Are fat people next?

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Hermskii

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Apr 13, 2003
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The government here in the USA has been hard at work taxing the crap out of smokers and reducing the legal areas where smokers can smoke. There is basically no more smoking in a restaurant in Houston for instance. Many work places no longer allow smoking at all etc etc.

I think I'm like most when it comes to quitting smoking in that I gained some weight. I'm lucky. It wasn't too much weight and I'm sorta young and healthy enough to lose the extra weight. I have to worry about the others though. The ones who have fought their weight since their youth. If the government can tax the crap out of cigarettes what is stopping them from doing the same with food? You know it is coming right?

People were mad about people like me (smokers) causing their insurance to go up. Now that I don't smoke, do I get to be mad at fat people when my insurance starts to go up because of them? Will it be fair when your favorite candy-bar, ice-cream, potato chips, breakfast cereal, hamburger and tacos all triple in price over a couple of years?

I'm just putting out the question. I feel bad for the ones who get harassed to stop smoking and do it but then gain weight just to "now" get harassed about being overweight. What comes next after taxing the crap out of folks for being overweight? They'll go after drinkers next! Yep. The end of the world is near! LOL.
 

Thrash123

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Jul 19, 1999
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I don't see why insurance providers are bumping up their premiums to cover smoking for everybody; the last place I worked the insurance had a "smoker's surcharge", which covered that (you had to be smoke-free for a year to have that removed). My new insurance doesn't, but it's also actually much cheaper, too.

Hannibal, MO - the town I live in - has been fighting hard to ban smoking. They've actually been fairly lenient in the legislation, though, compared to our neighbors (Quincy, IL has a minimum 15 ft distance from entrances/windows for smokers IIRC - Hannibal's proposal was only 3 or 5 feet, IIRC). It was on the last election we had, and it supposedly passed, but I guess there were issues in implementation and whatnot so it's going to have to come back for a vote.

Honestly, I've always felt it should be up to the establishment. I know plenty of places (restaurants, bars) in the area that don't allow smoking, and they do fine. I also know plenty of smoking-friendly places that do great as well. The whole argument "what about the staff" is rather moot, as many of the staff that work these places are smokers, too. Beyond that, we CAN choose where we want to work.

A good argument that occurred to me is with glass blowers; people who make fine art (as well as utilitarian pieces) by blowing glass. My girlfriend does it, and apparently, it has similar risks to smoking.. Yet you don't see people not buying blown glass products (in fact, there is a major cruise line that does on-ship glass blowing demonstrations). They chose that line of work. Are we going to ban glass blowing now, because it's unhealthy for the people who do it? What about people who shovel shit in stables? Fecal matter carries all sorts of diseases. Think about the children, dammit!

While we're at it, let's ban stress. That'll kill out a lot of industries, but dammit, it's so unhealthy!
 

NRG

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Dec 31, 2005
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You shouldn't be smoking to lose weight/stay thinner in the first place. LOL.
 

Hermskii

www.Hermskii.com
Apr 13, 2003
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Thrash123 just reminded me that the club I used to go to fell into the group of bars considered inside Houston and they had to ban smoking. The place is still open but it used to be a fun/busy/money making place. Now it is dead and up for sell and nobody goes there anymore. Everyone went to just outside the city limits where it is still legal to smoke inside. I know I didn't want to drink and then go stand outside in the freezing rain to smoke just to come back in, thaw out, have another drink and then head back out for another smoke and continue to repeat. How many smokers missed work from getting sick going back and forth from inside to outside to smoke at bars during the winter? You never hear about those studies. I would never get sick either. I always thought it was funny how several of my friends would bug me to quit smoking yet they were always sick and I never was. I hope that continues now that I have quit. Whenever I would drink I would smoke twice as much too. Smoking and drinking go together very well. I can't even imagine how many small bars went out of business because of this ban and it wasn't like these bars were making people come inside. people have a choice as to whether or not they want to go into a bar or not.

I totally agree. It should be up to the business. If I could open a bar near central Houston where people could smoke inside I'd be filthy rich in a month and it would be the busiest bar in Houston!
 
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Zxanphorian

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Jul 1, 2002
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As I said in the other thread: I don't care who and what you are and what your personal life choices are, except when it comes to endangering others and my safety and health. If the activity has totally preventable adverse risks and effects, and you still do it, you should suffer the consequences.

To explain, think about NOAA's "Turn around, don't drown." campaign. That means, in simple terms, don't be a dumbass and play Russian Roulette, driving into raging floodwater. I know many communities and states are toying around with levying fines for anyone willfully driving into floodwater and getting stuck. Another related idea is if you fail to have a proper plan when you trek through the wilderness, such as telling trusted people where you are going and when you will be back, you should pay a fine if you require rescue. These campaigns I totally favor.

Same with smoking, eating too many bacon cheeseburgers, and chronically drinking alcohol, to cite a few. You are willfully playing Russian Roulette with your health, so you should be held accountable for it when the time comes. While I don't necessarily agree with higher insurance premiums as a first resort (although if it is time to compromise, I would welcome it), there should be a significantly higher deductible for any complications of the activities caused by the aforementioned risky behaviors. I'd rather not pay the same for insurance as the person next when they are chugging cooking oil.

That being said, I think the best option is to provide incentives to ones that display healthy personal choices, such as lower insurance deductibles and premiums, and tax credits. Also I don't condone hypocrisy, so if I do harmful choices, I would like to suffer the consequences if I am called to do so. Aside from blatant harassment, I don't see the harm in calling people out for the error of their ways.
 
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xMurphyx

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Jun 2, 2008
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Yeah, they're the last group you can mock openly without repercussions!

Fat men anyway. If you harass fat women you often have to deal with their patronizing "fat is beautiful" facebook friend brigade or with desperate white-knighting boys. The latter only on the internet because in real-life they wouldn't want to be known to associate with fat chicks. Just fuck them in a garage and then pretend they don't know them.

But fat men are game no matter what! Fuck 'em! Not literally, of course, that'd be gross.

I have a feeling that the trend that fat women get defended now might include men too one day. But we'll always have the last fail-safe device: Just say "I'm not talking about chubby, I'm talking FAT fat". With that little disclaimer you can say pretty much anything.:)
 

BillyBadAss

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The government here in the USA has been hard at work taxing the crap out of smokers and reducing the legal areas where smokers can smoke. There is basically no more smoking in a restaurant in Houston for instance. Many work places no longer allow smoking at all etc etc.

I think I'm like most when it comes to quitting smoking in that I gained some weight. I'm lucky. It wasn't too much weight and I'm sorta young and healthy enough to lose the extra weight. I have to worry about the others though. The ones who have fought their weight since their youth. If the government can tax the crap out of cigarettes what is stopping them from doing the same with food? You know it is coming right?

People were mad about people like me (smokers) causing their insurance to go up. Now that I don't smoke, do I get to be mad at fat people when my insurance starts to go up because of them? Will it be fair when your favorite candy-bar, ice-cream, potato chips, breakfast cereal, hamburger and tacos all triple in price over a couple of years?

I'm just putting out the question. I feel bad for the ones who get harassed to stop smoking and do it but then gain weight just to "now" get harassed about being overweight. What comes next after taxing the crap out of folks for being overweight? They'll go after drinkers next! Yep. The end of the world is near! LOL.

I really hate the argument "Fuck I'm fat because I don't smoke anymore." Stop living a fat ass live style. Eat healthy food in healthy portions and do some exercise. The whole, "there is no time in the day to workout" is just a lazy person's excuse.
 

Zxanphorian

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Jul 1, 2002
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I really hate the argument "Fuck I'm fat because I don't smoke anymore." Stop living a fat ass live style. Eat healthy food in healthy portions and do some exercise.

I think it is mainly because they substitute one vice for another. Not really solving the real problem.

The whole, "there is no time in the day to workout" is just a lazy person's excuse.

It really is. And I should know. :(
 
Apr 11, 2006
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Yeah, they're the last group you can mock openly without repercussions!

Fat men anyway. If you harass fat women you often have to deal with their patronizing "fat is beautiful" facebook friend brigade or with desperate white-knighting boys. The latter only on the internet because in real-life they wouldn't want to be known to associate with fat chicks. Just fuck them in a garage and then pretend they don't know them.

But fat men are game no matter what! Fuck 'em! Not literally, of course, that'd be gross.

I have a feeling that the trend that fat women get defended now might include men too one day. But we'll always have the last fail-safe device: Just say "I'm not talking about chubby, I'm talking FAT fat". With that little disclaimer you can say pretty much anything.:)


True.

There's no real point in trying to add a moral dimension to being overweight. Being fat doesn't indicate you're a lazy slob, it just indicates you're eating a diet that you can't metabolize properly (most likely too much sugar and carbohydrates). Exercise is a minimal factor in weight loss, although that doesn't mean it's worthwhile to be more fit for its own reasons.