Posted on 02/21/2017 6:35:22 AM PST by Red Badger
Newspaper publisher says community response to writer's ouster has been overwhelmingly positive.
Alan Linda's column about his experience sitting next to an overweight airplane passenger will be the last one he writes for the Fergus Falls Daily Journal.
The newspaper last week expressed regret for printing the column and said it had parted ways with Linda, an unpaid community columnist who has written the paper's "Prairie Spy" column for 30 years.
"I've gotten an overwhelmingly positive response over the decision," Tim Engstrom, the Daily Journal's editor and publisher, said Monday. "People say it's the right thing to do."
In an editorial last week, the newspaper's editorial board explained the decision to cut ties with Linda, an Otter Tail County resident whose humorous columns have run in several other Minnesota newspapers over the years.
"Last Friday, his column was about sitting next to a larger person on an airplane," the board wrote. "In the column, he called the person 'fat' and went on to describe a lack of sympathy for the man's weight issue.
"Not only did this offend many of our readers, it offended us," the editorial said. "Bullying others is not OK. Body shaming is not OK. … The list goes on, but you get the picture. Let's debate the issues, not make personal attacks on people."
The staff made a bad decision in publishing Linda's column, the editorial said.
Asked to comment on his release, Linda e-mailed that he didn't understand what the dispute was about.
(Excerpt) Read more at startribune.com ...
The guy behind me on an airline flight screamed at me to “stop moving!” on one flight. He was so big his knees stuck into my seat back. Flight attendant broke it up.
A sweet problem: Princeton researchers find that high-fructose corn syrup prompts considerably more weight gain:
http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S26/91/22K07/
I remember back in the days when airline seats had lots of leg room and reclining was not a problem.................
Is the firing of an unpaid humor columnist from a tiny community newspaper in Fergus Falls MN —— considered national news?
We have achieved something never that has never happened before in all of recorded history: our poorest are the most likely to be obese. It’s like something out of Swift.
Freegards
Another case where, given an opportunity to either speak or shut up, the writer unwisely chose the former. I guess that’s what passed for biting social commentary these days.
I call it ‘laziness.’
He should be fired.
The editor should be fired.
The owner should have a full page explanation this will not be tolerated.
I liked the article.
“I tried. The arm rest. Tried to get it down. He looked at me, kind of grimaced. And when a 300-plus guy has you effectively pinned in and you can’t even run for it, when they grimace at you, your first thought is: “Oh, man. He looks hungry.”
Been there, done that! When I pay for a seat, I expect to be able to use it. I don’t expect to share it with someone who needs at least 1.5 seats for his belly. I’ll cheerfully make full allowance for anyone who has problems that prevent modest exercise. But otherwise: I buy enough seat for me. Not enough for me and someone else who hasn’t paid to share mine.
If the guy next to me wants 1/2 of my seat, he can at least offer me 1/2 the price of my ticket. I’ll give him my package of peanuts (do they still offer those) as a bonus.
That isn’t “fat shaming”. Just property rights!
More space for Hotdish recipies
“Large numbers of people were upset something like that would run in their paper.”
Correction: “Large numbers of LARGE people were upset something like that would run in their paper.”
Only when it’s done in a specious manner...............
It’s been a quiet week in Fergus Falls....................
Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!
“Not only did this offend many of our readers, it offended us,” the editorial said. “Bullying others is not OK. Body shaming is not OK. … The list goes on, but you get the picture. Let’s debate the issues, not make personal attacks on people.”
I’m betting the paper has no problem accepting Trump-bashing articles.
I don’t think he was poking fun....he was showing his typical liberal disdain for southerners.
Only Hollywood is allowed to make fun of fat people if they so choose, without a word being said. Case in point - Big Bang Theory. It’s actually quite mean and sad that everyone has no problem ridiculing Mrs. Wolowitz, including her own son.
As a fat dude:
It sucks for people to mock other people, regardless of the reason or rationale.
That being said, being fat is unhealthy and a lousy way to go through life.
We as a society used to use humiliation as a social tool to discourage certain behaviors, with limited effect.
For example, back in the 70s, 80s, you would see people going to pay for food with “food stamps” and there was a degree of people behind them in line rolling their eyes.
Nowadays we give them “benefit cards” that look like credit cards so they don’t have to have their feelings hurt by the other shoppers who work for a living.
This is sort of like that.
It’s shitty to pick on people, but it’s also shitty to be fat and have to deal with all of the associated health problems that come from it.
My hubby says he thinks the way I talk is sexy. (I’m from Louisiana). I get turned on by his New England accent. (pahk the cahr). We all have an accent to others.
I agree that we erred in removing the embarrassment that used to be associated with welfare, and throw in having children out of wedlock to that mix....Dan Quayle was right about Murphy Brown.
It is clear that more acceptance and accommodation has certainly caused these two social maladies to increase. I really have to wonder if making fun of fat people would actually cause people to lose weight. I’d like to know.
I was placed between two over 300 pounders flying standby between Chicago and Seattle. The plane was completely full. The flight attendant guided me to my seat. The guy was sitting in the window seat and his beautiful bride was sitting in the aisle seat.
It would have been like the scene when Forrest Gump first tried to ride on the school bus (you can’t sit here) if it hadn’t been for the flight attendant who insisted they slide together or let me sit in the middle seat. One might think that since they were married that they would cuddle up together and let me take the aisle or window seat, but they preferred that I sit between them.
There was virtually no chance that the seat dividers would go down. Even the food trays that come down from the seat backs ahead were a problem.
Both were extremely unhappy about my presence and made it no secret that they blamed me for the intrusion. They had strong BO and sweated profusely during the entire 4 hour flight. My pants and shirt were soaked when I got off the plane.
Fortunately, I had some ear buds and was able to listen to music and read a book using my phone which made the time go by more quickly. It took a couple of runs through the laundry before their scent came off my clothing.
It is surprising to me that people choose to live their lives morbidly obese, but I have irrational behaviors myself. But it is a choice... no one is forcing others to consume far more calories than their body can use, that I am aware of. It is especially amazing to me the number of celebrities whose looks are important to their careers who also have become super fat. I am speaking of people like Brendon Fraser, Russell Crowe, and so many formerly good looking female stars. It is especially crazy when your livelihood depends on your appearance.
I was raised in The South.
We don’t have accents.
Yankees do.................8^)
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