Oh you have got to be kidding...

[CrimsonMaiden]

I just saw a promo clip for the upcoming news that someone in Memphis has proposed a ban on obese people eating out in restaurants. Geez. Tramping on civil rights much?

 

[cantdog]

Restaurant meals average really high, calorie-count-wise. Maybe the person is just under the illusion he's everyone's grandmother. Galoshes WILL be worn when it's wet out, will be the next one. Then: You Should Have Thought Of That Before You Left.

 

[Ǽltya]

Bill Bans Obese Patrons From Mississippi Restaurants

The lawmakers who sponsored Bill No. 282 say they're not trying to discriminate against the overweight in Mississippi, they're trying to start a dialogue about how to fight the problem of obesity in the Magnolia State.

The proposed law would make it illegal for state-licensed restaurants to serve food to the obese.

Critics say government shouldn't try to be the food police and they say this latest attempt at public health legislation leaves a bad taste in the mouth.

"What kind of crap is that?" asks James Kelley of Clarksdale, Mississippi. "What do I think about it? Leave people alone. Let them eat what they want. Let them be."

Dedra Holley from Robinsonville, agrees. "How can you be serious?" she says. "So if they discriminate against obese people who are they going to discriminate against after that? People with long hair? Short hair? White people? Black people? I mean, that's absurd."

You'd be hardpressed to find any Mississippian who supports the idea. Even the man who sponsored the bill, Representative Ted Mayhall, says it should never pass.

"I do not have any intention of this becoming law," says the Desoto County Republican. "I don't think it has a Chinaman's chance. I'm against intrusive government. I don't think that's what we're here for and what we should be doing."

So why draft such controversial legislation?

"The reason I put the bill in," says Mayhall, "was to call attention to the seriousness of the obesity epidemic in Mississippi."

Mayhall says 30-percent of adults in Mississippi are obese. The state ranks number one in the nation for obesity three years running.

And with Mississippi's Medicaid program $168 million dollars in the red this year, Rep. Mayhall says illnesses related to obesity, including diabetes, are draining the state's budget.

His efforts to raise awareness about the issue have the national media calling with questions and constituents calling him out. By noon Friday, his answering machine was flooded with some not-so-nice messages and his cell phone was ringing constantly.

One caller told him, "Why don't you move to China or Russia instead of the U.S. Last I heard, this was still a free country."

There are plenty of skeptics who say Mayhall's plan to spark a change in the eating habits of Mississippians won't work.

"I don't think it's going to put a dent in the whole problem," says Dedra Holley. "I just can't believe it will."

"You're not going to be able to force someone to do something they're not ready to do," says James Kelley of Southaven. "Is this a Communist state?"

Despite the verbal attacks and all the doubters, Mayhall, a 68 year-old former pharmaceutical rep, says he's determined to stir up the debate.

"I'm a big boy," he says. "I can take anything that comes. I don't care. If it'll save three or four lives, it's well worth it."

Before Mayhall and Representatives John Read and Bobby Shows introduced their legislation, they got the green light from Mississippi's Public Health chairman and from Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour.

No one expects the bill to pass. They do expect a lively discussion in subcommittee about ways the state can solve its' obesity problems.

WTF? Love the reference to "Chinaman's chance" of passing. Mr. Mayhall is truly a good ole boy. How many different people could they offend with this?

 

[Ǽltya]

I just saw a promo clip for the upcoming news that someone in Memphis has proposed a ban on obese people eating out in restaurants. Geez. Tramping on civil rights much?

Dammit, Crim. I never do political. You sucked me in.

 

[CrimsonMaiden]

WTF? Love the reference to "Chinaman's chance" of passing. Mr. Mayhall is truly a good ole boy. How many different people could they offend with this?

Maybe this is what the news was talking about and I just assumed it was Memphis because that's the station it was on.

 

[Ǽltya]

Maybe this is what the news was talking about and I just assumed it was Memphis because that's the station it was on.

Memphis is just across the border from Mississippi if I remember right. Bet it is the one.

 

[CrimsonMaiden]

Dammit, Crim. I never do political. You sucked me in.

I don't either. It was my sense of outrage that made me post about it.

 

[Topanga_Blue]

Maybe they should work on a ban of stupid people running for political office instead.

 

[R. Richard]

OK. it won't work. However, what if they kind of ease into it?

"Hey, beer belly, do you have any idea how much saturated fat is in that Giant Burger?"

"You want fries with that, fat broad?"

"Omigod! A hippo escaped from the zoo! Wazzat? You're a kid, not a hippo. Well admittedly you can talk, at least as well as most of the peckerwoods hang around here."

"You want two trays with that order? Oh, right, there is just one of you. At first glance I thought you were identical twin sisters."

 

[R. Richard]

Maybe they should work on a ban of stupid people running for political office instead.

What are you trying to do? Completely destroy our political system?

 

[Topanga_Blue]

What are you trying to do? Completely destroy our political system?

I'm workin' on it.

Topanga ~ Left Wing Nutcase

 

[CrimsonMaiden]

OK. it won't work. However, what if they kind of ease into it?

"Hey, beer belly, do you have any idea how much saturated fat is in that Giant Burger?"

"You want fries with that, fat broad?"

"Omigod! A hippo escaped from the zoo! Wazzat? You're a kid, not a hippo. Well admittedly you can talk, at least as well as most of the peckerwoods hang around here."

"You want two trays with that order? Oh, right, there is just one of you. At first glance I thought you were identical twin sisters."

Well, it would be a good way to make sure that establishment never got that person's business again. Of course, they'd just go elsewhere.

 

[cantdog]

Good luck with that. But maybe it would, um, start a debate on the problem of dumb ass politicians in the state legislature.

 

[rgraham666]

Welcome to the world of smokers.

We're not allowed out in public anymore either.

 

[CrimsonMaiden]

Welcome to the world of smokers.

We're not allowed out in public anymore either.

Okay, so I'm going to be nice here and try to make sure I say this without coming off as offensive since I love you to pieces... but it's not the same. Being obese doesn't endanger the health of those people around you. It just endangers yourself.

 

[Topanga_Blue]

Welcome to the world of smokers.

We're not allowed out in public anymore either.

Now just imagine if you were overweight and a smoker.

They'd be camped out on your door with nicitrol patches and a salad.

 

[only_more_so]

I just saw a promo clip for the upcoming news that someone in Memphis has proposed a ban on obese people eating out in restaurants. Geez. Tramping on civil rights much?

Yeah, I read an article about that. Stupid Stupid Stupid. Great, make the fat people sit at home alone, and depressed, so they eat even more. Oh, and let 19 year olds make judgement calls, "Nope, not you fatty."

People have a right to live self-destructively provided it doesn't harm other people. You want to drink yourself to death? Groovy, just don't do it behind the wheel of a car. You want to smoke? Fine, just not where other people have to breathe it.

Of course, there is the issue of healthcare. My old company banned smoking at the facility (not just in the buildings, but on the entire campus) and encouraged smoking ceasation in order to reduce insurance costs. Same sort of thing happens for obesity. So the question becomes a bit murky when you start considering whether someone else's lifestyle choices are costing you higher premiums on health insurance.

 

[R. Richard]

Well, it would be a good way to make sure that establishment never got that person's business again. Of course, they'd just go elsewhere.

Actually, I was proposing a statewide conduct policy for restaurants in Mississippi.

 

[CrimsonMaiden]

Actually, I was proposing a statewide conduct policy for restaurants in Mississippi.

Just as long as they stay away from a neighboring state.

 

[rgraham666]

Okay, so I'm going to be nice here and try to make sure I say this without coming off as offensive since I love you to pieces... but it's not the same. Being obese doesn't endanger the health of those people around you. It just endangers yourself.

If a person is polite and careful, both of which I am, smoking doesn't endanger anybody but themselves.

But the same impulse is at work in the case you cited. Someone who is offended by the mere existence of such a 'wrong' thing is going to stamp it out.

 

[john-the-author]

Just as long as they stay away from a neighboring state.

People have put up with Mississippi for a couple centuries now; I'm sure they're used to them wandering around outside the safety fence.

 

[R. Richard]

[Threadjack]
Let me give you an example of well meaning but stupid attempts to force people into situations by body type.

In the Los Angeles area there was a basically good rule. If your high school had a swimming pool, you had to pass a swimming test before you graduated. The swimming test was to stay afloat for 15 minutes. The idea was, if you fell into water, you could stay afloat until help arrived, instead of drowning. However, there was a major problem in the South Central.

There are a group of people who are labeled 'absolute sinkers' in the swimming world. They are people who, with a full lungful of air, jump into water and immediately sink to the bottom. By far the largest group of absolute sinkers are very heavily muscled young black men. But then again, how many very heavily muscled young black men could there be at any one school?"

Into the world of 'Ghetto Tech' tech came Suzy Swimmer. She was prepared for the usual few problem kids. What she was not prepared for was some 50 kids, split maybe 45/5 between, 'This way to muscle beach' and 'After I escaped from the Nazi death camp I . . .'

'Sports hero' and I managed to convince Suzy Swimmer to substitute a test where the muscle boys would jump into the deep end of the pool, push off the bottom and swim to the far end of the pool.

Most of the muscle boys could swim like a motor boat. Unfortunately, when they quit swimming like a motor boat, they sank to the bottom of the pool.

'Sports hero' and I passed the motor boat test and then ran an impromptu clinic 'how to swim like a motor boat.' Guys who had never before been able to swim were able to traverse the pool, using at least 200% of the effort really required. [Why were they willing to try? If you skimmed the surface of the pool after the tests, you could have easily netted a lifetime supply of testosterone. Those kind of guys will do it, if it just requires muscle.]
[/Threadjack]

 

[Selena_Kitt]

Stupid. Just... omg... so stupid.

Oh, and a new study recently showed that the obese are actually costing health insurance companies LESS than their skinny counterparts.

So... there.

 

[DesertPirate]

Stupid. Just... omg... so stupid.

Oh, and a new study recently showed that the obese are actually costing health insurance companies LESS than their skinny counterparts.

So... there.

Because the skinny people live longer, finish the story

The whole idea just makes me want to fire the "Thundering Herd of Dumbass" that passes for all state legislatures and the worse crowd in Washington

 

[Liar]

Maybe they should work on a ban of stupid people running for political office instead.

No way. Clever people have better things to do than run for publoic office, so you' d have no candidates.