You can't go home again, not that I'd want to

[missdiane]

My hometown, Marion, Ohio is keeping it classy yet again. A person on FB posted this photo of a billboard in town:


Really? REALLY? Ok, I get that obesity is a problem but that's the best that they can do? No offers of "We can help! Call X" or anything, just straight up, 100% fat shaming. For a body that let's be honest, isn't THAT obese. It looks like a mom body that hasn't had the time or energy to get fit after birthing a baby.

That and Marion, Ohio, you have MUCH more critical issues to be spending people's taxpayer money on, perhaps such as doing more to help the drug addicts considering when it made big news about overdoses due to tainted heroin. Or maybe they can do something to combat racism since Marion Ohio is home to the largest KKK faction - the Brotherhood of Klans. If they don't want to tackle that, how about a billboard to let people know where to go to get help considering the poverty rate in Marion is several percentage points worse than the State of Ohio as a whole?

But nope, random non-helpful "LOSE WEIGHT FATTY!" billboards - so useful and totally encourage the people that had NO idea that they have a weight problem. Yeah.

Comments

[bluemeanybeany.livejournal.com]

The KKK still exist?!!

[threecee.livejournal.com]

As of April 2014, the Traditionalist American Knights of the KKK was organizing a "Neighborhood Crime Watch" in a nearby neighborhood according to my local news. So yes, the KKK exists although it has many different sub-groups.

[missdiane.livejournal.com]

Ugh, I'm sorry *hugs*

[avery11.livejournal.com]

I live in the South, and believe me, the KKK does exist.

I worked on Prez Obama's election campaign back in 2008 and, as a neophyte volunteer, I was assigned to do cold calling. The very first person I called said that he would only vote for Obama if they let him wear a white sheet over his head.

[bluemeanybeany.livejournal.com]

well if he's pretending to be a ghost then it'll be fine, so he should vote for Obama.

[avery11.livejournal.com]

The body in the ad might be overweight, but it certainly isn't hugely disproportionate. How insulting.

[missdiane.livejournal.com]

Exactly. And I see nothing on that billboard that's even HELPFUL.

[nverland]

In the marvelous words of a counselor friend-"Not everyone is meant to be a size 0, some of us are meant to be large people. Embrace who you are and accept genetics have a lot to do with how you look." Said counselor is a size 3, if that.

[missdiane.livejournal.com]

That's a wise friend.

[surfergirl7610.livejournal.com]

I feel bad for the model. They don't often tell them exactly what type of ad their pictures will be used in. She probably had no idea she would be fat shamed publicly for no reason.

[missdiane.livejournal.com]

Good point. Thank goodness her face isn't showing but she knows now and that doesn't help her or anyone else.

[spikesgirl58.livejournal.com]

Wow, that's harsh. She looks more like she has had massive weight loss and her skin hasn't caught up with her yet.

Just another reason why going home isn't all it's cracked up to be.

[missdiane.livejournal.com]

I thought that too - the way the tummy apron is hanging over. Which would be an even worse insult to the model.

Sis is house shopping again and mentioned to me last night that she's trying to find a place with a mother-in-law suite for the folks. I'm crossing all crossables that she can find one

And if I win a small lotto win, she's getting cash to help the the 'rents OUT of there.

[spikesgirl58.livejournal.com]

I know what you mean, but we couldn't get my mum out of Barre. She refused to move in with any of us. Sigh...

[nyxalinth.livejournal.com]

Ugh. Seriously. Rather than fight real issues (not that obesity isn't, but you never hurt anyone just by being fat, jokes aside) other than maybe your own self. I go about 250 and would love to drop 100 pounds, because I need to, bu I wouldn't fat shame others even if I was thin.

I'm originally from Toledo. Too bad our state sucks sometimes.

[missdiane.livejournal.com]

Don't you love how people seem to think that fat people are costing taxpayers more money than smokers, drug addicts and other things that actually get support rather than shame for their addiction?

Hell, if we fat folks didn't die off earlier, that'd be more money taxpayers would be fronting for us being on the old people dime for longer, amIright?

[nyxalinth.livejournal.com]

Yup! Or something other than white, or single moms, and so on and on. Humans have to have something to finger-point. it absolves them of having to do anything, they thingk :P

[nyxalinth.livejournal.com]

I think it's because the other groups don't offend their sense of aesthetics, if I may be perfectly blunt. That's what goes with treating other humans like things: getting offended if someone doesn't look how they think someone should.

[njlorelei.livejournal.com]

Ridiculous! Does anyone know who paid to have the billboard put up? If it is from some organization that wants to help they definitely should have included a website or phone number or something.

[missdiane.livejournal.com]

According to the FB post, the billboards (there's another one of a guy gut and a fat kid), these are the people supporting it
http://www.phcmarion.org/

Which it looks like part of it is publicly/tax funded. That's one ass-backwards town.

[threecee.livejournal.com]

Also not a very helpful website. Looks like someone just cobbled together some platitudes that are already familiar to people and are too vague to really inspire any action.

[threecee.livejournal.com]

They could have spent the money on something every city needs like millions of dollars worth of fake, poorly preserved, or illegal artifacts for a National Museum of the Wild West. (See Harrisburg,PA)