Posted on 01/22/2004 12:48:56 AM PST by calcowgirl
But it's far less likely that a person of average weight would lose their balance and if they did it's far less likely that they would injure you.
Since elevators don't work during emergencies do you want to make fatties and handicapped people wait till last? - Tom
Of course not. They should be treated like anyone else. But it is inescapable that, logically, extremely fat people will create a greater danger to everyone else by slowing down evacuation or preventing it.
You seem to be missing the trial lawyer logic here. Smokers may increase risks to your health; therefore outlaw smoking in the name of public safety. e.g. obese people may increase health risks for others; therefore penalties and sanctions are in order. If not for obese individuals then for the causes of obesity. Sue the purveyors of fats for multi-billion dollar settlements.
It's for the public good. Obesity is arguably more dangerous to the public than smoking. Why should fatties get a break?
IMHO, after a certain tipping point, governments only get bigger. The size of the Federal Government will never decrease until a MASSIVE problem. Take a lesson from CA - a bankrupt state can't even make cuts. Pathological. Sad.
Politicians think our wallets are too fat.
One of my favorite TV ads from a few years back: "Who ordered da heart attack on a bun?"
I'm more of a believer in the free market principle. I rejected his advice and I won't go back. I also pass along my experience and my opinions so others will be better informed about his practice and medical practice in general. As AuntB found out the hard way one has to participate to be harmed. I counsel non-participation if at all possible. Use doctors for necessities of treatment only. Get 2nd and third opinions.
the poorest people are the fattest
I would modify this a bit. IMHO what's coming is designer genes. No fetus will need to be disposed of" because they'll be designed from the very beginning to conform to the parents' desires: boy or girl, tall or short, red or blonde or brown hair, blue or green or brown eyes, etc. And of course every single parent will ask for the genes to be inserted to insure athleticism, brilliance, and thinness (or at least to insure a very high metabolism so they'll be extremely unlikely to ever gain too much weight). To the extent possible, every parent will select genes insuring their kids grow up with attractive faces and bodies as well.
And you know what? In the unlikely event this happens soon enough for me to make such selections for my own children, I'll be first in line at Design-A-Kid. We live, sadly, in a world based on hate and bigotry, where those without the "proper" looks (and, coming very soon, without the proper genes) are almost always damned to a life in the slow lane, denied many of the most basic opportunities, finding many doors locked that always open for those that are "cute" and "sexy". Why would I want to risk having my kid go through a life of hell like that?
If society won't change and allow equality of opportunity (not of result), then I will absolutely take advantage of whatever science comes along that FORCES the playing field level. That's what conservatism is supposed to be about, after all.
No, you'll be in line behind the welfare crowd who will, naturally, get to design their kids "for free".
Hell exists in the mind and there's more than one kind of hell.
I'll stick with randomness or the will of God, so be it. Would we have had a Steven Hawking without some random quirk that produced such a severely handicapped person with such a magnificent intellect? What causes and effects produce genius in any field of endeavour? Would we end up designing a race of men that did nothing but admire their perfection in a mirror? Man's perfection is not in flawlessness but in his overcoming his weaknesses and faults. It is adversity that drives man forward. I think a perfect man in a perfect world would the weakest man of all.
Smart Aleck! :-)
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