, the reasoning becomes clear.
"The hidden premise in the syllogism is that, by definition, white means rich and black means poor."
Bingo. Remember when Joe Biden literally said the quiet part out loud? 😅
https://youtu.be/idpevmeoK1A
It’s truly insane that human behavior that is over the line of unacceptable becomes somehow excusable if your skin is dark. What in the literal hell are you saying? To excuse the inexcusable based on skin tone is frankly racist. Why should people of darker skin tones be given a pass on shitty behavior? Why should anyone? Don’t masterbate I
"To excuse the inexcusable based on skin tone is frankly racist"
Yep. The racism of low expectations. A distinctly liberal invention that I hate just as much as the good old fashioned conservative kind.
...And to which many self-hating black people, unfortunately, subscribe to.
Oops sorry cut off - don’t masterbate in public. Don’t scream at innocents. Upgrade mental health to keep those out of control off the streets. Why is this hard?
If you reply in a browser instead of in the substack mobile app, you can edit your posts.
Mental illness is tragic. When we see it in a loved one and interventions fail it breaks our hearts. It doesn't excuse the damage that they do to others or the potential for it.
I was not there for the event in question and cannot judge the perception, real and imagined by those in the presence of Jordan Neely and his behavior. Would you know if his behavior was partly due to one of the drugs that not only brings violent behavior, but near imperviousness to pain? A brutal beat down or a risky carotid (blood) choke, not to be confused with crushing his larynx. I would most likely go for a carotid choke with its known danger as the most humane choice. I seriously doubt that Daniel Penny intended to kill Jordan Neely.
But Lois and her tribe will react as she did. And of course, hers is not the only tribe. I'll admit that I have a brotherhood filter pertaining to a fellow Marine. What kind of trial will Penny get? At risk of sounding like Tucker Carlson, will a jurist fear arson and riots accompanying an acquittal even if every witness opined justification? Will they choose acquittal because they are tired of anxiety of their daily subway commute accompanied by screaming public meat beaters?
It is sad and tragic that Jordan Neely didn't get the help he needed and could run amok until he met his fate. It is also sad that Daniel Penny's life may be brought to ruin for trying to do the right thing. But this commentary shines a bright light on the mental health, or lack of it, on a large swath of the population. A problem that will persist after this event is forgotten.
One aspect of privilege she's overlooked is the resistance many mentally ill people will have to being treated - because, of course, the problem isn't *them*, the problem is *everyone else* aligned against them, and they know this because the voices in their head told them so. A rich white man who may be bugspit insane will have the power and resources to not get treated unless he really pulls some serious shit.
I'm open to the idea that the chokehold was a bad way to restrain Neely but I do think pre-emptive action was necessary. With violent crime skyrocketing everywhere and mass killings an everyday occurrence, crazy-ass ranters are more of a threat than they've *ever* been. I've been subjected to four crazy-ass racist ranters on the Toronto transit system and not a single one of them so far as been white. Back then, we didn't worry too much about violence but in the last few years, since lockdown ended, Toronto and other Canadian cities have seen similar, if not as serious, spikes in violent crime.
The victims and the perps are multicultural; no one is above suspicion. I will be less tolerant of crazy-ass ranters than I was in the past; I'm getting off at the next stop whether it's mine or not. Given how many violent attacks - stabbings, beatings, and one young woman set on fire (she died) by a total stranger - I can imagine eventually we're going to have our own Jordan Neely case here too. Whether he's a POC or not remains to be seen.
The mental health issue is real, but I expect few partisans will get behind any real change, like getting these people off the streets, forcibly if necessary. Because many resist treatment and men especially. That's the canard offered by the right in relation to mass shootings; awwwww, we need to get them mental health treatment! Yeah, and what happens if they refuse? Or they're good at faking out their therapists? Because the research I've done on abusive men surprised me at how good they are at faking out even highly trained professionals that they've seen the error or their ways, turned over a new leaf - and then go right home and beat the shit out of or kill the woman who was responsible for this embarrassing inconvenience.
I'm not sure what the answer is but I suspect it may involve a highly uncomfortable debate in a 'rights'-obsessed society about keeping the genuinely koo-koo off the streets and offered compassionate treatment - which is the exact opposite of what they'll get in prison if they succeed in pulling of a violent criminal act (or several).
Wow!