Individual Accountability, Forced Equality, & "Fat People's Rights"

In our society today we are taught, by and large, not to judge. We are taught that we are all the same, and that everyone's approach to anything (within reason) is just as valid as anyone else; all of that is bogus.

Gauging the value and worth of different approaches, tact's, viewpoints, worldviews, acts, ideologies, etc, is an important and integral part of establishing and refining those things for one's self.

Believing that one thing is better than another is absolutely great, and more importantly, it is our job as humans. It is our choosing of what is right and wrong. It is the freedom of our conscious: our most vital freedom.

Conversely, on the other hand is the closed minded argument that allows no for judgements to be made. And with no judgement comes complete equality in all things; nothing is better than anything else, and nothing is any worse. Everything, everyone, every idea, every act - all of the same worth.

Forced equality is a line to be walked carefully, but the argument gets very simple when it comes to forced equality for a group of people that have no reason to deserve it...

...Fat People. I've seen many talk shows in my life with a group of fat people who didn't care that they were fat, they were happy with who they were. They felt that if they were content and happy with who they were then so should society be, and predictably, to that end, they generally were rallying for what amounts to: "Fat People's Rights".

Now, lets dismiss the obvious. "Fat People's Rights" is, on it's face, a ridiculously misguided concept. Fat people are just people that are fat. They are fat in the same way average-sized people are average-sized, teachers are teachers, doctors are doctors, drinkers are drinkers, married people are married, pet owners are pet owners, etc. They are people who, with few major biological-based exceptions, are fat because they have chosen to be. They are people who have eaten too much, exercised too little, haven't created or changed their lifestyle to a healthy one, haven't gotten the counseling if necessary, haven't gotten the regulating drugs if necessary, haven't asked for the help, haven't learned what they needed to learn, etc.

Again, the key is that it is a choice, and all the work parties, dinners with friends, sedentary jobs, rainy weather, intimidating gyms, traumatic childhoods, learned eating habits, unhappy relationships, entertaining television, etc, do not change the fact that being fat is a choice.

Okay, having established the fundamental problem with the concept, let's get specific and look at the many ridiculous issues borne out of one of the most egregious attempts, of the many attempts in modern western society, at Forced Equality: "Fat People's Rights"

1) Restaurants, theme parks, bars, hotels, bars, etc, should have to provide adequate seating options for fat people.
2) Airlines should have to provide 2 seats, at the rate of only one, to those who need more space than one seat due to their size.
3) Department stores and clothing stores that sell average sized clothes should have to sell larger clothes as well.
4) Restaurants should have to provide lower calorie/fat meal options and/or display the nutritional information of their food.

Here's the truth, any business that believes it would be a wise business decision to create larger seating options, offer low-cal food, sell big and tall clothes, or offer two airplane seats for the price of one to heavy people should go for it. Great, good for them. Truly.

But those businesses that don't? The restaurants that offer tons of fatty foods with no low-cal alternative, the clothing stores that sell exclusively small to average sized clothes, the bars that only offer small booths, the airlines that charge two seats for a fat person who needs two seats, they're doing what they as businesses have the right to do. That's their choice, and their right. These businesses will thrive or suffer or remain the same dependent on how the consumers react to whatever choice the businesses make. That's it. Capitalism in action.

I've had to walk in to and walk right out of places that I wouldn't be able to sit in because there were no chairs - only small booths, I've had to buy two tickets to fly on multiple occasions over the last few years, I've had to make the best decision I could (if I wanted to) when out with friends at restaurants with limited low-calorie options, I've had to buy clothes exclusively from big and tall stores for years. Do I feel like I'm discriminated against because of these facts?

Absolutely not.

As hard a struggle as my weight is, it's still up to me to lose, gain, or stay the same. I will eventually get to my goal weight. It's extremely challenging, for a variety of reasons, but I know that it's ultimately on me to succeed or fail, and I would have it no other way. And that's the point.

I love myself and I love my fellow man, and I wish for everyone what I wish for myself: to be healthy, happy, and successful in whatever I undertake; knowing that it was primarily my hard-work, my tenacity, my desire, my humility, my honesty, my sacrifice, etc, that caused my success. To be healthy, successful, and happy in life, in all ways, because of what I've chosen - not because some misguided soul mandated that I be treated like a victim and that the playing field be forcefully evened for me.

The Truth is that no one should be forced to provide equality for those who have earned their struggles.

The Truth is that, though I have compassion, and empathy, and sadness, and hope, and love in my heart for people that struggle with weight issues, it is still up to them, as it is for me, to create the change they desire.

And if I live a joyful, healthy life staying true to my beliefs of not looking for forced help or forced accommodation, but instead owning the fact that I create my reality, that I get out of life what I put in, then I will someday die a happy man.

"Happiness is that state of consciousness which proceeds from the achievement of one's values." -Ayn Rand, "Atlas Shrugged"