Hey it's NYC. I have lived in small towns the last 15 years of my life and HAVE fallen and usually people come to my rescue and don't abuse me. I guess some places still have decent people. I wouldn't want to fall in NYC though or any other big city. One friend convinced me there are some nice people in NYC, but I think this would be a more risky affair. She isn't that fat and is a good looking woman but read the story and see how she was treated by those who reported on her story. That just isn't right. She did not deserve that whatsoever!
By the way I could still walk when I was near 700lbs, I never fell through any sidewalks. I slipped on some ice during the weight gain where a bus driver and another man had to help me get up. I have fallen later on too, of course as well. They were blaming her for something that had nothing to do with her weight.
"The fact that she fell isn’t much news -- but apparently, the fact that she was very fat was, as her size is mentioned in virtually every headline on the story, which of course has led to lots of giggles and jokes on Twitter and in comment threads, especially since Williams had to be rescued from the hole she fell into with a “high angle rescue unit” -- in other words, an actual crane.
Even the eyewitness reports were explicit on this point: “The woman was enormous. She had to be more than 300 pounds,” said Daniel Crumity, 44, of Queens, who watched in disbelief from a window inside the Blue Room. “The ground literally fell out from underneath her. “It happened so fast she did not scream or anything. Everybody in the bar got up to look.”
The hilarity didn’t end when Williams was released from the hospital -- with a broken arm and a few cuts and bruises -- and mentioned to reporters that hospital staff credited her size with saving her life, saying the fall would likely have killed a thinner person. Of course, the idea that body fat could possibly have ANY beneficial effect is unthinkable to most, even though there is plenty of evidence -- both scientific and common sense -- that extra padding prevents serious injury in falls, especially in older people.
In a masterpiece of victim-blaming, the commenter response then moved to the argument that Williams’ being “saved” by her size didn’t really count because a thinner person probably wouldn’t have fallen through the sidewalk in the first place -- even though logic would dictate that any given bit of sidewalk should probably be capable of holding AT LEAST 400 pounds. I mean, for safety."
This happened back in January and that's not Ulanda Williams. The story made headlines because of Rupert Murdoch's tweet. There were loads of news articles about it. Here's one from the Daily Mail. I tend to favor foreign news sources:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2263219/Rupert-Murdoch-mocks-fat-lady-fell-sidewalk-New-York-City.html
Rupert Murdoch one of the global elite who just mocks and spits on the little people. Thanks for telling me that was not Ulanda Williams, wonder why they could not use her picture on that other link or maybe they did not know. Those tweets by Murdoch are absolutely sickening. Yeah blame the fat people, that is what they always do.
ReplyDelete"@drgrist responded saying 'You probably should have kept that one between you and your therapist.'
'It's not the food stamps, it's the limited purchase power they afford and the food they're allowed to buy' wrote @murtaug.
The billionaire later wrote: 'Did not mean to be unsympathetic to 400 lb lady, but fact remains unhealthy eating by rich and poor driving up premiums for all.'
The six-foot-five woman fell about seven feet into a hollow basement, breaking her arm in two places and had to be rescued by the fire department with a crane."
He's so out of touch he doesn't realize the rich can afford better food.
I hope she sues. I would. I have fallen down in a restaurant and NOT sued because I slipped and fell but this instance she should. They were negligent, even look at those pictures of that "side walk".
The hatred for the poor and fat is growing. Sad to say most of the duped in society embrace what the global elite want them to believe on both sides of the equation. I of course talk about on this blog a lot if you haven't seen those posts about the negative health affects via their greed.
Murdoch's tweet expressed both social and political bias. It was offensive on multiple levels.
ReplyDeleteIn my book I write about the study conducted by Dr. Albert Stunkard that first revealed the correlation between economic status and obesity. I did not write about some first-hand observations I've made. I am a volunteer GED and creative writing tutor in a low-income supportive housing facility here in Chicago. ALL my students except for one are extremely overweight. A majority of the residents I see around the building are also severely overweight. These people live in tiny SRO apartments. They share bathrooms, kitchens, and social/TV rooms. Besides that fact that it's very difficult for them to store and prepare fresh food, they are all on SNAP benefits so they buy what's cheap and requires little to no preparation. But food has a high social value to them. Communal eating constitutes a big percentage of their socializing. Meals establish the structure of their day. And for many of them I think food is their primary pleasure and pastime. They don't have hobbies or read or play games or go out. They don't venture much beyond a few blocks around the building. For the most part, they watch TV and they eat.
Yes it was very offensive, I agree.
ReplyDeleteI will check out your book and that study. I lived in a huge city too, not an SRO but close to it, with no working stove for 3 years. I would take cabs from time to time to get to decent grocery stores but what was available was very poor. I do talk about my times in poverty on this blog I think you would find interesting.
http://fivehundredpoundpeeps.blogspot.com/2012/01/poverty-wolf-at-door-trying-to-gobble.html
So I have lived that lifestyle. Fresh food is hard to come by. I notice when we are food insecure now, it runs out FIRST.
I would agree for the poor, eating is one of the primary pleasures and pastimes. One can't afford hobbies or to go out. I believe even my lack of a car and severe poverty in the big city seriously hastened my weight gain. Even now lack of money limits the leisure activities though I scrape by with a few cheaper hobbies and free pursuits ranging from poetry club to others, but those come dear.
I always used to tell people if I won the Lotto, it'd make the weight loss efforts far easier. One thing we have developing in this society is the poor are so disenfranchised, even socially there is less activity. Think about it if your family all lives thousands of miles away, and there is no one to go visit, you sit at home. There is no place of belonging, this ruins activity too.
One also thinks about this too, if you live in a very small one room apt, one doesn't even have the walking that may happen in a 2 story, 2000 square foot home in the suburbs. Bad neighborhood, you are holed up more too. The streets are dangerous for the extremely poor, I lived in a dangerous neighborhood during my weight gain but got out to small towns. Toss in all the cortisol being pumped out and the acute stress of this society and it's a mess. I see my poverty and obesity/endocrine collapse walking hand in hand.
http://fivehundredpoundpeeps.blogspot.com/2010/08/is-stress-making-everyone-fat.html
Thesee are definitely issues I have lived. Thanks for your insights, I appreciate them very much.
Actually, fresh food is not an issue in my neighborhood. We have the major chain grocery stores but we also have a plethora of small, independently owned Asian and Latin markets including fruit and vegetable markets that are extremely affordable. Because of the problems with storing food in a communal kitchen, I think many folks shop every day or two (also because it's something to do) but they are looking for convenience and indulgence. They could buy a couple of apples and a package of veggies for the microwave but they'll buy chips and pizza instead.
ReplyDeleteThe buildings are very well managed by a national non-profit organization. They hold educational events for residents including wellness. They coordinate group walks to the farmers markets. I went along once but most people bought stuff like baked goods. Farmers markets take SNAP here in Chicago BTW.
When I lived in that big city of mine, I shopped at a Mexican grocery store. I even ordered food in Spanish, studied it in high school, they did have good fruits and vegetables. In my case, I got fat anyway but I agree the convenience and rest too many give in too. I do think some of this could be based on hunger as well. One thing when extremely poor sometimes you can only afford 1 or 2 meals a day, this applied to me for a time. The temptations to get the biggest bang for the buck, could be extreme. If you hadn't eaten all day, buying an apple and a salad seemed the last thing on the roster. I am glad your building is trying in terms of giving people other options. I think it is better that now farmers markets do take SNAP.
ReplyDelete"Biggest bang for the buck" I think you're right about that. There's always so much talk about "healthy eating" being more expensive but in some ways it's about perception. It takes knowledge, planning, and access to a decent kitchen to shop for and prepare meals of high nutritional content AND high satiety value. It would NOT be more expensive but it would take a lot of effort. It's much easier to go to the dollar store and buy a lot of stuff from the freezer case and big bags from the snack aisle.
DeleteI think the picture from the XOJane article is Lesley Kinzel, the author of the article, who notes, "For reference, I weigh 300 pounds. 300! Pounds! I have never broken a sidewalk, at least not to my knowledge, and yes, I would blame the sidewalk if I did."
ReplyDelete