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I agree with you. As someone who is overweight, I have been frequently disheartened with the viscious comments made about weight in general at freerepublic. Many of the men seem very shallow, and are not ashamed to admit it and seem to want something akin to a Stepford wife for a mate(no, I'm not looking--I've been happily married for 7 years). It seems as if this is an acceptable thing to plug fun at here and, like you, it does not fit my image of a conservative who I expect to have a little more dignity and control with their words and a bit more REAL compassion for their fellow man/woman, but everytime I read it I can't help think of high schoolers with the tone some of the comments take.

I just wish you all would give it a rest already. Sure we know being overweight is unhealthy, life is unhealty, not even the biggest health nut on freerepublic is going to escape the coffin. But why this constant obsession with "fat jokes" on free republic I'll never know. I think part of it is that it is easy to make fun of fat people. Their personal flaw is very obvious and it is still acceptable to make fun of that obvious flaw.
Anyway, off my soapbox and expecting to have some stupid fat, dumba$$ woman joke, but it's been said. I agree with you Fawnn!
PS I thought Clay was most deserving of this as well, but I think its for the best. Clay will have more flexibility now with what he does and Ruben may be stuck with marketing that may not be appropriate for him(think of that movie that looks like a flop from Justin to Kelly) just because that's what he agreed to do when he signed up for this.
Like others, I don't know if I will watch it again(ok, maybe the initial shows because they are pretty funny), but not the final 12. It's not worth the effort if it's fixed.

seem to want something akin to a Stepford wife

A girl after me own heart! For 3 years I called the libs Stepford mentality, thought it would turn into a t-shirt craze, never did! LOL! As someone who is overweight, I have been frequently disheartened with the viscious comments made about weight in general at freerepublic

Well, many of us overweighters (I promise we are plenty here) have good threads going too Glory. We had one a few days ago on losing our poundage and shared lots of good tips.

Thank you from a former "fatty"(still have a ways to go). It does bother me when I realize the one group of people it is still OK to viciously put down are the overweight. I posted on another thread one time, but decided it wasn't worth the effort. A lot of people think heavy people are lazy, stink and are stupid. And, it is OK to make jokes and be rude. I can't change that by my posts. I am not that good of a writer!
I wanted Clay to win. I did not mention Ruben's weight or race. I did believe there was a "push" for Ruben to win. I didn't watch the show tonight. Caught it here instead! Some of the comments are not in good taste. People are emotional and passionate at times. hey, we are all human. Isn't it great that we can express ourselves??

Ruben weighs in at 360 pounds. That is just the facts. In his case, it did affect his ability to hold out notes, his phrasing, he does look foolish just standing there like a tree and what kind of stamina will he have if he ever had to do a show of at least twenty songs? Show business is hard work.

The other day Ruben said he was "tired". It's only going to get harder for him unless they keep him in the studio recording. The touring circuit is not for the faint hearted.

His sweating problems and facial expressions that do not exude confidence are a distraction from his performances. He's got a tougher road to hoe than Clay who at the same age, is fit and is a better singer by far. Tonight's crowning may be the highlight of Ruben's career but Clay is going to go much further.