The image of Trump as a turtle stuck on it’s back, flailing impotently in the sun is hilarious! Much better than the next best option of “Help! I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!” Remember that commercial? If you went with that one people would say it was unacceptably ageist.
But turtles don’t flail because they are obese. Turtles probably have a restricted amount of body fat in the first place due to their shell. That body fat is necessary for getting through the winter and maybe for boyancy in the water. Being a round body morphology doesn’t equal being obese. Neither does having an appropriate amount of body fat stores as they are necessary for survival. Turtles also don’t really flail around forever like in our imaginations or cartoons. They rock around enough to purchase the ground with their dominant claw and head to turn themselves over. It’s kinda cool to watch.
Check it out:
Anyway, the comment could have been made just as well without improperly fat shaming the poor turtle.
I doubt Trump feels anywhere near as hurt by this fat shaming as you do, Shannon. I respect your comments in the spirit of which they are given. You’re right, some people are just going to be big because they have problems beyond their control. Diet culture among other things has set us up with a propensity toward being overweight and obese. Otherwise, truly overweight people would be few and far between. Sugar addiction is real and is hard to beat because you can live without drugs but you cannot live without food. This is where I disagree with you, somewhat. I’ve never equated obesity to laziness but there is often the same sort of self destructive and gluttonous behavior in the obese you see in drug and alcohol addiction. It should not be scorned or made fun of because these people need help dealing with the issues that drive them to binge and sympathy eat. I don’t think it’s helpful to pretend like it’s normal though (there is a difference between varying body types and obesity), we don’t do that with other addicts. It’s a shame that obesity has become so politically polarized. After all, people who cut or binge exercise don’t get the scorn and they’re dealing with the same problem. Those too, are acts of gluttony (gluttony is about gorging, not specific to food) and self destruction. Being able to properly name these events and behaviors give you power to change them. I say this without malice, because I too, have a tendency toward binging behavior from childhood trauma. Calling it out helps me keep a lid on it so it doesn’t steamroll my life.
